Stuck In Customs

Want to follow the pre-launch activities?

Follow me @TreyRatcliff and the #NASATweetup hashtag on Twitter.

Also, Robert Scoble (and many others) will be with me at the launch, and I figure we’ll be using Google+ quite a bit too to post updates, photos, and the like, so that’s another fun place to watch.

Daily Photo – Sun Busting Through Stormclouds at NASA

I was in the Tweetup tent doing something terribly important but completely inscrutable when Stu Maschwitz came in and told me that the storm clouds were breaking upon our shores. So I got my little rig and went outside to see the matter.

We get these kind of huge powerful summer clouds in Texas too. The kind that roll in on a too-hot day and you have a feeling that something powerful is a-comin’. You tie down the cows and take the favorite sheep down to the basement because it’s gonna be a long night…

The sun darted in and out of the clouds, and I grabbed it just as it peeked through a small hole it tore in the thunderhead.

Portfolio on Picasa

Because of Google+ (my profile), I’ve ended up putting some of my portfolio over on Picasa too.  I feel like I spend a good portion of my day just moving bits of data from one part of the web to another!  Anyway, I’m not as happy with it as I am with my portfolio over at SmugMug (see my SmugMug Review), but it does make it easy to share in Google+.

Daily Photo – Dinner at the Post Ranch Inn

This is the second photo I have released from the Post Ranch Inn (first one here).  It’s such a beautiful place, and, while not exploring the property, we were busy looking forward to a great dinner.

Just outside the restaurant is this earthy sculpture and waterfall.  It was very nice the way the evening light came and refracted through the water…  I don’t think I’ve ever been able to watch the sunset through a sheet of water, so it was quite nice.

And the food was great too… a multi-course fixed price menu… It wasn’t cheap, mind you.  It’s one of those meals where I ended up paying over $100 before the menus even arrived.  But it was all tasty and memorable.

http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/10668747_AuyBk/1329675764_Cm

Google+ Invites – How-to-System

This system helps your friends get into the invite queue! It may take a bit, but all systems are go. I’ve met hundreds of people in Google video hangouts so far… may see you soon too! 🙂

[Note: Once you are invited, it may take a bit to get the email as Google+ is throttling incoming members.]

1) Already in Google+?  We need your help!  Jump to step 3!

2) Come to StuckInCustoms Facebook Page and see if you can find a thread that has remaining invitations. Put your email in that thread (not on the wall).

3) Accept your invite when it arrives, then return to the StuckInCustoms Facebook Page and pay it forward by saying, “I have 10-15 (whatever) invites for Google+ so leave your email below and I’ll get you in!”

4) To invite people in, create a new circle and fill it with email addresses that need access.

5) Share a post or photo with that circle, and it will ask you if you want to email people not in Google+. Say yes, and they will get an email invite!

And, if you are looking for me in Google+, here is My Google Profile.

Google+ Tips

– Come see this thread if you are looking for Tips on video Hangouts!

– Here is a Photographer’s List in Google+

– Here is Part 2 of the Photographer’s List in Google+

Daily Photo – Long Road in Montana

This is the road I got stuck on after my 4-wheeler caught on fire. Now, of course, I had all my photography equipment with me… who wouldn’t take a whole host of photo equipment on a 4-wheeler joyride? I don’t know! I mean, you gotta be ready just in case the dang thing catches on fire!

And further down that road, a few days later, I saw this… I posted this a while ago, but I’m re-posting in case you missed it…

http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/10668747_AuyBk/742619594_aN6zA

OTW To Florida

I’m coming in for the final shuttle launch and I heard about a secret thing… Nikon has a special room/building at NASA that is full of lenses and all kinds of awesome stuff! I just need my NPS (Nikon Professional Services) card and I can be a kid in a candy store. Now, all of this sounds way too good to be true, but I’ll swoop in there to get the full scoop and let you know. (I even heard they have a 1200mm prime laying around!)

Daily Photo – The Endeavor Lifts Off

So, when I took this, I was using two different cameras. The first one was my D3X with the 28-300mm lens on a tripod, and that is how I got this one. It’s an HDR from a single RAW.

Not long after this, the buffer filled up and it started to shoot slowly, so I went to my second camera around my neck, the D3S with a 50mm prime. And I got the second shot below.

Big Lenses

Are you the type of person that uses big lenses a lot? I admire you! I don’t…and after lugging this 600mm around for a while, I really got a good sense of what some of the hardcore bird/animal photographers do…

Daily Photo – Girl in Ocean

I got this 600mm from BorrowLenses.com to take photos of the shuttle on my first trip. Since the shuttle didn’t take off, Scott and I decided to go to the beach and take photos of girls from a distance like real creeps. I openly admit it… we looked downright creepy up there with two huge lenses, peering in every which direction until we saw something interesting.

Then I saw this gal splashing around in the waves with her friends… seemed like a good subject so I took a few shots. With the 600mm I was so far away, that she would have had no idea I was taking them. This made it all feel even more sketchy, but, you know, having said all that, I’m quite happy with the shot.

Updated Google+ Invite System

See the new steps below… this has gotten a lot of people in, so it should work for now. I had 3 great video hangout sessions last night will all sorts of people… very interesting to meet and talk with people from all over the world. The video hangout may be the coolest thing!

1) Come to StuckInCustoms Facebook Page and see if you can find a thread that has remaining invitations. Put your email in that thread (not on the wall).

2) Accept your invite when it arrives, then return to the StuckInCustoms Facebook Page and pay it forward by saying, “I have 10-15 (whatever) invites for Google+ so leave your email below and I’ll get you in!”

3) To invite people in, create a new circle and fill it with email addresses that need access.

