Stuck In Customs

Enjoyed the Live NASA Hangout!

The launch was incredible, and I enjoyed the live part beforehand. I’ll try to do more of these in the future… the problem is always getting a good connection while I am out and about, but that should get easier over time… it’s sort of like a virtual photowalk! 🙂

Daily Photo – Mountains on the way to Glenorchy

I’ve driven this road back and forth between Queenstown and Glenorchy about 6 times, and I can’t wait to do 100x that!

They are so violently tall that the clouds that spin off them are always different, and the light that falls on them is continually changing.

Announcement!

We already have the very popular HDR Tutorial here on the site that shows you how to make these sorts of photos. But, I thought you’d like to know that I’m going to update the whole thing and show you how I made the first space shuttle shot below. I like to update the tutorial every three months or so, but this one will have many excellent updates… so get ready for that!

Best of NASA

I’m sad the Space Shuttle program is ending, but NASA says it’s not the end of human spaceflight for the US. Since I was lucky enough to be invited by NASA, I got to go into a cool area to see some of the next-generation capsules they’ll be putting atop new rockets.  I didn’t know if I was allowed to get photos or not…  but I will talk to them and see if we can arrange something special in the future.

Anyway, I wanted to put some of my favorite NASA shots below for you… sort of a celebration of awesomeness.

I felt lucky to be one of the last people to get a NASA escort out to the launch pad, on this final night for the Space Shuttle program and the Atlantis. It was truly beautiful evening, and things were peaceful and calm. I felt like I had a personal moment with the mighty rocket… I’ll never forget it.

There is an important retraction event that takes place about 24 hours before the actual launch… it is a special time… I think of it like an athlete taking off his sweats before an Olympic event.

NASA also has all sorts of these awesome “relics” laying around, just generally sitting there and being awesome.  But, the Saturn V is already impossibly awesome.

18 minutes till the launch. Newsmen from around the world go live while they go through their Ron Burgundy vocal preparations.

Both launches saw incredible storms hit the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) a day before the planned launch. This one rolled in the first time I visited NASA… I’ll never forget it because I was standing by Levar Burton and a NASA gal came out and said, “We have a Level 2 lighting alert! You have to get inside!” To this, Levar Burton asked, “Is that anything like a Level 3 Diagnostic?”

This is my favorite shot of Endeavor as it wormholed into the low cloud layer. It was still accelerating at this point, so it looked like the cloud literally “sucked” it up.<

Your Favorite Cultural Clothes

What country/culture has your favorite clothes? Is it something exotic like ancient China, or modern like stylish India? Or maybe it’s something more tribal or more formal… I think most people tend to like stuff that is quite far away from where they live… and the further, the better and more exotic! But, I wondered what your favorite was…

Daily Photo – Walking Across the Old Bridge

While in China, one of the small towns I visited had several little low walking-bridges across the river. It was the sort of river that was too shallow for boats, but good for fishing and washing clothes.

This one was in a residential and commercial area. Many of the women wore colorful dresses and walked back and forth across… it all seemed very nice and peaceful so I grabbed an image.

After the Shuttle Atlantis

I had a great day at NASA. I haven’t slept much… I’m really on fumes at this point. But it was all worth it and a very nice experience all around.

After the shuttle went off and broke through the clouds, I turned around for a while to collect my thoughts… Unbeknownst to me, my friend Stu Maschwitz (from Prolost.com) took this photo of me… I don’t post a lot of these, but thought you might like to see it… BTW, Stu’s wife is making some awesome shuttle tees that are stylish and unique…might be worth a look if you are a fan of all this space stuff like me!

Robert Scoble also posted a photo of me before the launch itself. He ended up with a nice shot too… I told him right where to stand, and he was so excited when he got the shot! Haha it was hilarious because he came running across the field, waving his laptop in the air yelling, “I love you Trey! I love you Trey!” Hehe…but, besides the good advice on the spot, he still got a great shot at 400mm on his own.

Daily Photo – The Shuttle Rips Space/Time at the End of an Era

I’ll try to describe the sound.

