Trey’s Variety Hour #20 – Google+ Photographer Discoveries!

• Our Regular Weekly Time:  Monday (Tonight!) at 7 PM PT - Your World Time
• Location to Watch:  Live.TWIT.tv (There is Live Chat there too)

#20 will be a fun one! We have great guests, all of whom will be sharing some great photographer discoveries we’ve made on Google+. There’s so many inspiring photographers on here, and we’re just getting started.

Joining me are +Thomas Hawk +Chee Chew from Google, +Gordon Laing from Cameralabs.com, +Karen Hutton and +Kelli Seeger Kim from Life Through the Lens. And, here’s just a few of the G+ Photographer Discoveries we’ll be sharing: +midori chan +Jaime Ibarra +Hengki Koentjoro +Todd Sisson +Klaus-Peter Kubik +Stefan Haworth +Klaudia J +Philippe Sainte-Laudy +Alan Shapiro+Laura Ferreira +Joe McNally +Mike Shaw +Lotus Carroll +Ivan Makarov +Vivienne Gucwa +Kerry Murphy +Mikko Lagerstedt +Ulf Bjolin

Thanks again for production help to +Dave Veffer +Tony Wang and +Lisa Kentzell

Daily Photo – Mountain and Meadow

While in Argentina, the mountain of Fitz Roy acted as the center of most of my hiking.  It was always there in the distance, towering above all else.  Even when it was enshrouded in clouds, I could still feel its heaviness beyond.

I think about 90% of my shots are landscape-orientation.  I only end up with about 10% in this portrait-orientation.  I don’t know why this is…  I can’t figure out if I am just a creature of habit or if that is the way I am wired.  But, if you ever do see one in portrait orientation like this, you can probably just assume that it required a little extra thought.

Filed under the categories: Argentina, El Chalten, Nikon D3X, Patagonia, Travel

Big News – New Show to TWIT!  Tune in Monday!

I’m excited and honored to be taking our show to Leo Laporte’s TWIT Network!  I’ve always been a fan of Leo ever since the days of the Screen Savers.  So, this is all totally surreal for me.  His new venture has been a smashing success, and his team has built proto-network of the future.

What is TWIT Live?  The network now has over 40 hours of live streaming video per week that is viewed by over 4 million people every month.  And maybe we can add a little more steam to that engine with your help.

• Our Regular Weekly Time:  Monday at 7 PM PT – Your World Time
• Location to Watch:  Live.TWIT.tv (There is Live Chat there too)

Daily Photo – TWIT Studio

Several weeks ago I went to Petaluma to visit Leo to be on his show with Catherine Hall.  We all had a great time together, as usual.  I arrived beforehand to take a few photos of the studio while he was filming MacBreak Weekly with Alex Lindsey and Andy Ihnatko (another show worthy of a podcast subscription).  Here’s the first one I wanted to share with you all.

And get ready for an amazing show for Trey’s Variety Hour #20 tomorrow night… I’m planning something special!

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Petaluma, Travel

Facebook Best-Of

I notice that my Facebook page has really taken off lately with a lot of subscribers.  So, I’ve been putting a bunch of my old favorites there on FB.  I think most people there have never seen them!  Of course, they are all from the blog here… maybe even a few years ago… but it has been kind of fun to dredge up some of the old favorites!

So if you’re new here to the blog, you may enjoy visiting my timeline there too!

Daily Photo – Mountains Forever

During the Yosemite PhotoWalk, the sky was beyond belief for the first few nights.  The second half of the trip had fairly mundane skies.  So, I was happy I went out there and got a lot of shots in the beginning!

I’m often optimistic about the “future” of the trip, assuming that the sunsets will always get better and better.  This rarely is the case, so I don’t know why I’m consistently optimistic about the prospects.

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, Travel, Yosemite

The Business of Photography

This is Hangout #16 (an older one that just got uploaded — we are on Hangout #19 already!).  This one is about the business of photography, and I invited various people that make money in photography in different ways.  Enjoy!