4) Share a post or photo with that circle, and it will ask you if you want to email people not in Google+. Say yes, and they will get an email invite!

And, if you are looking for me in Google+, here is My Google Profile.

“See More Photos…”

You may notice a slight change to the bottom of every post.  I took away the emphasis on “categories,” and say in more plain English:  See more photos from Iceland, Isafjordur, Nikon D3X, Travel.  This should help you explore more from this area if you find them interesting!

Daily Photo – Oceanscream

Early one morning while weaving through the fjords, a cell of dark clouds roiled across the sky. The low sun kept them in impossible colors and the air vibrated with a coming storm.

This is up on the edge of the arctic circle where one fjord may be covered in clouds while the next is wide open and clear. There are hundreds of little microclimates that change from one hour to the next, so if things don’t look good in one fjord, just spend 30 minutes driving over to the next one, and maybe something different will present itself. Surely by now, you see why I like Iceland so much in the summer…

http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/10668747_AuyBk#1355895620_kt6c5

Google + Invites

I’d love to invite the whole community here into Google+, and think I have a way. But, please, follow these rules otherwise things get messy.

Now, I handed out 10 invites yesterday, and I asked those 10 people to make a post on our StuckInCustoms Facebook Page once they were in. Then others could post below that and perhaps the first 10 or so (discretion and time of the inviter) can get in.

It was supposed to be simple, but it ended up in a bit of a cluster because everyone just wrote their own email address right on the wall, asking for an invite.

So, please follow these rules for an orderly pyramid invitation system for inviters and invitees.

1) Come to StuckInCustoms Facebook Page and see if you can find a thread that has remaining invitations. Put your email in that thread (not on the wall).

2) Accept your invite when it arrives, then return to the StuckInCustoms Facebook Page and pay it forward by saying, “I have 10-15 (whatever) invites for Google+ so leave your email below and I’ll get you in!”

3) To invite people in, create a new circle and fill it with email addresses that need access.

4) Share a post or photo with that circle, and it will ask you if you want to email people not in Google+. Say yes, and they will get an email invite!

And, if you are looking for me in Google+, here is My Google Profile.

Where do you keep your passport?

When you travel, where do you secure your passport? Now, I’ve taken to keeping it in my front pocket of my jeans or cargo shorts. I’ve stopped leaving it in the room after it was stolen in China (from a very respectable hotel). I used to sometimes keep it in a safe, but that is kind of a pain… so, front pocket for me. The back pocket is too dangerous because it can easily be picked. And I can’t bring myself to wear one of those things around my neck like I’m a 6 year old traveling alone on an airplane.

Daily Photo – Night Settles In Feung Huang

There is a general poetic peace when it begins to go dark outside and the town comes alight with shopkeepers and villagers come out to turn on the lights. If you look around, you can see them popping on, one at a time, like little fireflies coming out to play for the evening.

This area is no different, and it’s made even more magical by the little river that flows through the middle of it all. And then you are faced with all these nice decisions… where to eat? where to drink? where to find an inn for the night?

Google Plus

Here is my Google Profile, so feel free to add me if you are using Google+. It’s pretty cool, and I find it’s super easy and fun to make groups with circles.

Be Careful!

So, today’s shot reminds me of good man David duChemin, who recently took a serious tumble while getting a photo. He was laid up in the hospital for a long time and things looked pretty grim. He’s on the mend… and a nice way to show support is to pop over and check out some of David’s new eBooks! He has an amazing selection over there, and it’ll be something that benefits you too.

Anyway, today’s photo looks pretty scary yes? Do you think I would actually walk out on that ice to get this shot? Heck no… there are lots of ways to get interesting looking shots without pushing the limits… so, just because a shot LOOKS like it was dangerous does not mean it was… don’t let my shots or other shots make you feel inclined to take “risky” shots yourself.

Daily Photo – Delicate Ice in Spring

After dinner one evening in Ísafjörður, I drove through a nearby town and up into the mountains. Along the road, I noticed an iced-over river that was beginning to thaw in a few areas. I pulled over, and scrambled down the hill to set up for a shot.

I tried this both with and without an ND filter. The ND filter didn’t add anything to the shot except for a lot of pain! The light was low enough were a small aperture could get the feeling of the river through the hole in the ice…

http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/10668747_AuyBk#1355897661_d3mLV3w-A-LB

Another Shuttle Launch

I’m so excited to be going back for the final launch of the Atlantis! It’s all so awesome… and, even be there, it will be during my 40th birthday. Even though my happenstance revolutions around the sun at 1 AU are a completely arbitrary measurement of age, it’s the one we all use, so there ya go.

Gordon’s Launch Experience

My friend Gordon Laing from CameraLabs.com made his own video when we were out there together, which he recently entered into the Queenstown Film Festival. It’s pretty cool – because he’s a friend, we stayed in the same hotel, and so on… the only difference is that I flew back for the actual launch while he watched from New Zealand. See his video here.

Daily Photo – The Shuttle Prepares

On the day before the launch, I was ushered out a few football fields away from the shuttle. It was surreal being so close, even though I wanted to be closer…closer…closer…. but the 28-300 (See the Nikon 28-300 Review) was plenty lens enough to get in tight so you can see all the details of the shuttle and the launch facility skunkworks…

See all my NASA shots here…

Part 3 of the Student Interview

And the African Queen of never-ending-turns-interview ends with this segment…

Daily Photo – The Old Waterwheel

Right after I arrived in Feng Huang, I went down by the river to walk up and down both sides… and I was drawn to this old waterwheel right away. It was all so quaint… here were old Chinese women washing clothes in the river, and it was all right out of a movie. I only got to spend a few days here… after seeing how wonderful everything was, it’s on my list to revisit some day…. I hope it stays like this.