Stuck In Customs

Off the Grid

As you are reading this, I am kind of off-the-grid in Iceland. I will still read all comments, but I may be about 24 hours behind or so — not sure… just letting you know. I understand sometimes people ask a question here or on Twitter and get upset when I don’t answer within a reasonable amount of time, which seems to get shorter and shorter every year!

Daily Photo – The People Mover

This is London, right?

I’m embarrassed to say I can’t quite remember. I processed and edited this photo as part of a bigger trip. I’m too lazy to check the EXIF and cross-reference the dates… even though that would have taken less time than writing this sentence. But, instead, I’m saying it like this to let you know that sometimes my memory fades a bit. Some spots I remember perfect perfect perfect perfect… and others fade away and drift into others. I’m not sure why memory works like this… why there are some things that are perfect and some that are fuzzy. The way that memory works in this incomplete way is interesting to me.

Travel Days

Tips for Managing Airports:

1) Bring snacks from home – You can’t ever find just what you want at the airport… and, when pressed, you may end up getting crappy food that makes you feel kind of junky on the plane.

2) Laugh at the TSA – It is indeed “security theater” as you watch them pat down grandmas and children. I’ve seen so many stupid things they do just to give the “impression” of security, that I try not to get mad any more… and I just try to remember that TSA stands for Tub Stacking Authority. And, also, whenever possible, travel outside of US Airports, where they treat you like a human and not a guy in line at Taco Bell. Try the Japanese airports and you will have a happy experience.

3) Watch people’s eyes – I like to analyze people by looking at the way they are taking in the world around them. It’s very interesting… maybe you can see it too… when people just have a look in their eye like they’ve given up on life. You know what I mean… and then you see the eye of some other people and they look amazingly full-of-life and ready to engage in the world.

Daily Photo – Snowy the Snow Monkey

This little guy and I had a little friendship after a few days.

I spent time all over the hills and rivers here outside of Nagano taking photos of these snow monkeys. And you get to know them after a while… there are a few that you see over and over again. I started giving them names… the same way my daughter gives names to everything… and all the names were quite childish… Like I called this guy, “Snowy.” It wasn’t very creative, but he didn’t seem to mind.

He followed me around morning and night. And he posed… oh how he loved to pose. Some other monkeys I got too close too and they gave me the wide-mouth attack move…. but I never got too close to Snowy. I didn’t want to ruin the little grizzly-man thing we had a-goin’ on.

New Article in the Austin American Statesman

Omar Gallaga met me at Kirby’s here in Austin to have some food and talk a bit. He told me he was working on a new article, and it was just published at: “Austin celebrities try to keep up with fan love in the digital age.”

Book Suggestions…

I’ve been ripping through lots of books lately… here are some suggestions if you are looking for a summer read. I haven’t had a chance to update “Trey’s Book List” yet, but here are some newbies for ya… pop over to Amazon to get em… or Audible if you want the audio book, which I certainly recommend.

• Fantasy – The Name of the Wind by Rothfuss – It’s greatness… and I’m just now on the sequel…
• Sci-Fi – Pandora’s Star by Hamilton – it doesn’t get much better…. what a writer…
• Economics and History – The Rational Optimist by Ridley – Matt is a good friend too…I’ve read all his books… I was a fan way before we got to be friends

You reading any good ones lately you’d like to recommend too?

Daily Photo – Green Mountain, Red House

“Is the house really THAT red?” my wife asks me. Yes, oh yes, it is… But now I am taking her to Iceland with me, so she can see these bright colors for herself…

I don’t know if it’s a Scandinavian thing or what, but we just don’t see colorful houses like this in the states. I think we either have brick, or white, or slightly off-white, or perhaps a light beige, or maybe something daring like a mauve-eggshell-white… I mean, I’m just as bad… mine in stucco. I don’t even think my homeowner’s association would let me paint it red. But, knowing Austin, with a bright red house, we’d probably have a few commies show up in Che Guevara shirts, wondering where the free pizza is…

http://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio-The-Best/your-favorites/10668747_AuyBk#1329615804_BN4JG8q-A-L

Your Favorite Accents?

So I am a total sucker for the British accent… I think it’s so great… People can say the dumbest thing but it sounds like it actually might be intelligent until you have a chance to think about it. But maybe I like the Aussie accent even a little better. They’re always able to take you down a peg or two just with a few well-placed inflections…

What are your favorite accents?

