Guilin – Stuck in Customs
10
Sep 2022 : Saturday
filed under  Camera Gear, China, Guilin, Sony A7R, Travel

a movie set, like in a school play that never happened

Daily Photo – a movie set, like in a school play that never happened

This is a place most of the world has never heard of with millions of people that live, work, have tea, and worry if their kids are getting the right kind of education. There is an idea put that just like the human body grows cells to support life that the Earth grows humans. It’s a nice idea, and it’s not unusual, I suppose, that the thumb only has a vague idea that the left ear exists.

I climbed up a mountain to take this photo. I started in the late afternoon and arrived at dusk. There were many crazy-bright-red Chinese snakes, which seemed more evil than interesting, bright yellow spiders that seemed too jumpy, and other unmentionables, all of which were looking at me like a walking bag of warm blood meal.

Guilin, China
TreyRatcliff.com

a movie set, like in a school play that never happened

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-03 00:37:11
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time2.5
  • Aperture4
  • ISO160
  • Focal Length70.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
27
Sep 2019 : Friday
filed under  Camera Gear, China, Guilin, Li River, Lijiang, Photo Software, Sony A7R, Textures, Travel

Textures of the Li River

Textures Tutorial

Today’s photo uses one of my favorite techniques! Make sure you pick up my Textures Tutorial in the store. It comes with a ton of textures that you will love too!

Daily Photo – Textures of the Li River

Finally, something not from the USA! I’ve been sharing a ton of photos from my USA tour recently… mostly because I’ve been away from home in NZ for three months and don’t have access to my mother lode of photos! I edited this photo for a few hours on the plane. I love using textures… I hope you try out the tutorial above and enjoy it too!

Textures of the Li River

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-04 00:19:05
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/100
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO500
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
4
Feb 2019 : Monday
filed under  Camera Gear, China, Guilin, Sony A7R, Travel

Beautiful Guilin at Sunset

Tim Chang on Hacking Consciousness

Hey, this is another great podcast. They talk about so many interesting things… and it turns out that Tim Chang is a fan of my Burning Man photos. This is cool, because it gives us a chance to hang out and just tell each other how much we like each other. Haha… actually I do have lots of questions for him!

Daily Photo – Beautiful Guilin at Sunset

It’s absolutely one of my favorite places, but you really have to be lucky/patient to get the right kind of weather. It’s usually quite dreary and grey. So, you can imagine my excitement when I finally got a great sunset! Anyway, I have recently processed this with the new Aurora HDR, so be sure to get that if you haven’t!

Beautiful Guilin at Sunset

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-07 00:08:14
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/10
  • Aperture18
  • ISO125
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.3

Comments
5
Jan 2019 : Saturday
filed under  China, Guilin, Sony A7R

Fishing in Guilin

Categories here on the site

Don’t forget you can click on the “China” category here in the post to see all of my photos from China… I probably have over 100 here on the site, so don’t be afraid to scroll down and click NEXT to see another page full of travel goodness!

Becoming an Artist, Episode 1!

Hey, I’ve decided to start releasing this great season for free on YouTube. I actually premiere them every Monday at 1600 PST / 1900 EST. Be sure to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and Click the Little Bell then you can be sure to see them all first.

Anyway, let’s get started with Episode 1! (And be sure to set a reminder for the next episode here.)

Daily Photo – Fishing in Guilin

This picture is all kinds of fake, and I’m not 100% happy with myself for taking it! You know, most photographers won’t tell you this, but I will. These are not even fishermen, really. I mean, they definitely know how to fish, but they make more money now by being photo-models than fishing… so… why fish? Lots of photographers go down there to get this kind of shot, and I’m not usually one to do the same thing as every other photographer. It just doesn’t seem that original. But, I figured, hey, if I’m gonna do it, let’s see if I can make something unique in my own style. So, in that way, I’m pretty happy with the shot.

Fishing in Guilin

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-04 00:51:47
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/6
  • Aperture
  • ISO1000
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
29
Sep 2018 : Saturday
filed under  China, Guilin

A Moody Night in South China

Thanks Again

I wanted to thank my awesome art collectors for helping make Series 1 such a success. Below is another photo from this same area of Guilin. It was the very first work to sell out. One fun thing for collectors is that, since there were only three sold, they now have the chance to re-sell them into the secondary market.

Poking The Front Of Your Face Through The Veil

Giving Architecture Photos Some OOMPH!