People involved included Gordon Laing, James Brandon, Cliff Baise, Dave Veffer, Keith Barrett, RC Concepcion, Anna Rumiantseva, and Jacob Lucas.

Daily Photo - Gentle Hills and Summer Storm in New Zealand

While driving from Nelson to the south, we went through an area with many vineyards and pastoral scenes.  I mean, it doesn’t get any more pastoral than this.  In fact, it’s so pastoral, it’s almost a time-warp and everything is in slow motion.

I stopped the car and jumped over a fence to walk out into a field to frame this shot.  I thought it might work from the road, and I was in a bit of a hurry to get this weather system before it moved along too far.

Filed under the categories: Nelson, New Zealand, Nikon D3X, Travel

Art.com Feature

Pop over to Art.com and check out the front page – does that guy look familiar?

SOPA / PIPA – Why I’m Against It

I think that we, the architects of the internet, are able to create bottom-up solutions for current and future problems. A good example of this is Creative Commons, and here I am at Google talking about how it affects “piracy” in my world of digital photography.  Jump ahead to the 11 min mark, when I start talking about this subject in particular.

Daily Photo – Entering the Chunnel

I remember the day as a kid I first heard about the Chunnel (the famous tunnel that connects England and France).  I wanted to go through it as soon as I could!  Well, it took a long time but eventually it happened.

I bought the tickets ahead of time and was sure to get to the station in London to take photos ahead of time.  I love all train stations – old and new.  Even the new train stations in London have sort of an old feel… it’s hard to explain.

When I was on the train and we left the station, I decided to turn on the GPS on my Android.  I’ll never forget it.  I saw my little dot ripping across the English countryside.   It was so awesome.  And then it disappeared when we hit the water.

Filed under the categories: England, London, Nikon D3X, Travel, UK

Stuck On Earth hangout

We had a great hangout to talk about Stuck On Earth (iTunes Link), the community, and more.  Here is a recording.  Enjoy!

Daily Photo – Darkness in the City

Sometimes the art gets a little bit dark, yes?  These moods are kind of good and kind of fun… and productive in a few different ways.

I found this location through Stuck on Earth.  We have a Top 50 Secret Spots list in the app from my friend Thomas Hawk.  It got me a great shot looking in the other direction.  But then, I very simply turned around and saw this out the other window!

Filed under the categories: California, Nikon D3X, San Francisco, Travel

CHANCE OF A LIFETIME ! ! !

Join me and +Tom Anderson (yes, the MySpace guy!) on a secret adventure around the world, from one side to the other and back around again. Countless cities. Endless adventure. You’ll be paid. You’ll be fed. You’ll be given shots to protect you from Dengue Fever.

Are you a DP/SHOOTER with impressive experience? Can you meet all the criteria below?

PROJECT
Shooting an independent documentary. This is going to be a bare bones ENG style crew with no “official” camera assist.

POSITION
DP/SHOOTER who has documentary experience. Must know how to set up & light interviews. Must be able to run & gun.
• DP/SHOOTER is expected to manage and prep all their own gear.
• Showrunner/Director will also assist with camera prep when necessary, or shoot B-camera.

FORMAT
We will probably shoot on something like the Sony EX3 (or its equivalent). We may also shoot some DSLR for b-roll/character saga sells.

CONTACT
email jwengdoc@gmail.com
◦ Reel and references please!
◦ Reel and references please! (repeated on purpose)

Daily Photo – Epic Iceland

I have many things in common with Tom.  One of them is the love of “Epic” scenes.  These mostly come from movies, but it spans many different pursuits.  He’s the only other guy I met that can also quote scenes from Lawrence of Arabia.

So, obviously I do like to find epic scenes in the world, and I feel like Iceland is full of them.  Capturing them the right way is another ball of wax, but that is most of the fun.

Filed under the categories: Iceland, Isafjordur, Nikon D3X, Travel

Big Chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity tomorrow!

