Stuck in Customs – Page 408 – Trey Ratcliff's Travel Photography blog with daily inspiration to motivate you!

Stuck In Customs

My daily travel blog to inspire and get you motivated!

Read the Blog Learn Photography

The Pink Sea Spray at Sunset and Interview with Kate Russell

Recent Interview with Kate Russell

You may remember Kate from the BBC; many years ago when she did a story about this site. She helped to make the site very popular in the UK — so we all have her to thank for that!

Kate has launched a new book called Working The Cloud, where she just posted a recent interview with me. There is a lot about business and this sort of thing, not so much about the photography. But maybe you’ll still enjoy it if you want to hear about those sorts of matters. Here is a little snippet from it:

Pinterest is another huge success for you, but is there any reason for non-visual businesses to engage with it?

TREY: Pinterest is awesome. I think I have about five million followers there and it is 90% women. Women connect the world and make it work! I know this because I was raised by my mom and sister… so I am sensitive to these things, you see. Anyway, even if, as you say, someone has a “non-visual business”, then they should still use Pinterest to build a brand around people and passions associated with the product or service. Let’s say for example, err… maybe a non-visual-business is something like… errr… let me see here, thinking out loud… well it’s hard to think of one… okay how about an accounting firm. I can’t think of anything more boring or non-visual than that. You could post photos of things that people in the accounting firm are passionate about… and you can build a personal connection that way. Let’s say that Steve, who is an expert in Irish Intellectual Property Tax Law is really into collecting steampunk stuff. Well he could pin a lot of steampunk gizmos. And Sally, who is a real killer when it comes to Inheritance Law in the Isle of Man is into candle-making. She can pin a lot of pretty candles and nonsense like that into the firm’s Pinterest with her own little personal note. That will give the accounting firm more of a human face and a bit more personality.

Daily Photo – The Pink Sea Spray at Sunset

Behind this exploding wave at Big Sur is something that I have never seen before. Why didn’t I take a photo of it? It’s because taking a good photo of a pod of whales from the beach is almost impossible! At least, it appears to be impossible for me. I’ve never seen whales so close into the beach. Maybe it happens all the time around there, but I was quite surprised. Have you ever seen a pod of whales from the beach?

The Pink Sea Spray at Sunset

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-04-25 06:36:38
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/200
  • Aperture5
  • ISO160
  • Focal Length72.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Two Events in Queenstown Today – Google Science Fair Worldwide, and a local talk!

Watch online for the Google Science Fair, Live from Wakatipu High School in Queenstown

Well, “today” is confusing in New Zealand. It’s May 8 in NZ and May 7 in the US + Europe, and, well, + everywhere.

First is the Google Science Fair, which you can see below.

Second is with NZIPP this evening. Check this post to find the local time.

The Google Science Fair – Live Today

Here is the embedded video from Wakatipu High School in Queenstown. This was a really fun event for the Google Science Fair!

Daily Photo – Queenstown from the Air

I’m happy to be back home in Queenstown!

It’s strange to me to come “home” to the kind of place I used to go on vacation. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it. There is a very nice feeling when the airplane approaches this place. If you ever have a chance to fly in here, then you will know what I mean.

Airplane pilots have to go through some kind of special training or planning before an approach here. They have to spiral down and get between the mountains. I don’t know much about it, obviously. But I do know there is a very nice pilot on Air New Zealand that is a frequent reader of the blog! He came up and said hello to me when I was on his plane one day. Hi Captain! 🙂

Queenstown from the Air

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-01-19 11:59:47
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/30
  • Aperture8
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length19.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-1

Google Glass Giveaway!

The Giant PhotoWalk Event

This will be an amazing PhotoWalk event in San Francisco soon! It’s officially sanctioned by Google and everything, and yes, I’ll be giving away Glass to one lucky person! It all takes place on May 14 in San Francisco. Sign up here on the the Official Google+ Event Page!

Just announced on the Live Show!

Join me and Thomas Hawk on the 14th. We talk more about it here when we first announced it…

How to Watch

You can watch the embedded player magically appear here live on StuckInCustoms.com just before the show goes live. You can also engage in the live chat, but join early because it maxes out quickly!

Time to Watch

Check your local time in the Google+ Event. Or, of you’re in the US, it starts tonight (Monday) at 7 PM PT, 10 PM ET.

Are you going to miss the live event because of a time commitment?

No worries. These Hangouts are recorded automatically to YouTube. It will show up on this YouTube channel.

