This is probably one of my favorite times to take photos – when there is a mix of ambient and artificial light. I was heading out to go for a swim, and I thought I should just bring the camera as well – great decision. At night, I like to swim in the pool rather than the ocean… one of my only phobias is swimming in the ocean in the dark!
Man, surfing is not an easy sport to learn. Here in San Juan is where I had my first lessons. I got up a few times and enjoyed it. I definitely see the appeal, but also didn’t get quite the thrill out of it I expected. It seems that certain hobbies either just click or don’t click. For me, photography… I’d much rather take photos of surfers than actually surf.
And here are a few of my favorites from Puerto Rico!
The old town area of San Juan is perfect for capturing photos at night. I heard the area might be a bit dangerous, but I did not encounter any of that. Maybe I was lucky or something! Anyway, I spent a few hours one evening walking up and down most of the streets to explore the place while capturing a few photos like this one.
My new friend Matt Conti has made an amazing journal entry about Africa! Wow – that was a lot of work Matt! Great job and amazing photos!
Matt came out to my workshop there in Africa… so, don’t forget to sign up for the upcoming one in New Zealand!
I really do almost zero shopping, being a minimalist and stuff. However, I do like to walk into quirky looking stores to be amused and take a few photos. Like this place, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for example. Seeing little things like this brighten my day with a little surprise here and there.
This is a video I made in San Juan just before the hurricane hit. I haven’t been back, but I may go later this year to see what it’s like now. I figure this area that I show is pretty much the same… the old town is a great area to for exploration and photography. I recommend it! 🙂
When I visited the reconstructed huts across Antarctica, I was impressed by the amount of scientific work that they performed inside. If you click on this photo and zoom into 100%, you’ll see all sorts of beakers, chemicals, and other things you might find in a medieval apothecary. I can’t imagine what sorts of scientific experiments were going on because there’s not a huge amount of biological diversity down there. It’s 99% snow, ice, and water with an occasional penguin.
Amsterdam took us into the second half of the European tour and was a return to one of the places I first worked on HDR. A great chance to think about reinventing the images with my current style.
Find out more about the tour at 80stays.treyratcliff.com
I went out here with my friend Scott Jarvie for sunset and more… we had the best time roaming around the streets and seeing what we could find! I’ve heard this area could be a bit dangerous, but we certainly didn’t see anything at all. Besides, Scott is a black belt with his witty responses, so no assailant would have ever stood a chance.
I did a Live Facebook Show where I was walking around Old San Juan a bit… it’s embedded below!
I’ve been a fan of fortresses and castles ever since I was a kid. When I found out there was a big castle here just past the old-city, I had to go! And if you stay tuned for tomorrow’s photo here on the blog, you’ll see the Old City of San Juan at night… I walked over there after I took this photo. I think it’s cool when two such diverse places are so close together.
This is made from a Phantom 4 Pro and about 5 different photos. I stitched them all together in Lightroom and then ran them through sweet sweet Aurora HDR to give it a little HDR love! 🙂
Here’s the fortress in San Juan, which I never realized was practically an island. Or actually, it MIGHT be an island where you have to take a bridge. I should know these things. But I seem to remember being on a bridge… wait let me look at a map because now I am very curious. Oh yes, it is an island, as you can plainly see from this map. I took this photo just off the northern edge looking back to the southwest as the sun was setting. So what you’re seeing here is the very tip of the island.
Even though it’s my 2nd time in Puerto Rico, I never had the chance to go to this great old place in the city. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon and an evening… the food and drinks are amazing to grab in between photo shooting sessions!
Here’s a little tip video I made while there. Now that you see the video, you might see me drop in a few more “detail” shots over coming weeks and years from this place.
I kept coming back to this corner again and again… one time I got here and there was this gal crossing the street in a shapely black dress, and I thought it made the scene so much more interesting.