Since this is as close as you can get, and this is 3 miles away, it takes a while for the sound to get to you. And it does rush across the water in a rumbling, tumbling way like you might expect. But then, after that, something other than sound starts to come across the water. It’s a series of concussive waves that vibrate your entire skeleton and thrum through your soul. It’s not a steady din of vibration, but a violent staccato rhythm of unseen forces that cause a tremulous cadence around and through your chest.

This is the final space shuttle launch of our lives. And so we could not help but be reminded of this finality when this unearthly sound combined with the final sight of the lonely craft arcing away into space.

Today: Google+ Hangout Live from NASA at 11:15 EST

Join me on Google+ today at exactly 11:15 AM when I’ll be doing a LIVE Video Hangout. Only a limited number of people can get in, so be ready to click to join the hangout! New to this stuff? Here are some video hangout tips I made.

Yesterday I did a very cool live broadcast video hangout from NASA with Google+. We had people from all over the world connecting while I was on video on my laptop approaching the launch pad. We all went through a few levels of security together (I made everyone be quiet), then we approached the VAB, saw some of the media center, before finally getting to the launch pad. I’ll do another live Google+ Hangout tomorrow during my setup and you guys can ask questions…or just…hangout!

Interview with Scoble

Robert Scoble is here with me at the NASA event (along with many other people). After a little #NASATweetup session yesterday, he grabbed me for a quick interview about photography (click link to listen), and how I was planning to this trip in particular. Enjoy!

Daily Photo – Final Night of the Space Shuttle

I was completely soaked after laying in mosquito-invested waters for an uncomfortably long time. At one point, a concerned French news reporter came up to me and said, “Excuse me, but you’re quite covered in bugs.” It must have been pretty bad for him to come over and say that… I think perhaps he thought I was dead because I stayed in the same position for so long, trying to zen-focus on the shot.

This is the Space Shuttle Atlantis, in case you do not know. It’s also the final space shuttle launch, ever. So, it’s incredibly special, and I’m happy I got to spend time with the ship on its final night.

Bonus Photo – The Countdown Clock at Sunrise

And this is the famous countdown clock. Scott Kublin and I woke up before 5 AM to start setting up our remote cameras. One of them Leo Laporte Fed-exed to me overnight so we could have time to set it up… we put those inside the blast zone and set them up to automatically fire at the launch. We made a behind-the-scenes video to show how everything was done… it will be edited and shared soon… but, in the meantime, here is what I saw first thing in the morning upon arrival to NASA.

Daily Photo – Test daily photos – 1

Blurb number 1

Test daily photos – 1

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2011-07-07 10:35:50
• CameraNIKON D3S
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture3.5
• ISO400
• Focal Length50.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2

It’s like 30, but with more Internet

Well, today is my 40th birthday.

I plan on having a midlife crisis between 2 AM and 3 AM and that involves a considerable amount of chocolate and then get over it.

Just as I was leaving Iceland, they had this giant poster in the airport. BTW, every Icelandic advertising poster looks the exact same, and they all copy 66’North, which I think originated the campaign. Everyone looks hard and windswept while the rugged Icelandic background is in the distance behind them… ANYWAY, there was this poster of a dude ice-climbing, and it said, “Life Begins at 40.” I think the ad was for some bank. But, it didn’t make me want to ice climb or do any banking with them, so I really don’t know what effect that ad or any of this has had on me.

Daily Photo – Bridge of the Dark Fairy

Now this place was hard to find. In fact, I tried to geo-locate it after the fact, and I could not even come close. It’s like one of those lost spots on earth, like the island with King Kong, or the deep paths to Silfen worlds…

After leaving the road, I scrambled down a few hillocks and walked along the stream a bit. Finding this quite mirror-world of sorts, I stopped for a photo.

Want to follow the pre-launch activities?

Follow me @TreyRatcliff and the #NASATweetup hashtag on Twitter.

Also, Robert Scoble (and many others) will be with me at the launch, and I figure we’ll be using Google+ quite a bit too to post updates, photos, and the like, so that’s another fun place to watch.