Daily Photo – Grey London

The two greyest cities I have been to are London and Vancouver. But the architecture is so different in both. I prefer bright and colorful architecture, especially in those environs. Sometimes with grey/white/silver/black buildings, I feel like I’m in some futuristic dystopian techno movie… something like… oh Equilibrium. Have you all seen that one?

Anyway, this is kind of a cool building, despite it’s greyness! There is that greenish element in the glass (not sure what it is) that gives it those interesting aqua tones…

Thanks again commenting friends!

I wanted to take a moment here and thank you all again for your comments! I read them all, and I get to know you through your comments. Even better, my MOM gets to know you all even better than me… when we talk on the phone she just goes on and on about so-and-so…. you have no idea… I should record one of our conversations and let you hear! She’s very sharp, has an encyclopedic memory, and has a full psychoanalysis of each one of you! 🙂

Daily Photo – The Mighty Peaks and Soft River

I’m going up again soon to the northern part of Iceland to visit some friends, and it will be great fun. This time, I’ll have to convince them to come out with me on a little photo adventure…

Right before you get to Akureyri, the road twists along a valley that runs beside these mountains. They are beautiful and scenic, but very difficult to photograph. You keep looking and looking and looking for an angle, and it never quite works out. I found this one by accident.

There was a little side road that looked interesting. I took it, and then it almost immediately went off the side of a hill! It turns out it wasn’t a side-road at all, but some kind of fake-road meant to trick dumb people like me. So, after sliding to a stop, I went out to see if my 4th wheel was dangling over the side. It wasn’t, but I did see a little path that went down by the river. I thought there might be a good vantage point, so I took my rig down there to get this shot.

Instagram is Fun!

I try to post a few photos on Instagram from time to time. See my Instagram photos there. Like, for example, today I posted a photo of my daughter and I backstage at the Daddy-Daughter dance… it was really great.

Daily Photo – Dining at Hearst

“You wanna see a secret passage?” the old security guard asked me.

“Are you kidding?” I asked.

And with that, he showed me how to get up into this area. It wasn’t super-duper-secret, since this is how singers used to get up high to entertain the guests below.

I’m glad I’m not one of those people that has to choose who sits where in these big banquet events. I think people in these situations really get their nose out of joint if they don’t get to sit next to so-and-so. But, if you’re hanging out and dining in Hearst Castle, you have to look pretty hard to find something to complain about! 🙂

My Favorite Five 500px Photographers

I put my photos at 500px.com/TreyRatcliff and have been having a good time with it! Thomas Hawk first recommended it, and now I see why. I’ve had a good time “collecting” interesting people to follow.

Are these the top 5? I don’t know! But they are the top 5 I have found SO FAR. Who am I missing? Leave comments below…recommend people for me to follow, even recommend yourself!

1) Aleksandra – It’s not just nekkid girls, it’s high art! Hehe… no, really, her work is a must-see. She’s very talented and has a very wide range. I think it is interesting how women photographers choose to take photos of other women… it’s always a bit different. Plus, she’s from the Ukraine, so she has no shortage of subjects. To see some of my favorites, look at these: 1, 2, and 3.

2) Alexander Corvus – This Moscovite is really quite amazing… his work is beautifully post-processed and really has a remarkable vision. He’s given me many ideas and things to think about… this is something I like to see in photography… stuff that makes me wonder and dream.

3) David Lloyd – This Londoner takes fantastic animal photos. I’m really such an average animal photographer… so when I see really good wildlife work, I’m impressed. It’s all well-balanced and smart.

4) Janez Tolar – Another interesting photographer from Slovenia. It’s amazing how many eastern-bloc countries have so many photographers here…I think that is because this site started over there? It’s inspiring to see that so much creativity and range can come out of any country in the world.

5) Thomas Hawk – This obviously is not a ranking of skill… so don’t take the #5 to mean anything… but Thomas has always been a very interesting photographer and a good internet-friend. Plus, he turned me on to 500px, so he gets extra props. Check out his work!

Six Hours in New York – What to do?

I’m connecting at JFK for six hours before going to Iceland…  I have a 6-hour connection time, and I’d like to visit the city a bit.  Now, I have my wife and 10-year-old son with me… so it should be something kinda fun for all of us.  What are your suggestions?  Note that we effectively have 3.5-4 hours with security and re-checkin and whatnot…

Daily Photo – Walking to Dinner in Paris

Today’s photo is another one processed during the new HDR Video Tutorial.

When I go to take photos of famous places, I follow sort of a star-pattern.  Maybe it’s more of a devilish inverted pentagram, but you get the idea…  It’s really hard to imagine how it would look from various compositions, so walking around it…getting closer and getting further… these can help give me idea.

