I’m doing TEN (count ’em 10) free photo walks across Europe… also a few special day-long workshops. Wanna see the list of places? Come check out the new site at 80stays.treyratcliff.com!

See your city? Tell your friends! 🙂

These photo walks are family friendly events and all are welcome. Bring a friend or two! 🙂 Anything from a mobile phone to a DSLR will do swimmingly. I share lots of tips and tricks, do Q&A, and more… even better, we get to roam part of the city taking photos together. Come on out – I can’t wait to meet you! 🙂

Midnight in Paris

This was one of my favorite collaborations! I’m looking forward to doing more of these. If you want to get it, pop into the store and get the Midnight in Paris video!

Daily Photo – Down in the French Dungeon

Right outside of Paris, we rented a mansion for a few days to hold a great event! While there, we, of course, went down in the dungeon to get some photos… it’s a fairly extreme HDR situation as you might imagine! We all really had a great time, and it was amazing to see what Miss Aniela created down here!

Down in the French Dungeon

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-03-16 19:22:10
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time2
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1

Spartacus

Here’s a wild show recommendation. Remember the move “300”? If you liked that kind of raw, ethereal, slow-motion absolute violence, then I recommend all four seasons of Spartacus. I know it’s probably a ridiculous thing to say, but I watched every episode and enjoyed them all! It connects to my base male-side, unapologetically. There are really beautiful, interesting, and intense scenes. It’s not for the faint of heart. There’s some of the most intense violence and sex you’ve ever seen, but if you’re cool with that, then jump on board for a wi

Daily Photo – A Sunset After the Bullfight in Nimes

Who would have thought some of the best Roman ruins were in Nimes, France? Not me! But they are. I find them generally better preserved than the ruins in Rome itself! I’ve always been a fan of Roman history, so I geek out when I see this stuff. In this same arena, the following night, I saw Sting perform, which was a most wonderful anachronism.

A Sunset After the Bullfight in Nimes

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2010-09-18 12:59:02
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/4
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

On Another Episode of The New Screen Savers

The New Sony A7Rii and the RX100 Mark 4 — talking about them with Leo Laporte on The New Screen Savers.

This was a fun show for sure… all kinds of stuff actually happened… this is the “highlight reel” kinda with just my stuff on there… but you can also see a little Catherine Hall action!

See my Sony A7r Review at or go watch the full episode here: https://twit.tv/shows/new-screen-savers/episodes/8

Midnight in Paris: Video Tutorial

Don’t forget to check out the Midnight in Paris video tutorial here on the site… it’s a winner and I’m sure you’ll discover some great stuff in

Daily Photo – Nearly Midnight in Paris

Here’s one of my favorite images during our time at this amazing chateau near Paris. We had a fabulous weekend there and I was happy to meet so many new friends. I hope you enjoy the video series above!

Nearly Midnight in Paris

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-11-08 20:50:13
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time2
• Aperture2.8
• ISO280
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Updated the Sony A7r Review

I’ve just added more photos and info to the Sony A7r Review here on the site – check it out! 🙂

Does anyone know the history here?

So, I do like the photo I posted today, but there is ONE thing that REALLY bothers me. When you see it, you can’t unsee it. Go ahead… take a moment to look.
…
Did you see it? You see how there is not real symmetry here? The triangle is right in the middle, but if you follow that hallway straight, then it is way off to the side. It’s not even close, really, even though everything else around the Louvre is symmetrical and perfectly placed. I can’t figure out why this one particular (and major north/south corridor) is so off-center, and I was wondering if there is a reason for it. It must have been some major problem in the construction that no one realized until later. And I’m sure it bothered everyone that was involved with the process… anyway, probably going down a rat hole here…

Daily Photo – Arriving at the Louvre in the Late Evening

No matter how you approach the Louvre it is impressive. The entire building is the Louvre — that pyramid bit is just the entrance. I remember when I was a kid and they built that pyramid bit and how controversial it was. Now I can’t imagine this place without it! It would be even better if there was total symmetry with all the interdependent hallways (*ahem*!)

