Working on some new videos

I’ve been working hard on a bunch of new videos to share soon. The editing is the part that takes the most time! I have a plan (half-baked) to get an assistant here to help me edit together these videos so that I might better be able to share more stuff with you… little behind-the-scenes… more screen-casting, and this sort of thing. I edit so many photos per week… I’d like to capture more of it to share. I’ll get on this…

Daily Photo – In The Sun

I was working on some photos from Argentina (one from yesterday you might have noticed, and this was in the batch. Most of my Argentina shots were of rugged landscapes… so I thought maybe you might something a little less rugged here…

Filed under the categories: Argentina, El Chalten, Model, Patagonia, Travel

In the Store

Some of you may have noticed that we dropped a few new camera straps into the store! I just got done shooting with them here in NZ for the past several weeks and I can vouch for them! One of them in particular (the higher-end one) is actually super-cool because you can have the strap over your shoulder and it slides OR attach to your tripod without needing it to be unattached! So, the sliding attachments are where the regular strap normally goes, which opens up the bottom for your tripod bracket. Store Feedback The store is almost out of beta, and it’s been interesting to watch how everything is working. It’s a totally new system. Our previous system kinda sucked — sorry about that. I felt like it used to be quite sloppy and the UI was a mess. The cart was confusing and so was checkout. But now everything feels quite smooth! And we are seeing lots of people put a lot of different things into the basket. For example, sometimes people buy a some Lightroom Presets AND the Photomatix Presets. Anyway, if you have any feedback, please let me know – I’m curious!

Daily Photo – The Cool Fresh Water

This is maybe some of the freshest water I’ve ever had! It was so icy cold, it was like a blast of frigid freshness into my mouth… I got in the habit of not filling up my water bottle until I visited this glacial lake… I was here for about three days… just relaxing, taking photos, and camping… it was very nice!

Filed under the categories: Argentina, El Chalten, Patagonia, Travel

EXIF Info

For you camera nerds (Like me!) here is the EXIF: ISO 5000, 16mm (prime fisheye), Nikon D800, f/2.8, 25 second exposure. Remember that you can always see this EXIF info yourself by clicking through on SmugMug then clicking the little “i” to see more.

I don’t do HDR with night shots like this… there is too much star movement… and I’m not sure it would add too much. You can still get a ton of light and color (especially in a place like this) with just the RAW file.

Daily Photo – The Church of the Good Shepherd under the Stars

This is one of The Darkest Skies in the World. You may find this snippet interesting: “A delegation from the country has successfully petitioned UNESCO for the protection of ‘sky-scapes’ as well as landscapes under their World Heritage system, in order to see the status granted to the air above Tekapo and Aoraki Mount Cook.”

If you ever get to this place, you’ll be so shocked that you can see this with the naked eye! It’s certainly worth a visit…

Filed under the categories: Lake Tekapo, New Zealand, Nikon D800, Travel

Problems with the Private Stuck In Customs Clubhouse?

Many of you already know that when you purchase some of the tutorials from store here (link at very top) that you get entry to the private clubhouse. Just over a month ago we switched it to a new system on Google+. If you’re having any trouble at all, be sure to contact support@stuckincustoms.com to make sure you get it all worked out. Humans are standing by to help!

Daily Photo – Somewhere along the coast

Can someone help me identify this spot? I’m so embarrassed that I have no memory of this. Usually I tag my photos with the location, but this one is completely unknown! I know it was somewhere here in New Zealand, and I took it back in 2010 during my first road trip across the whole country… but it could be anywhere!

Filed under the categories: New Zealand, Travel

Chook Update

In addition to our new dog, my wife has also found it necessary to get three chickens. We built a special coup and stuff. And then after we built it, she decided she wanted it on the other side of the house. The chooks did not help with that move. And here we are, about 15 weeks into it, and these chooks have only laid THREE eggs. She says it’s because their too young… I don’t know what to believe any more with these damned things.

Daily Photo – Feeding Chooks in Feng Huang

When in Feng Huang, I decided to go down to the river to take some photos. There was a direct way, but I thought it might be more interesting to zig-zag my way there through alleys. One of the most wonderful things about China is how safe it is. I never had any fear for my life or anything as I move around these places. It’s so safe, in fact, that it’s almost eerie! But, eerie in a good way, of course…

Filed under the categories: China, Feng Huang

Taking Photos During PhotoWalks

This is a very hard thing for me, actually! I’m often so busy talking or explaining or whatever, that it’s quite difficult for me to concentrate on a good shot. Also, the other strange thing is that I can only shoot forward. If I ever see something behind me, man, forget it. There are a lot of people standing in the way, and it seems so rude to tell them to move! So, I just skip it and try to find something inside the forward bit of my viewcone!

Daily Photo – Sydney Glows at Sunset

During the Sydney photowalk, we ended up with some nice skies! I always love a bit of drama in the skies… makes everything a bit more exciting and epic I think. And just after the sun set, there were a few interesting splashes of color in the sky to break it up.

Filed under the categories: Australia, Sydney, Travel

Stuck On Earth Android Development Begin

In this video below, Robert Scoble got an early look at the Stuck On Earth ( Free! www.stuckonearthapp.com ) when it launched. The Good news is that we’ve finally begun development on the Android version. Many of you know that I’m an avid Android user and I love my Nexus phone and Nexus tablet!

