July 24th, 2009| Stuck In Customs
This place is awesome! I love the “Blue Lagoon” area of Iceland. Before I went, I could only think of that old movie with Brooke Shields. I never saw it, but I remember being in school and some dumb kid told me it was soooo cooool because it was full of boobies. I never knew what that meant, for sure, but shades of it hung out in the back of my mind when I visited this one.
Can you imagine dipping your toes into that and getting inside for a nice warm soak? It’s wild! It’s hard to describe how wild it really is.
There is a whole complex behind there with lockers, showers, a restaurant, and this sort of thing. The design inside is all Scandinavian and modern. They have private rooms you can rent that are swim-up. I met a nice couple from Colorado and they invited me into theirs. It was filled with food and all kind of things — it reminded me of a James Bond evil lair. Next time I go, I’m gonna get one of my own! I checked on the prices, and they were relatively cheap, even back before the economy collapsed there.
from the categories: Iceland, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 14 Comments »
July 23rd, 2009| Stuck In Customs
Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a place like this? I like these old European streets where great restaurants line edges… Let’s all move there… we can just go out and dine on the streets every night, eat fab food, see street performers, talk about photography, geek out, etc etc. Yes that sounds quite wonderful.
As you can see, I left in the HDR ghosting. Sometimes I quite like it, especially in these scenes where there is motion and feel like that’s part of the gestalt. I think these sorts of words are okay to use, even when not standing on a German street.
I am very appreciative to all the eyes out there scouring the intertubes! I had a nice girl who gave me the heads up on someone using images without permission. Her name is Shannon, and you can see her Flickr stream here. Thanks Shannon 
from the categories: Dresden, Germany, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 22 Comments »
July 20th, 2009| Trey Ratcliff
Just outside of Yogyakarta in Indonesia are the ruins of Prambanan. Getting to this place is a long way from home, so we tried to take advantage of everything in and around the city. Prambanan is a Hindu temple that was first built in 850 CE. It began a painstaking reconstruction in 1918. I can’t imagine what difficult work that must be.
Actually, it was quite nice to get out of the crowded city. Will and I had spent a long night walking around down near the markets. The streets were so crowded in the busy night streets that it was unbelievable. I had always known that Indonesia had hundreds of millions of people, but when stuck in the throngs, you can really feel it. Also, that was a disconcerting night because it was the first time I stepped over a dead body.
I have a few new reviews for you too! These were mentioned in the most recent newsletter that went out a few days ago. Both of these are short and sweet, since they are simple but great products. The first one is for sharing large files with others and moving files around between computers easily. It’s called DropBox and you can read a short DropBox Review here.
The second tool I’ve been using is for backing my files up onto the Internet (the cloud). This gives me peace of mind in case there is a fire and my local backups are also destroyed. Even if you don’t have a ton of photos and just want to back up your family digital photos, it’s a smart idea. And it’s super-cheap. You can read more at the Backblaze Review page.
from the categories: Indonesia, Jogjakarta, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 15 Comments »
July 19th, 2009| Trey Ratcliff
I had a hard-edged rule that I am now considering breaking. Who am I kidding? I’m gonna break it for sure.
Now that Ethan is eight, we’ve been able to take him to Disneyworld a few times. Isabella is three and she has never been. I had a rule that it is silly to take kids on vacation before they are five, since you really can’t form long-term memories before that age. Yes yes, I know… Some people disagree with this. Like my wife. She says it is not good that there will be a missing child from our family vacation photographs, no matter how good I am at photoshopping Isabella’s head on a stunt-body. I try to offer the counterargument that a sub-five-year-old can have the same quantifiable amount of fun (within an acceptable margin of error) while at home with Disney movies. This, then, is thrown back in my face with my three-year-old having a dangerous fascination with Cinderella’s castle. She can hardly believe that it is a real place.
So now we are going to take her to Disneyworld. Not for her, but for us. Well, also for her. Okay it’s kind of for all of us. Rule broken.
from the categories: Disney World, Florida, Nikon D2XS, Orlando, Travel | 15 Comments »
July 13th, 2009| Trey Ratcliff
This is Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi. It’s a wonderful place full of a rich bouquet of textures and light. There isn’t a bad shot of it to be had in this well-preserved Moghul tomb, and these light levels were made for HDR.
I’ve put another image of this tomb in the upcoming book. I talked a little more about the shot and some additional explanation about how it was made. When I go around and give talks, get feedback, and hear all the comments here on the blog, flickr, and facebook, I get a lot of repeat questions. I think the book will be a good chance to get them all in a nice definitive place where almost everything can be addressed. At least, I hope so!
from the categories: Delhi, India, New Delhi, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 19 Comments »
July 6th, 2009| Stuck In Customs
Lyon is one of those wonderful European cities where things look romantic and timeless from either side of the river that inevitably flows down the center.