Thanks to Chris Chabot for taking this photo! I think I look at little smarmy in it… but that’s how he made me pose.

Magical Fog in San Francisco over the Golden Gate BridgeI recently drove across the bridge and up this little mountain road to try to find this shot. I started driving up a road I knew well, but it was closed. Closed! So I parked, got out my tripod, and hiked about a mile up this hill to get to this spot. It was a very cool night, but there was some strange inversion happening. Almost anywhere I stood on the side of the hill was a stead hotel-room 72-degrees. And there was zero wind. It was a perfect night, and just when I arrived, the fog really started pouring over the bridge, so I set up for this shot...- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Stuck On Earth for Android – Closed Beta – Limited to first 10,000 testers!

It’s here!

We already had a super-closed beta a few days ago. All systems go. More systems coming online with each build!

You can get this closed beta for free in the Stuck In Customs Store (free download). When it actually launches, we will of course have it in the Google Play store. I’m targeting a day or two before Google I/O next week! If you have any bugs or suggestions, please email us at [email protected] !

We recently passed One Million updates on the iPad-only version! Amazing! If you don’t already have that one, you can jump over to the StuckOnEarthApp.com website to get the iTunes store link!

What makes Stuck On Earth so much better than Google Maps with photos? FOUR things. At least!

I built this thing for ME because I could not find a tool that helps me find the best locations quickly to take photos and save them offline for photo adventures. Here is why it is better:

1) Pin Clustering! Google Maps Photos does equal weighting to all locations. When you look at Stuck On Earth, like in the photo below of Death Valley, it clusters the pins to show you the best places to go take photos. So, without even clicking the thumbnail, you know where to go!

2) Pulling from _millions_ of geo-located photos on Flickr that are algorithmically sorted by awesomeness. It ensures (well, mostly, kinda) that most of the photos that get served up to you are primo locations chosen by photographers that know that area well.

3) A very important “human” element that is missing from Google Maps. Are you pinching and zooming near San Francisco? Then you may see Thomas Hawk’s Secret Spots in San Francisco. We have human editors around the world submitting their top 50 spots in their cities. Even better, you can submit YOUR OWN top 50 list from within the app itself by making a trip! Then you don’t just have to depend on the algorithm – *you can depend on local photographers you know and trust!*

4) Offline trip saving! I know that in the middle of a good photo-outing, sometimes internet is the last thing you have! So, whenever you create a trip, it is available for you offline. We save the photos for you, the maps, the descriptions, everything!

Above, no matter the zoom level, like this spot in Death Valley, the app will algorithmically cluster pins around the most interesting spots!

Not sure what Stuck On Earth is?

Watch this video below!

New HDR Tutorial – Free Web Version with New Videos

Fully re-vamped HDR Tutorial!

I removed and rebuilt the HDR Tutorial from the ground up! Now it is tighter, more focused, and has all my latest techniques. Those of you that purchased the latest HDR and Post-Processing Tutorial on Video from New Zealand will see a consistency between the online free version and the paid version. They got out of sync there because my technique evolves pretty fast!

Some B-roll from the video below

I’m sure many of you have seen this video below already — but you might notice during the video that you can see some of the scenes that brought today’s photo to life! 🙂

Daily Photo – The Ghostly Spirits in Milford Sound

We had a lucky morning in Milford Sound! In retrospect, it was really dumb to bring so many people to Milford when the weather could have been horrible! But man, we really lucked out! I would say there is good weather there (shootable weather) only 50% of the time.

There are many favorite little things about this photo. One of them is that little greenish island out into the bay… that has a good feeling to it, I think.

The Ghostly Spirits in Milford Sound

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-02-09 22:42:53
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/15
  • Aperture10
  • ISO50
  • Focal Length17.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-1

The Glen Oaks Big Sur

Queenstown Speaking Engagement with NZIPP

Join me in Queenstown on the 8th of May! All are welcome! 🙂

This will be a fun event! Thanks to the NZIPP for setting it all up. There is limited space, so please contact [email protected] to hold a spot for you. Here is more info below:

Beautiful hidden gem in Big Sur

I bet most people drive by this place at 60 MPH and never notice – but they should! I ended up staying here a few nights recently while I was taking photos all around the area. It’s a perfect homebase for all the hotspots in the area. Plus, the rooms are really nice, comfy, and swanky… I took a bunch of other photos I’ll share soon, but you can also see some good ones at their website. One of the photos is below: the Forest View cabin.

