New Zealand – Page 46 – Stuck in Customs
9
Nov 2018 : Friday
filed under  Lake Hayes, Mavic Pro, Mavic Pro 2, New Zealand, Otago, Queenstown, Travel

A Smooth Day on Lake Hayes

Mavic 2 on the way!

Well, after my Mavic Pro had a dramatic crash, it’s time for a new unit with the Mavic 2! I’m excited about it… will try to pick one up on my upcoming trip to San Francisco! It looks like a nice little upgrade… I’m not materialistic at all, but I do kinda get excited about new creative tools like this.

Daily Photo – A Smooth Day on Lake Hayes

This is a good example of those 1/7 days where there is absolutely no wind at all. I took this with my quadcopter right in the middle of the lake. I’m always more worried flying it over water for some reason. I suppose that’s because it could always crash and that would be the end of it all. Although, realistically, 90% of the crashes over land if you’re 10 meters up could be catastrophic as well!

A Smooth Day on Lake Hayes

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-06-27 04:00:03
  • CameraFC6310
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time1/320
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length8.8 mm
  • FlashNo flash function
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias

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4
Nov 2018 : Sunday
filed under  Aurora HDR, France, Glenorchy, Monaco, New Zealand, Passport, Photo Software, Photography Tips, Travel

Over Monte Carlo

Euro Tour

Check out this highlight video of our European Photo Walk Tour!

Listen to Sam Harris talk with Yuval Noah Harari (author of Sapiens)

Also, here is an interesting podcast I just finished listening to where Yuval Noah Harari talks about his new book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. It is a wide-ranging discussion which is well worth some of your Sunday.

Passport Sunday – Art Talk in Glenorchy

If you ever find yourself in New Zealand, check out Camp Glenorchy as a place to stay. I was there a couple of weeks ago to do an art talk and not only is it a gorgeous location, but they also have the best projector known to humankind. In today’s Passport video, which is the complete talk, you’ll not get to experience the projector in all its glory but you will get to hear some stories from my travels along with a fun Q+A session towards the end which focuses on art, life and creativity.

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Daily Photo – Over Monte Carlo

On the European Tour, we stopped in Monte Carlo one day to take photos and have a dinner before getting back on the bus to drive overnight to Cinque Terre. I had been to Monte Carlo a long time ago with my dad and I remembered being down by the marina. When I looked at the map, I saw there were two marinas, and I was not sure which one to be dropped off at. I chose the wrong one! And there were no taxis or Ubers around, so we had to walk up this mountain… when we got to the top, I turned around to take this picture of the scene below. Yeah, it’s a cool marina, but not as cool as the one on the other side!

Over Monte Carlo

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-05-01 19:46:32
  • CameraX1D
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/15
  • Aperture4
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length30.0 mm
  • Flash
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

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24
Oct 2018 : Wednesday
filed under  Camera Gear, Mavic Pro, New Zealand, Travel

Floating over Beautiful Hobbiton

Updated Kit!

Hey all! Don’t forget to check out my Kit.com and see all my new goodies, I took this photo several years ago, waaaay before I added the new Mavic (which is better!) to my kit. Check it out in the link above.

Daily Photo – Floating over Beautiful Hobbiton

Wow, this place is always a winner. It’s no wonder that Peter Jackson fell in love with it when he was searching for the fictional “Hobbiton” during the early scouting days of Lord of the Rings. I believe the story is that he came in and bought the farm that was already there and put the previous owner in charge. I met that gentleman, Russell, a number of times and he’s a heck of a nice guy!

Floating over Beautiful Hobbiton

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-05-25 09:13:43
  • CameraFC330
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time1/340
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length
  • FlashNo flash function
  • Exposure ProgramUnknown (58655)
  • Exposure Bias

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10
Oct 2018 : Wednesday
filed under  New Zealand

Overnight in the Hut

Beginning Photography Tutorial

Don’t miss our new Beginning Photography Videos, which are new in the store! There are all kinds of great lessons in there for every single type of photography except for hardcore Canadian porn.

Daily Photo – Overnight in the Hut

This is the place up near the Snow Farm in Cadrona where we filmed the star-photography lessons in the tutorial above. It was kind of a funny night because this was a very difficult place to find. The old dirt roads went all over the place and it was very easy to get lost. I was there with Curtis and Olya. Olya was feeling sick and could not spend the night, so after star shooting, Curtis had to drive her out. Then, when he came back, he got completely lost… I ended up sitting in that hut for several hours just editing photos and listening to music. I thought he might never get back… After he did, I took one last photo, and you can see his jeep there on the left.

Overnight in the Hut

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-03-05 23:40:57
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time20
  • Aperture
  • ISO125
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

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30
Sep 2018 : Sunday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown

Taking a photo of my studio

Full End-to-End

Hey, are you a Passport Member? If so, then your Passport Sunday has a nice treat for you. I’ve never taken a “proper” photo inside my studio before. Well now I have! And I thought it might be nice to recrod the entire process. From setting up the camera to angle selection to lens selection and finally a complete edit of the work.

Here’s a photo of the outside of the studio…

My Fortress of Solitude

…wait till you see the final shot of the inside!

The Making-Of

This is actually one of the most complete end-to-end videos I’ve ever made. Usually, I just do a screengrab or I am talking about taking the photo on the scene. Well, this one has both! You get to see my camera settings, lens selection, angle selection and the final touches in Aurora HDR/Photoshop. Enjoy!