Be sure to watch this space tomorrow…  something very very very very cool is coming…  I’m excited to offer it to you here on the blog!

Daily Photo – Blade Runner

I was staying at my friend Tom’s house (see the post tomorrow!!!) in the Hollywood hills, and we decided to head off to one of the nearby trails that overlooks the city.  I took photos in one direction of Century City, but then turned around to zoom in on downtown LA to get this shot.

I don’t know if this is fog or a cloud or smog or a combination of all of them, but it made for a lucky and nice effect!

Filed under the categories: California, LA, Nikon D3X, Travel

New Authors Coming Online

We have many new authors over at Flatbooks.com (as well as many new ebooks!).  Check out the Authors section to see who is working on upcoming books.  Very exciting!

Daily Photo – The Forbidden City

Early one morning I decided to hike up the biggest hill in the middle of Central Axis to get a shot of the Forbidden City.

Once up there, it was an amazing view of the old city.  There’s not many cities in the world that have kept such a huge area so well preserved.  It’s about as close as you can get to time travel in the real world (so far).  And then, when the light is right in these strange hours, it is a completely transportive experience.

Filed under the categories: Beijing, China, Nikon D3X, Travel

The Video – DSLRs are Forever?

What’s going on with the future of cameras? How are many pros thinking about this? DSLRs versus mirrorless? Join me, Zack Arias, Gordon Laing from Cameralabs.com , Frederick Van Johnson, James Brandon, Kelli Seeger Kim, RC Concepcion.

Daily Photo – The Minecraft Waterfall

Speaking of Minecraft, our server is up and running again.  Drop a note below if you want to join.  I had to kick a kid and ban him from the server because he was destroying stuff and acting uncool.  The rules are simple… don’t destroy stuff, don’t steal, and don’t defile the farm animals.

This waterfall reminds me of one of those long never-ending waterfall/rivers from Minecraft.  Except, it’s kind of 100x more awesome because it is real.  There are hundreds of these all over Iceland.  The water just keeps coming and coming… I’m often curious as to where it all coming from because the hills beyond seem so gentle.

Filed under the categories: Iceland, Isafjordur, Nikon D3X, Travel

Schemer

Have you heard of Google Schemer?  I believe it is in beta.  That is a link to my personal page… It’s a fun way to find things to do “in the real world” and I’ve been using it from time to time.

If you want an invite, watch my Google+ Stream later today for a little giveaway…

Daily Photo – From The Top of the Great Wall

Far in the north, this area of the Great Wall has been overgrown with vegetation.  Birds and little creatures are all over the place.  A path has been made over time, and it weaves in and out of these overgrown bits.  The wall is so wide that it’s sometimes easy to forget that you are standing on top of a huge structure.

Filed under the categories: Beijing, China, Nikon D3X, Travel

New Android App!

We released a new Android App called “Photo Voyages of Trey Ratcliff” – It’s available now!

Reminder – Live Hangout Tonight!

• NEW Guests: +Romain Guy from Google, one of the minds behind the camera phone for the new+Android Galaxy Nexus… maybe can goad him into hot tips! +James Brandon from Digital Photography School; +Gordon Laing from CameraLabs.com ; +Frederick Van Johnson from This Week in Photo ; +Kelli Seeger Kim from Behind the Lens; and +RC Concepcion from Kelby Media. Join us Live!
• Time: Tonight Thurs at 8 PM PT – Your World Time
• Where: Watch my Google+ Stream for the embedded player.

Daily Photo – The Opposite Hotel

What an amazing hotel in the heart of Beijing!  Thank you all for the suggestion to go here…  I love this kind of neo-modern-techno architecture, so it was a real treat to run around and take photos everywhere.  I was like a man possessed This is the lower pool area.  It was dark in there for sure.  I used a tripod to make sure the exposure was long enough to get the effect I was going for.The video on the right is from another part of the hotel… up in my room… where you can see some cool things as well as what was in my bag.

Filed under the categories: Nikon D3X, Travel