After outings like this, I like to find little restaurants where no one speaks English.  Even though I speak a little French, I still have no idea what I’m ordering…  Understanding the intricacies of French menus is a whole new level of confusion.  But, it gives you a chance to look blankly at the waiter and say, “Surprise me!”

Trey Ratcliff’s Photography, HDR, and Post-Processing Course

We have a new HDR Video Tutorial! Exciting! I just ate dinner with one of my students (and friends, now), Cliff Baise. He was down from Dallas and came to listen to my talk the other evening about blogging and photography… We talked a little about this new course, and I told him that I feel a little funny when people like him keep attending all of my various classes and stuff. I try to only put something out when it is new and fresh so there is not a lot of old, rehashed stuff. Anyway, I think you’ll enjoy it… and thank you Cliff for your kind words last night.

Here is a little video preview for you! To see more and get a full course listing, just visit the HDR Video Tutorial page.

Daily Photo – Nobody Needs Dramatic Sheep

I’ve posted two Iceland photos in a row! This is unlike me…yes, but I’m excited about Iceland. And, this is one of the photos I made in the video above.

I think people that rarely see sheep are fascinated by sheep. This is very confusing to people that spend a lot of time around sheep. I’m sure people in Iceland find that outsiders find sheep WAY too interesting. But, to us outsiders, we see these wonderful little white puffs, milling around… the gentle way they drift over the soft turf like clouds on a green sky…

If you zoom in tight on this one, you’ll see there are actually three sheep there on the left… the one in the back is just being a little sheepish.

New HDR Video Tutorial in 24 Hours!

The old video tutorial has been taken down, and will never be available again – but don’t lament! The new one will officially launch tomorrow and I think you’ll love it… If you already had the DVD and wondered about the new thing, here’s a nice quote for you:

“I was initially uncertain as to whether to ‘attend’ this webinar. I had purchased Treys’ DVD and wondered why I should spend more money on this. I must say that I enjoyed the webinars even more than the DVD’s & was surprised in how much I learned. Thanks again for an excellent presentation. I did & will continue to enjoy and learn. It was money well spent!!!’ – Jon Barney, Virginia

Daily Photo – The Long Curvy Road Around Iceland

I’m packing now for another summer solstice at 66 degrees north. It’ll be a great one!

I’m also trying out some new photo bags… people send me stuff to try out all the time. Hehe… I make it clear to all of them that I only review and recommend stuff that I actually use… if I don’t like it, I won’t rip on it, I just won’t mention it. If it turns out to be good, I’ll give it a big thumbs up and tell you all about it… so I am about to go through the big ceremonial process of moving all my stuff from one bag to another… you know that process. It’s actually kind of fun, to tell you the truth… Also, it’s down there in my ethics statement. I only review and recommend stuff I actually use rather than giving you 20 reviews a week. I think that keeps it simple, and also, you aren’t forced to read a bunch of reviews that hem and haw about this and that…

And when I get to Iceland, I’ll be up on this wonderful road again… this gentle curving road that circumnavigates the island… sleeping days and staying up through the white nights… I can’t wait!

Animoto Review

So I made the video below with Animoto. To see the “Making Of”, visit my Animoto Review to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff and find out more about the music and the process.

Mad World

I have a new video for you today… enjoy!

Like that song? It’s “Mad World” by Antonis Karalis. He covered this and did all the instruments, singing, remixing, and everything… and he did it just for this purpose, so go support your local internet artist and buy the song so he gets a sweet sweet 99 cents! (actually Apple gets about 30 cents I think).

RC’s New Book

My friend RC Concepcion has a new book called “The HDR Book” now avail at Amazon. He’s a great guy and a good teacher, so I do indeed recommend the book. I hope you enjoy it.

Daily Photo – A Fun Night in London

OMG… making 365 new photos a year is very difficult! I’ve been doing it for the past few years, and I hope I haven’t made it look to easy… I promise I’m not pulling a “Scotty in Engineering”, where I’m complaining about something that is actually pretty easy. But sometimes, I yell, “The ship’s breaking apart captain!” — and I really mean it! hehe…

My next task with all these London photos is to go back and geotag the dang things. It’s never-ending… the to-do list, you know. I wish we were about 3+ years down the road when there was some smart-web-service that could look at the composition and then auto-geotag. BTW, if you’re into digital imaging and computer science, there is a million dollar business for you… extrapolate the location information and auto-geo-tag. People like me would love you and pay decent money for the service! 🙂

Mad World