Oh, and as well as that, below you’ll find a bonus 360 video if you missed it previously where I give a little art tour around the studio when I change out the art every three months.

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Exclusive content for Passport members

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9
Sep 2018 : Sunday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown

Ski Day in 360!

Some fun behind-the-scenes

Today on Passport Sunday, if you’re a Passport Member, then you get to see a pretty cool 360 video I made when I joined my little girls on Coronet Peak in Queenstown, New Zealand to take some photos. I even gave my daughter Isabella the camera to hold on one of her runs… wow since they put the new firmware into the Insta360, it’s super smooth! As an added bonus, I’ve also added the image review session covering the images I took while at the base of the run.

Trey Ratcliff - StuckInCustoms.com - Creative Commons Noncommercial contact licensing@stuckincustoms.com

Trey Ratcliff - StuckInCustoms.com - Creative Commons Noncommercial contact licensing@stuckincustoms.com

And now for some 360 Fun!

Taking action photos in the snow can be kind of tough. All the lessons I talk about in here go for pretty much any sporting event. Most of it is about making sure your shutter speed is high enough… Probably one of the smartest things to take a bunch of sample photos and zoom into 100%. They might look sharp zoomed out, but 100% always tells the tale. If you’re a bit blurry, speed up the shutter speed a bit. if that makes it too dark, then drop down your Aperture or increase your ISO.

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Exclusive content for Passport members

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7
Sep 2018 : Friday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown

Before my Morning Interview

Aurora HDR Tip

In today’s tip video for Aurora HDR, you can see how I take water that’s already reflective and make it SUPER reflective and extra dreamy.

Daily Photo – Before my Morning Interview

The morning after I got back from that month-long trip in China and Thailand I was scheduled for a TV interview. They set up a studio right here along the wharf in Queenstown. The exact time of my interview was the same time as this perfect sunrise. So, I quickly grabbed shots then jumped into the studio at the last possible second to have the interview! I think I might have been a little bit out of breath, but the photo was worth it. Actually, the photo was much better than the actual interview… Morning TV anchors often ask kind of silly questions.

Before my Morning Interview

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-07-04 08:10:32
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/250
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO1000
  • Focal Length19.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

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30
Aug 2018 : Thursday
filed under  New Zealand, Queenstown

Chinese Wedding Photos in Queenstown

Maybe a Gallery in Queenstown?

I’m cooking up some plans to have a photography gallery somewhere in downtown Queenstown. We’ve got all sorts of plans we’re currently working on… who knows how it will go? I’ve got my fingers crossed!

Daily Photo – Chinese Wedding Photos in Queenstown

I see more and more of this all over Queenstown and Arrowtown. It always cracks me up for some reason. Chinese couples pose for some of the hokeyist photos I’ve ever seen. This one isn’t as bad as others, but you can see the photographer there with the hoodie on. His hoodie is over his head to show you how artsy he is. All the photographers are all pieces of work too… often dressed extravagantly and carrying on like some kind of a rock star.

Chinese Wedding Photos in Queenstown

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-12-30 20:16:16
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/125
  • Aperture4
  • ISO160
  • Focal Length44.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
29
Aug 2018 : Wednesday
filed under  Matamata, New Zealand

Happy Hobbits

Walter Productions

Hey, I thought I would mention Walter Productions, which is the production company behind our Burning Man camp. They do events all over the USA, so if you ever want to have a major blowout event, be sure to contact them!

Pyramid thoughts

Here’s a short 1-minute video that I made while at the pyramids in Egypt.

Daily Photo – Happy Hobbits

Hey for today’s photo, I decided to go a little HDR crazy. I hope that’s okay. I still do that on occasion, and it seems to suit the magical place where the hobbits live here in New Zealand. It’s now a very very touristy place, but I still recommend going there. You get enough time to snap photos and then head down to the hobbit’s pub and have some grog. I remember when we were here making the Lightroom tutorial and we stayed in that pub almost all night long. I think by the end, we each had a gallon of grog and the productivity spiraled down to about zero.

Happy Hobbits

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-05-25 06:26:41
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/125
  • Aperture8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length11.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

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26
Aug 2018 : Sunday
filed under  Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

Sunset Reflections in Tekapo

Another Sunday, another Passport Sunday!

I’ve released about 100 videos for Passport Members, and more are on the way! Today’s video shows the how-to edit of this pretty sunset photo in New Zealand.

Getting Rid of Ugly Bits

Today’s photo that you see below has had quite a few modifications. Wait till you see the original in this video. This photo was already 90% pretty, but there was 10% of very ugly stuff right in the middle that I had to eventually get rid of. And then, in the end, you see my little mountain stretch trick!

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Daily Photo – Sunset Reflections in Tekapo

I took this photo during an overnight journey with my friend Cliff. We actually slept right here in my pickup truck, which was kinda fun. I had heard about these pools, so we went up here for sunset then decided just to stay until the sunrise. One not-so-awesome thing about this water is it is some kind of water treatment facility. So there was some trash and junk in there. I can’t imagine how it all got there since this is about 20 kilometers from the city of Tekapo itself.

Sunset Reflections in Tekapo

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-08-19 08:11:56
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/8
  • Aperture6.3
  • ISO160
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-1

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