Beautiful Cities of the World Collection

Here is another of the special animated creations for the recent drop on OpenSea. Can’t wait to go back here and see the family once NZ opens up again!

Here’s the latest! Machine Elf 36 – Open Heart. I remember laying out in the white sands of the desert at Burning Man on my back in the middle of the afternoon, looking at the sun and blue sky. I was thinking about 1,000 different things and not thinking of them at the same time. Yes, I might have been on acid, but that’s beside the point. Well, not really, because, soon enough, I heard this song “Burning Sun” by Monolink playing about half a mile away from an art car… the sounds vibrated out the desert where I was hearing them… I remember what I saw and I’ve tried to recreate it here.

For more Machine Elf creations and to find out how to watch them in 360 VR, check out the website!

Best of: Austin!

And next up is the Best of Austin shots! Well, I’m not sure these are the absolute best, but there are few winners in here I haven’t thought about in a while.

Special new Video for you!

In the middle of the 60-day around the world trip with my family! Here’s highlights from the first 30 days – enjoy!

Prizes from the Event!

We’ll be giving away many prizes from the event! On the next Variety Hour (every Monday I have a good internet connection), we’ll be sure to announce all the winners and what they win –Here’s a selection of the prizes below!

*Prizes:*
– Really Right Stuff Tripod goodies (BH-40 LR and some LB-40s)
– Huge Secret Adorama Prize
– XUME Quick Release Adapters
– Syrp (A NEW Genie!!!) – https://stuckincustoms.com/time-lapse-photography-syrp-genie-review/
– FStop (Loka Bag and 1 ICU)
– Many copies of Trey’s Lightroom and Photomatix Presets!
– Camera Sutra t-shirts
– Many Stuck In Customs Camera Straps
– 5 Copies of Midnight in Paris tutorial!

More Photos!

There are over 1,000 photos up on the event page… go have a look! 🙂

Nikon 16mm Fisheye Prime

All the photos below were taken with the same lens! You can read more about it on my Nikon 16mm Review here on the site.

Photos from the event

Below are a few photos I took 🙂

Daily Photo – The Wolfman Violinith

Here’s my favorite photo from the event… one of the many street performers howls into the streetlight moon…

The Wolfman Violinith

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-03-12 05:16:14
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture2.8
• ISO6400
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Google+ SXSW Austin PhotoWalk with Trey Ratcliff – All Levels of Photographers – All Free!

Also you are invited to come to my featured (Google+ heavy!) speech at SXSW – “A Life Worth Living is a Life Worth Recording” (link for times and details) Google+ PhotoWalk Details! RSVP and Get More Details on the Google+ Event Here. $1000’s in Prizes! A ton of Google+ swag! Members of the Google+ team!! Bring your camera (even mobile phones are cool!) and bring your sense of adventure and discovery! We’ll walk around the streets of Austin together and grab some cool photos to share with one another. If you’ve never been to one of these events before, then this is your chance. Bring a friend or bring the kids — it’s a family-friendly event and all are welcome! 🙂

I’ll be giving lessons and teaching how I set up for various shots. Anyone can ask me anything at any time… sort of an in-person AMA! 🙂

When: Monday, Mar 11 at 6:30 PM Austin Time
Where: Downtown Austin Watch For Exact Spot Here.
What to bring: Anything from a mobile phone to a DSLR with a tripod
Tag to use for photos: Attach the photos to this event and use the tag #AustinPhotowalk2013 ! 🙂

*Prizes (in addition to free Google+ swag to be randomly distributed):*
– Really Right Stuff Tripod goodies (BH-40 LR and some LB-40s)
– Huge Secret Adorama Prize
– XUME Quick Release Adapters
– Syrp (A NEW Genie!!!) – https://stuckincustoms.com/time-lapse-photography-syrp-genie-review/
– FStop (Loka Bag and 1 ICU)
– Many copies of Trey’s Lightroom and Photomatix Presets!
– Camera Sutra t-shirts
– Many Stuck In Customs Camera Straps
– 5 Copies of Midnight in Paris tutorial!

How To Win A Prize:

“Best Photos of Fellow Photowalkers!”
Share your photos on Google+ and/or in The Photo Community with the tag #AustinPhotowalk2013 – winners will be chosen by a Team of Humans at Google and other coaches from the photowalk.

Thanks to the coaches too: Dave Wilson, Alex Suarez, Mike Connell, Jerry Hayes, and Simi Shonowo !

Daily Photo – Moody Skies Over the Dark Church

I keep going back to Tekapo to see the skies over the lake. If it is clear, you can see amazing stars! But, if cloudy, it’s not so bad because you can get this kind of moody, long-exposure stuff… !

Moody Skies Over the Dark Church

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2013-01-18 13:34:27
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time30
• Aperture2.8
• ISO1600
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Webinar Starts Tomorrow!

The big show starts tomorrow! Be sure to register on The Art of Photography page. See you in there soon!

Daily Photo – Girl in Austin on Bike

When I was at South by Southwest, we had an amazing photowalk downtown. After the whole thing was over, I spent about an hour saying hello to people and having my picture taken and this sort of thing. I do always enjoy that… having extra time to meet people is always nice.

After I was done, I went into the Driskill to get a few things I left behind. I went out of the lobby to get into Curtis’ car to whisk me away back home when I saw this girl riding one of those pedicabs. I thought she was kinda cute, so I grabbed this quick shot.

Girl in Austin on Bike

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-03-10 22:42:50
• CameraNIKON D3S
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/4000
• Aperture5.3
• ISO4000
• Focal Length112.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Annoying Photography Companies at Dance Recitals

One thing that REALLY makes me angry is when I go to a dance recital and they tell me I am not allowed to take photos.  And I’m not just talking about “flash” photos — but NO photos at all.  It’s because they do a deal with crappy photography companies that forbid other parents from doing so to artificially increase the sales of their video or photos.  It is, perhaps, the most insidious of all practices that photographers undertake.  The idea that a parent can’t even take a photo of their own child on stage is, well, insane.  I wish 1,000 years of bad luck on all these photography companies that undertake these methods… and you will forever have my wrath.

Daily Photo – The Dance Recital

I feel like I go to about 20 dance recitals a year!  If you have a daughter in dance, then you know what I mean.

This was a cold one, and I mean supa-cold.  It was about 20 degrees outside, and then recital was, for some reason, outside.  I was going to go sit down and cover up, but the blanket was only big enough for the rest of the family.  So I decided to keep moving and take a lot of photos.  I went back behind the crowd to get this one just before the show began…

http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/10668747_nxsXfB/17073664

G+ PhotoWalk in Austin during SXSW! Join me!

It’s that time again!  This year is going to be huge… mega huge!

All skill levels are invited – bring your whole family… it’s great fun for all.

• RSVP on Google Schemer: http://goo.gl/LkaKO
• Secret Google Schemer Invite link: goo.gl/RoxQg <– shhhhhh!
• Date: Saturday, March 10 at 2 PM.
• Location: The hidden G+ lot (TBA!) Note: SXSW badge NOT required
• No SXSW badge required!

We’ll have great prizes and more… stay tuned!

Daily Photo – The Endless Night Streets of Tokyo

The streets are like this all night long.  So, how can you possibly go back to the hotel room?  There’s never a good breaking point.  It is very very hard on my body here, actually, because I usually go back at the point of sheer exhaustion or hunger-breakdown.  The last thing I am thinking about is eating or sleeping… but then, once I give in to my body, that’s ALL I can think about.