Arriving at the Louvre in the Late Evening

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-11-07 20:30:18
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time8
• Aperture5.6
• ISO50
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

From the Midnight in Paris Tutorial

We did a great event last year in Paris. Most of you may already know about it, but here’s a video about it in case this is new to you! Today’s photo was taken from the event as well…

Daily Photo – The Chateau at the End of the Lane

You’d be amazed how inexpensive it is to rent a whole chateau for the day! There are SO MANY of them all over France, and a ton of them just sit there empty. It’s so crazy-expensive to run them and maintain them that they just kind of sit there collecting dust. I was afraid that when we rented this place it would be like $10,000 for a few days or something, but it was all less than $1,000 I believe. What a deal! And, when we were inside on the first day, it was so strange… it was kind of like we had the whole place to ourselves and we didn’t know what to do with all the space and all the power! It was kind of dizzying — but at least it was dizzying in a beautiful place.

The Chateau at the End of the Lane

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-11-08 15:39:22
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length160.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

80 Days – 8,000 Photos

Today’s photo you may recognize from this video sequence below! 🙂

Daily Photo – Cute Cat in Paris Market

Whenever I walk around cities, I carry two different cameras. One has a lens for landsapes and wide-angle stuff. That one is usually also on a tripod. For the second one, I carry a different lens for portraits, street photography, or “found things” photography. Like this! I walked into a little market by a subway entrance and it was full of hundreds of tiny little things here and there…

Cute Cat in Paris Market

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2010-09-17 00:00:00
• CameraNIKON D3S
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture1.4
• ISO2500
• Focal Length50.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Post-Storm Shooting

I’ve ended up getting some of my best photos if I just ride out a storm and wait for sunset. Of course, you never know when a storm will end, but I’m trying not to give up lately. I mean, rather, sometimes when it is raining hard around 4 or 5 PM, sometimes my instinct is just to give up the sunset, but every now and then, things really work out well. So I have to keep reminding myself of this!

Daily Photo – Paris after the storm

What a crazy night in Paris this was! It was raining all day and totally depressing. Then, magically, at the end of the day, the skies opened up and went silent while every type of cloud and light started to recede. Some very low clouds were drifting by the Eiffel Tower while the lights of the city shone up through them. It was all so overwhelming — I was having so much fun while taking this photo!

Paris after the storm

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-11-09 20:38:16
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time2
• Aperture4.2
• ISO200
• Focal Length48.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Wide Angle on Corners

These tight-angled corners are great for photos, but they look even better if you back up with a bit of a wide-angle lens. You can get a sense of the effect in the photo below!

Daily Photo – Another Corner in Paris

Whenever I get back into my processing mode and I come across a photo I took of some corner in Paris, I think to myself, “Trey, why didn’t you just stay out all night and take photos of corners until your fingers bled?” I don’t know! I know when I am there, I get a little overwhelmed and lose a little bit of perspective on the whole thing… I need to work on this!

Another Corner in Paris

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2012-11-11 22:14:29
• CameraNIKON D800
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

HDR Tutorial

The text version of the HDR Tutorial is looking pretty good here on the site now! Be sure to give it a quick visit if you haven’t been in a while!

Daily Photo – The Crystal Forever in Sainte Chapelle

I decided to have a little fun with this shot!

It’s one of my favorite photos from France inside the Sainte Chapelle. When I was there, I managed to sneakily get my tripod into position, much to my wife’s chagrin. Oh, and the chagrin of security once they finally discovered my rouse (which is very difficult to hide, btw). Anyway, I got my shots before getting in trouble… and then I decided to make the most interesting bit and reflect it downwards upon itself to give it more of a feeling of infinite crystal.

The Crystal Forever in Sainte Chapelle

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2011-07-21 06:28:39
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time0.7
• Aperture4
• ISO250
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+3