I’m soooo excited about the Android version. When will it be done? When it’s done!

Daily Photo – Reflections in Yosemite

I’m currently with Karen Hutton and many other people in New Zealand. One of my previous trips with Karen was to this very place! We jumped around mud bank after mud bank until we found a clean reflection. It was quite cold… I think we were both thinking of getting back inside for something warm to drink!

Filed under the categories: California, Travel, Yosemite

Selling Cans of Fresh Air in China

Related to today’s post, I saw that some people have taken to selling cans of fresh air! Remember Spaceballs?

Actually, I have a fairly pragmatic view of all of this… All industrialized nations go through this pollution curve until the society becomes efficient enough to take care of its own environment. Things don’t get worse and worse. They get pretty bad, and then it ramps back down. Most western societies went through this curve already… I think it’s extra bad in China because they have 10x as many people as any Western civilization that went through the same curve.

I’ll be back in China in a few months… I’ll see if it is really worse than previous years.

Daily Photo – A moody evening at the Great Wall

One of the good things about the haze around parts of China are the moody sunset hours. You rarely get those epic cloud-sunsets, but instead things drift away into black through a myriad assortment of colors.

Filed under the categories: Beijing, China, Travel

New HDR and Post-processing Video Available!

We finally have everything wrapped up in a neat little package for you! Check it out here! As always, we will give you all your money back if you don’t learn a ton about HDR, post-processing, and creating amazing images. I’ve linked you there to the bonus version, which costs $4 more, but contains all the bonus stuff, in addition to all the standard items below! Tutorial Includes Part 1 – Trey Ratcliff Photoshoot (823 MB) Part 2 – Trey Ratcliff Post-processing (2.7 GB) Part 3 – Miss Aniela Photoshoot (2 GB) Part 4 – Miss Aniela Post-processing (1.2 GB) Bonus Video – Photo Composition (955 MB) Bonus Video – Miss Aniela Tiger Photo (2.7 GB) Sample Working Files Part 1 (640 MB) Sample Working Files Part 2 (811 MB) Sample Working Files Part 3 (645 MB) Access to Private Clubhouse Community

Daily Photo – Afternoon at the Chateau

Here is one of the many images created during the workshop. I decided I liked this slightly off-center version rather than right down the middle. I loved the one right down the middle too, of course, but just was giving the situation a bit of a curve-ball. The tree branches seemed so interesting to me, and I wanted to accentuate them in post processing so they felt like one hundred little arrows, all pointing at the chateau.

Filed under the categories: France, Nikon D800, Paris

Speaking of fishing…

I’m running into an increasing number of people who call themselves “Pescatarians” – vegetarians that also eat fish. Have you run into these sorts too? I think I’m pretty close to that actually… I do find myself mostly eating veggies and fish lately…

Daily Photo – Fishing on Oahu

The rugged coasts along Oahu make for some lay-up (as Tom calls them) photos. Everything is quite rugged and dramatic. But, even if it was not for the drama of the scene, I think this fisherman is extra-dramatic! I didn’t see anything actually caught, but I would think it would be some giant dramatic fish.

Filed under the categories: Hawaii, Oahu, Travel

Movie Premieres

The State Theater below is apparently where they also have some of the major movie premieres in Sydney. This is not news to all the good Aussies out there, but it’s cool to think about all the big movies that have first shown here. I used to go to movie premieres all the time, but now that I am in a smaller town, it’s not so much of a big deal any more… but I do miss it!

Daily Photo – On stage at the State Theater in Sydney

What an amazing place! I don’t think it is that secret, but I had no idea that such a grand place existed, hidden away! Well, it’s not exactly hidden, but I don’t think anyone walking by on the street past the humble entrance would know what awaits inside.

This is next-door to the QT Sydney (link to previous blog entry about that hotel), where I stayed while I was there. I toured around inside here with Alexia Sinclair, and she’s always been keen to shoot it too in one of her more dramatic pieces. Maybe we’ll see one of these in the future!

Filed under the categories: Australia, Nikon D800, Sydney, Travel

Photomatix Presets now in the mix!

Get the new Photomatix Presets! Ever since one of the newer versions of Photomatix (Don’t have Photomatix yet? Go use the STUCKINCUSTOMS discount to save money), I’ve been trying out a bunch of different presets. Those thumbnails really do a good job of giving you some indication as to the results of the preset. I’ve created a ton of these, and whittled them down to my favorite 23 for this package. You’ll notice that some of the presets look great for some photos and horrible on others. Then, when you load in a different set of photos, the situation will be reversed! This is because some of the presets are better for interiors, some better for exteriors, a mix, etc etc. Enjoy!

Daily Photo – The Lost Cliffs of Oahu

This is a very very very rare re-processing of a photo! I usually never go back to a work.. so, this is more the exception than the rule.

But I started trying a few different things with Photomatix (that you can see in the presets above), and I just like the overall feel of the photo better than the previous version. I don’t see myself going back to re-do whole swaths of photos… this one just grabbed me for some reason.

Filed under the categories: Hawaii, Oahu, Travel