Here is a view from one side looking across and up the hill to where the Notre Dame de Lyon resides. I’m glad they take the trouble to light it up… it gives the city a lot of character at night I think!
from the categories: France, Lyon, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 8 Comments »
July 5th, 2009| Stuck In Customs
When I was in Iceland, I made a visit to the dock area. The edges of the dock were just beginning to freeze and occasional snow would blow in and pile up. All the ships were giant, metallic, and cold. I thought about what a hard life it would be to work on one of these ships. I don’t really like being too cold and I’m not sure if the old “dress in layers” trick would work so well when out on one of these ships in the north Atlantic. Those guys that do that every day are tough!
On this one, I kept the aperture pretty wide open to minimize ship movement on the rolling water. I don’t normally tell the software to automatically align images (mentioned in the HDR tutorial), but this time I did.
from the categories: Iceland, Nikon D2XS, Reykjavik, Travel | 9 Comments »
June 29th, 2009| Stuck In Customs
I think the title says it all!
I’ve never been much of a swimmer. I mean, I can swim just fine and I’m as bouyant as anyone my age should be, but I don’t really like it as a form of exercise. THere is always so much that goes into the perparation bit of the exercise. Also, since I can’t liseten to my iPod while I swim, that’s kind of a deal-killer. I’ve heard they have some new water-proof MP3 players, but that just sounds like too much trouble all around.
Anyway, this was a 5-exposure HDR that went from -2 to +2. I’m convinced it’s the only way to shoot into the sun and get all the light levels of the details around the pool.
from the categories: Florida, Nikon D2XS, Palm Beach, Travel | 19 Comments »
June 28th, 2009| Stuck In Customs
The Taj Mahal is an extremely crowded place! People from all over India, which tends to have a lot of people, come visit this mausoleum from every corner of the country. It’s right near the northern border of the country, and I know first hand how difficult the journey can be to get to this point.
Just beyond one of the official entrances to the Taj is the interior of a huge gatehouse, that was teaming with people trying to get a closer look. I held the camera high in the air after trying to position myself as centered as possible to try to capture a sense of the huddled masses.
from the categories: Agra, India, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 16 Comments »
June 23rd, 2009| Trey Ratcliff
The morning fog coming off the top of the jungle trees was not like anything I had seen before. There was just enough morning light to give everything a twilight blue and paint the mountains in the distance a deeper color.
I tried something a little bit different with this photo. I was holding two flashlights to help me climb the temple in the morning. I think I got there about 5:30 AM when it was still pitch black, so the flashlights helped me find the right footholds and whatnot. Anyway, this was an extremely long exposure, so I used some of that time to “paint” the inside of the bell cages with the beams of my flashlights. Each of those bell cages held a solitary outward-facing Buddha. I’m glad I was there alone, because I’m sure I looked like a loon running around shining the flashlights in patterns to illuminate the Buddhas inside.
from the categories: Borobudur, Indonesia, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 22 Comments »
June 22nd, 2009| Stuck In Customs
These three guys spent at least eight hours out in the bay of Mumbai (Bombay is the British name) scooping up junk into their little boat. I know this because I kept passing the same place over and over again by the seafront. This was actually right by the Taj Mahal Hotel that was recently bombed, so I remember it very well.
After my third go-around, I leaned over the sea wall as they approached. After I got a few shots in, they all waved happily. There were not many white people around there, so I think I kinda stuck out, especially with the big ol’ camera.
from the categories: Bombay, India, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 12 Comments »
June 21st, 2009| Stuck In Customs
This wonderful landmark is always fun, but challenging, to photograph. It’s right in the middle of a roundabout that is as dangerous as that thing Bond got stuck in to test G-forces in Moonraker.
There was a recent rain, and the Champs-Élysées was shiny and perfect in the cool dusk air. I set up and kept the f stop as high as possible so that the French passerby would fall out of the frame during the long exposure.
from the categories: France, Nikon D2XS, Paris, Travel | 21 Comments »
June 20th, 2009| Trey Ratcliff
I’ll be going back to Montana towards the end of the month, so I decided to process this shot from Glacier National Park.
I took my wife and son down to the edge of the lake, and there were these giant granite blocks on the perimeter. The regular freezes and thaws around the lake created these right-angle cuts. It was nice to have them there with me… they got to hear me drone on and on about rocks and whatnot. I used to have a double-major in Geophysics and Computer Science, so I know the sorts of things about rocks that only come in handy when you have a captive audience like a family stuck on one while you are taking photos.