Daily Photo – The Cabin in the Forest at the Glen Oaks Big Sur

These trees are huge! I’ve visited these huge redwoods along the coast of California many times, and I don’t think I could ever get used to how gigantic they really are. It’s almost like an alien planet!

The cabin there is one of the many varied rooms at the Glen Oaks. They are all different, but each one is nicely appointed. I’m recommending this place to my friends who are looking for awesome lodgings in the Big Sur area!

The Cabin in the Forest at the Glen Oaks Big Sur

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-04-24 00:38:26
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/13
  • Aperture8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length16.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Behind the Scenes in Japan

New Video – Behind the Scenes in Japan

Here’s one I just edited together from my trip last week! It shows what happened while I was taking a few different photos around Mount Fuji. The video has a bunch of different tips and tricks, shows how I set up my camera, how I change lenses, how I struggle with putting on the lens hood, and lots of other goodies. Enjoy! 🙂

Daily Photo – Approaching Mount Fuji from the Old Village

What a perfect place this is!

I’ve been to Japan many times, but I never had the chance to visit Mt. Fuji! This time, Tom and I made a point to do it, and this was one of our fist stops. You can see much more about it in the video above!

Approaching Mount Fuji from the Old Village

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-04-14 07:53:54
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/640
  • Aperture10
  • ISO250
  • Focal Length32.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Google Science Fair !

Gather the kids and join me online soon!

I’ll be broadcasting live on YouTube for the Google Science Fair! You can watch online on the Event Page Here. This is a free educational event, aimed especially at kids. It’s all about science and photography.

It’s on May 7 (May 8 in some parts of the world) – check The Event Page for your local time. I’ll be joined by schoolkids from all around the world. It should be great fun!

Here is info from the event:

The Science of Photography

Digital photography offers amazing flexibility to capture and modify images. But how does the science of photography actually work? What are the basic principles of light, and how do they affect how photographers shoot? How do different cameras and lenses capture images differently? And how do software tools change the way those images are ultimately viewed?

Come to this Hangout On Air with Trey Ratcliff, the world-class photographer whose work is displayed at StuckInCustoms.com. He will be interviewed by well-known blogger, technology analyst, and amateur photographer Robert Scoble, as well as by Google Student Ambassadors. Here’s your chance to learn about the science behind those amazing images.

Tuesday, May 7, 2:00PM PT / 4:00PM CT / 5:00PM ET / 2200 GMT / 2300 CE / 900 NZDT (8 May)

Daily Photo – Close Encounters over Big Sur

I went out to take photos of the shooting stars in Big Sur last week, but I only saw a few. I took a few shots of the night skies, but I think the most interesting one was this. It reminded me of that opening scene from Close Encounters! This is what it looks like in the middle of a long exposure when a car comes up over a hill towards you…

Close Encounters over Big Sur

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-04-22 15:34:41
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time25
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO2000
  • Focal Length16.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

View from the Google Offices in Downtown Tokyo

Do you know about Stocksy?

Here is our friend Kate Russell talking about Stocksy, a new stock agency that now reps a selection of my photos. You can read more about it too on Kate’s new venture “Working The Cloud”!

Daily Photo – View from the Google Offices in Downtown Tokyo

It was a great event at Google that day and night! After my tech talk, we stayed up in their skyscraper till dark, drinking and eating and taking photos. Luckily, the office windows aim in directly the right direction out of the Roppongi Towers.

The windows were all crowded with photographers, and it was a great time. Between shots, I got the chance to talk to a lot of enthusiastic Japanese photographers. I even set up a future-photo-date with the great Takahiro-san… and he would take me to one of his secret bridge locations in Tokyo! That photo will be coming up soon…

View from the Google Offices in Downtown Tokyo

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-04-12 12:32:54
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/80
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO
  • Focal Length16.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

The Lonely Chair

Reminder on The Stuck in Customs Community on Google+

Last week I mentioned the Private Clubhouse that people can access when they purchase one of the tutorial products. But, also, there is a public Stuck In Customs community where you are welcome to join, share your photos, and see a bunch of other work from fellow community members! It is a fun way to get to know more people from around here!

Daily Photo – The Lonely Chair

This is a nice little object here, yes? I think it’s hard to find things that stand by themselves in the middle of an area that is normally cluttered.

The chair was found in one of the many decrepit and ghostly rooms inside that chateau I mentioned a few days ago. I tried to squeeze my way into every possible room, but some were too full of junk to get around. This one was well lit and ideal!

The Lonely Chair

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2012-03-16 17:36:11
  • CameraNIKON D800
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/15
  • Aperture11
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length21.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-3