I walked with this neuroscientist from Houston and a bunch of other smarty pants on a 5 hour hike around Yellowstone and over a mountain range. We didn’t bring enough water, so we would stop at snow runoff areas like this.

This was shot about an hour outside of Siem Reap in a remote temple that is not often visited. I was very happy to go and explore all the reliefs…. I could not recommend it more!

It’s closing in…

On the way to the ranch, we stopped at Artist’s Point for a little artistic fun… I didn’t have long to spend there, so I grabbed some quick shots and moved on!

This was found in the countryside of Iceland, which roughly describes most of Iceland.

I have come back to Yellowstone for another week at this private scientific conference. I’m not allowed to take any photos that show the secret location of this place, but you have to ride horses for several hours to get there…. it’s way off into the deep! Anyway, it should be a fun week… here are a few of my favorites from the last trip!

The light changed every few minutes through the morning. As the low clouds rolled across the jungle below Borobudur, you could see the nearby volcanoes poking through into the sunrise.

On the far northern plateau of Iceland, while walking through a field close to a set of imposing mountains and too close to an imposing storm, I came across this old slaughterhouse. It smelled of metallic blood as strange wind ripped around it before the rain came down.

I spent a steaming hot Saturday at the hot rod show in Austin… there was so much to shoot… I hardly knew where to begin! I figured you couldn’t go wrong with one of these red numbers…

I get a ton of emails and I am probably a horrible person because I only read a few of them. If I could clone myself, then maybe I could read them all… my apologies again to those that ask for a response but never get one… sorry I am just really backed up!

However, I did happen to read this one email - maybe the subject caught my eye (hint there!). But this gal, Nadia Sobehart from Washington University, wrote a 4000+ word paper which both analyzes my photograph of Times Square and me to a certain degree. This photograph is currently represented by Getty and it shows up all over the place in various ad campaigns, billboards, airport posters for cellphone service, Conan, taxicabs, etc.

It was very surreal for me to read about my work in this sort of a context. You can read the full article here, and I have placed a small excerpt below:

In “Times Square,” Ratcliff hints at a relationship between society and the media; this relationship questions the role of glamour in creating the Times Square image. Everything from the flashy advertisements to the eerie sky is in sync – picture perfect – except for the mass of people, who seem overwhelmed by the grandiosity of their surroundings. While the human eye normally fixates on the in-focus portions of a photograph, this is not true of “Times Square.” As a result of the bright distractions and movement, the eye instantaneously jumps to the billboards, the bright lights, and nearly avoids looking at the object in focus: the crowd of people. Complicating the suggestion that society has a relationship with the media, the article, “Recreating the City as Entertainment Center: The Media Industry’s Role in Transforming Potsdamer Platz and Times Square,” contrasts Ratcliff’s portrayal by indicating that it is not a negative relationship. Rebutting Ratcliff’s portrayal of the media as an encumbering force, Roost claims that there is a mutual relationship between the media industry and the Times Square community; in fact, the media industry is necessary and beneficial to the New York City community (Roost). Roost explains how the media is vital for the economic well-being of New York City, by providing jobs and a mass market, which is an idea that contradicts the photograph’s negative implications; it indicates that the media is actually helping society. Roost further establishes the media-Times Square connection acknowledged by Ratcliff by saying that the two complement each other for economic survival. While the media industry provides employment and economic progress, Times Square acts as the perfect center for the media industry, “[a] strategic [site] for these industries,” a place for it to truly prosper (Roost 3). He also introduces the role of society in this relationship: the community serves the media by acting as a consumer of its products (5). Roost’s article qualifies the relationship between Times Square and society, which is necessary to understand the photograph’s cultural context. This relationship between society and the media industry adds the modern premise for the Times Square-glamour relationship but says nothing of the historical context.

And here is the photo “Times Square”, itself:

Hong Kong has some of the coolest architecture in the world. Even though I have been over there a few times, I am always amazed how China is leading the way for cutting edge architecture in skyscrapers.

This was found deep inside one of the recesses on the outer periphery of Humayun’s tomb in Delhi. The deep reds and stained walks gave the place an unearthly feeling.

I consider myself very lucky to have had the opportunity to shoot with some of the best photographers in the world! And these are not just the few people that are on the cutting edge of HDR… just generally good photographers and good thinkers. There are several people out there still on my list to hit! Some of you may know who you are… the others may not!

After just getting to shoot with Kris Kros in LA, I thought I would show off a few of my favorite shots from these amazing artists…

First, in no particular order, we have the great Asmundur from Iceland:

And here is Valpopando in Naples, Italy:

Here is Rebekka in Iceland:

Here is Kris Kros from LA:

And last, here is Helga, yet another from Iceland!

Here is one of everyone’s favorites, in his prime walking the streets of downtown LA, with his camera over his shoulder, in his element.

I never thought East Germany would be such a great place for photography. There were a ton of places for good photos and it was all a bit overwhelming… It was nice to take breaks on occasion for some hearty German snacks to keep my carbs at manageable levels.

It was a cool night… much cooler than the 100 degree heat here in Austin this week! I stopped to take this picture on the way back to my hotel for the evening… people coming and going down by the pier.

My Tutorial is right here - I have over 16,500 unread emails - sorry but I am too swamped - but most of you ask for that tutorial, so there it is!