I ended up dropping the Geophysics part of the double-major after an ideological fight with a professor. That’s a longer story.
from the categories: Glacier Natl Park, Montana, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 16 Comments »
June 16th, 2009| Trey Ratcliff
I found this woman outside the train station in Hangzhou. She was sitting by herself waiting on someone or something. Like most Chinese, she didn’t speak a word of English, and none of my international gesticulations seemed to trigger a response. Except, that is, for the one when I asked if I could take a photo. She nodded happily and sat serenely while I grabbed a shot. I walked on, and turned around to wave. She gave me a little nod.
There are a lot of the older generation in China that I am sure are completely amazed by what is happening of late there. I wished I could have asked her a few questions, but my Mandarin is woefully inept. My 8-year-old son is taking lessons… maybe I’ll have to take him with me next time to act as translator!
from the categories: China, Hangzhou, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 22 Comments »
June 13th, 2009| Stuck In Customs
India is full of timeless slices of life like this.
I set up for this shot and then sat there for a while. I had heard some sort of aviary commotion and hoped that creatures would come streaming out at some surprise moment. I kept my finger over the trigger just in case, and then, like magic, they all came ripping out with quite a commotion. After this, I packed up my tripod and decided to head towards this little temple to see what was inside. I’ll be sure to put those up in coming weeks…
from the categories: Delhi, India, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 8 Comments »
June 12th, 2009| Stuck In Customs
I wish I could walk to dinner every night and find little places like this along the way. Since I carry my tripod and camera just about everywhere, I’d always be ready in case something like this pops up!
This was shot in Halle, Germany, just a short train ride from Leipzig. I love how these old churches are often lit with orange lights… I think it always makes them look nice against the blue dusky skies.
Setting up the tripod for these evening HDRs always allows you to set the ISO as low as possible, and in aperture priority mode, the shutter will stay open for a long time, letting those clouds drift by and drag light across the lens. It gives a nice feel to the shot and makes the church look even more timeless and solid.
from the categories: Germany, Halle, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 16 Comments »
June 10th, 2009| Stuck In Customs
If there is one thing that is almost as cool as being deep in the Himalayas, then it’s being at Disneyworld after dark near the Expedition Everest ride. This is probably one of my favorite rollercoasters, and I endeavored to stay here late one night to try to grab the moon in the right spot. The whole area is riddled with excellent little Buddhist offering temples, where you can submit fruits of offering in exchange for the blessing of not tossing your lunch right before the Yeti takes a swipe at your runaway train.
I also got a very nice Twitter message yesterday from a dad who was excited that his kids were getting him my Textures Tutorial for father’s day. I thought that was kind of cool and I was flattered! Of course, that means he’s going to have to use the techniques to make some memorable photos of his family… This is something that I always hear too… that I don’t take enough photos of the family, but I do I do! But I don’t think that the grandparents can ever be happy unless I have a webcam on them 24 hours a day like a non-stop grandchild Truman show.
from the categories: Disney World, Florida, Nikon D2XS, Orlando, Travel | 15 Comments »
June 9th, 2009| Stuck In Customs
This is an old library found in a remote temple complex in the wilds of Cambodia.
It’s hard for me to imagine what a library was like back then. A library in the 12th century must have been very interesting. Almost 1,000 years ago, I imagine it was probably filled with all sorts of fascinating scrolls and documents. Without the Internet, it must have been the most interesting thing to do on a boring day. I wonder what it would be like to rip back in time and show them the iPhone and then show them some ancient-scroll app from the App Store. I’m pretty sure the AT&T connectivity would be about as good as it is in 2009.
from the categories: Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Nikon D2XS, Siem Reap, Travel | 18 Comments »
June 7th, 2009| Trey Ratcliff
See how cool American cars used to be? And then they started getting designed by committees and focus groups and marketing experts… Did anyone see that Simpsons episode with Poochie the dog? I think about that episode a lot whenever I see a boring product flounder its way onto the scene.
Anyway, none of that has anything to do with anything… other than just as a talking point when looking back at old American cars and how much personality they used to have. This was shot at a classic car show here in Austin, which is always a great place to take the tripod for some HDR goodness…
from the categories: Austin, Nikon D2XS, Texas, Travel | 17 Comments »
June 3rd, 2009| Trey Ratcliff
Angkor Wat was built to honor the god Vishnu and his shrines fill many of the hallways and crossroads within the temple complex. This was shot in the inner part of the temple, where the walls came together to form a quincunx. The symmetry of this place was wonderful, as you can tell, so it was a real joy to move around and get a bunch of compositions that made good mathematical sense. This is something I think about a lot when I shoot… taking the entropy of the world and reducing it something that is mathematically idealized inside of the frame dimensions.
In other news, we have two Stuck in Customs Newsletter (sign up here – it’s free) styles for you to choose from! We have Choice 1 and Choice 2. Which do you like better? I’m curious to know your thoughts…
from the categories: Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Nikon D2XS, Travel | 59 Comments »