Daily Photo – Sun Busting Through Stormclouds at NASA

I was in the Tweetup tent doing something terribly important but completely inscrutable when Stu Maschwitz came in and told me that the storm clouds were breaking upon our shores. So I got my little rig and went outside to see the matter.

We get these kind of huge powerful summer clouds in Texas too. The kind that roll in on a too-hot day and you have a feeling that something powerful is a-comin’. You tie down the cows and take the favorite sheep down to the basement because it’s gonna be a long night…

The sun darted in and out of the clouds, and I grabbed it just as it peeked through a small hole it tore in the thunderhead.

Portfolio on Picasa

Because of Google+ (my profile), I’ve ended up putting some of my portfolio over on Picasa too.  I feel like I spend a good portion of my day just moving bits of data from one part of the web to another!  Anyway, I’m not as happy with it as I am with my portfolio over at SmugMug (see my SmugMug Review), but it does make it easy to share in Google+.

Daily Photo – Dinner at the Post Ranch Inn

This is the second photo I have released from the Post Ranch Inn (first one here).  It’s such a beautiful place, and, while not exploring the property, we were busy looking forward to a great dinner.

Just outside the restaurant is this earthy sculpture and waterfall.  It was very nice the way the evening light came and refracted through the water…  I don’t think I’ve ever been able to watch the sunset through a sheet of water, so it was quite nice.

And the food was great too… a multi-course fixed price menu… It wasn’t cheap, mind you.  It’s one of those meals where I ended up paying over $100 before the menus even arrived.  But it was all tasty and memorable.

http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/10668747_AuyBk/1329675764_Cm

Google+ Invites – How-to-System

This system helps your friends get into the invite queue! It may take a bit, but all systems are go. I’ve met hundreds of people in Google video hangouts so far… may see you soon too! 🙂

[Note: Once you are invited, it may take a bit to get the email as Google+ is throttling incoming members.]

1) Already in Google+?  We need your help!  Jump to step 3!

2) Come to StuckInCustoms Facebook Page and see if you can find a thread that has remaining invitations. Put your email in that thread (not on the wall).

3) Accept your invite when it arrives, then return to the StuckInCustoms Facebook Page and pay it forward by saying, “I have 10-15 (whatever) invites for Google+ so leave your email below and I’ll get you in!”

4) To invite people in, create a new circle and fill it with email addresses that need access.

5) Share a post or photo with that circle, and it will ask you if you want to email people not in Google+. Say yes, and they will get an email invite!

And, if you are looking for me in Google+, here is My Google Profile.

Google+ Tips

– Come see this thread if you are looking for Tips on video Hangouts!

– Here is a Photographer’s List in Google+

– Here is Part 2 of the Photographer’s List in Google+

Daily Photo – Long Road in Montana

This is the road I got stuck on after my 4-wheeler caught on fire. Now, of course, I had all my photography equipment with me… who wouldn’t take a whole host of photo equipment on a 4-wheeler joyride? I don’t know! I mean, you gotta be ready just in case the dang thing catches on fire!

And further down that road, a few days later, I saw this… I posted this a while ago, but I’m re-posting in case you missed it…

http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/10668747_AuyBk/742619594_aN6zA

OTW To Florida

I’m coming in for the final shuttle launch and I heard about a secret thing… Nikon has a special room/building at NASA that is full of lenses and all kinds of awesome stuff! I just need my NPS (Nikon Professional Services) card and I can be a kid in a candy store. Now, all of this sounds way too good to be true, but I’ll swoop in there to get the full scoop and let you know. (I even heard they have a 1200mm prime laying around!)

Daily Photo – The Endeavor Lifts Off

So, when I took this, I was using two different cameras. The first one was my D3X with the 28-300mm lens on a tripod, and that is how I got this one. It’s an HDR from a single RAW.

Not long after this, the buffer filled up and it started to shoot slowly, so I went to my second camera around my neck, the D3S with a 50mm prime. And I got the second shot below.