Here is another quick video about Aurora HDR 2019. This time focusing on how the new HDR Engine has greatly enhanced quality for anyone doing architecture photos. Right out of the box, no more nasty halos just nice crisp edges!

Daily Photo – A Moody Night in South China

Right when Tom and I got to Guilin, a big storm hit. We had scouted this mountain (well, big hill) we could hike to the top of for sunset shots. It was hot and humid and you could just tell rain was on the way. And then the lightning started to hit everywhere and we realized we were going to the highest and most dangerous place in the city. Everyone else was running down the path while we were running up!

A Moody Night in South China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-03 00:34:00
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1.6
  • Aperture4
  • ISO160
  • Focal Length61.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
14
Jan 2016 : Thursday
filed under  China, Guilin

A Misty Evening in China

The Man in the High Castle

If you haven’t seen this new show on Amazon Prime, I really recommend it. Most people already know I’m a hardcore Phillip K. Dick fan, and this was always one of my favorite books. The show itself is quite different than the book, but that’s totally okay. I’m not one of those people that gets all huffy when a movie is different than the book… just another version of a nice story! 🙂

Daily Photo – A Misty Evening in China

I love these karst mountains so much. They look good almost any time of the day, but perhaps they look best when there is a touch of fog or mist in the air. The whole place is surreal enough, but when it hits this state, the fantasy level just goes off the charts!

A Misty Evening in China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-07 00:20:05
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/13
  • Aperture8
  • ISO125
  • Focal Length70.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
20
Jun 2015 : Saturday
filed under  China, Guilin, Photo Software, Photography Tips, Sony A7R, Textures, Travel

The Tapestries of China

Texture Tutorial

Be sure to visit Trey’s Texture Tutorial to see how I make these kinds of photos. They are very fun, and anyone can do it!

Daily Photo – The Tapestries of China

This whole area around Guilin has become one of my favorite areas to visit and explore in China. The shapes around here are epic and timeless, and they put me in quite a creative and contemplative mood!

The Tapestries of China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2020-07-08 17:54:56
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/200
  • Aperture8
  • ISO125
  • Focal Length70.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
23
May 2015 : Saturday
filed under  China, Guilin, Sony A7R, Travel

Fishing with Cormorant Birds in China

Speaking of Birds

These birds below, the cormorants, are used to fish in an unusual way. They dive into the water to catch a fish, but they have a ring around their neck to prevent them from swallowing the big fish. The fisherman then yanks the fish out of their mouth and throw it into that basket there. Seems kinda cruel but clever, I suppose.

Daily Photo – Fishing with Cormorant Birds in China

Here in the Guilin area of southern China, you can see this sort of fishing activity. It gets a little touristy, because whenever one of these guys is about, there can be many photos taken! But I thought this guy looked like a real badass — like he could fish at the same time he was kicking your ass, which is a super duper combo!

Fishing with Cormorant Birds in China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-03 23:38:18
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/350
  • Aperture
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
13
May 2015 : Wednesday
filed under  China, Guilin, Sony A7R, Travel, Yangshuo

Bamboo Rafts Coming in Before the Storm

Shooting in the Rain

It’s always great to go out and shoot in the rain, except for the me-getting-wet part! I wish I had a little friend with me all the time that would hold an umbrella over both of us… that would be so awesome. I know it’s a strange thing to want, but you gotta admit, it would be mega aweso

Daily Photo – Bamboo Rafts Coming in Before the Storm

I was crossing a bridge in a little town not too far from Yangshuo and trying to stay out of the rain. It was coming down pretty hard, but there was a sunset happening too. So, at great risk to camera and limb, I set up to take this shot. All these little bamboo rafts that would take people to and fro were coming in to hunker down for the big storm…

Bamboo Rafts Coming in Before the Storm

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-04 22:12:24
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/60
  • Aperture4
  • ISO160
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.7

Comments
9
May 2015 : Saturday
filed under  China, Guilin, Photography Tips

Stormchasing in Guilin, China

Fake Lightning Shots

Getting a good lightning shot often involves a bit of artifice. I’m certainly not above that! But I believe a lot of the truly amazing lightning photos you see are QUITE fake. First, a lot of compositing is often done, which is fine, just letting you know. If you see a ton of lightning bolts in a photo, chances are they are all combined with many different strikes. Also, if you don’t have one of those light-sensors to automatically trigger, you have to just keep taking photos until you get lucky. It’s like a lightning slot machine, so sometimes it doesn’t feel like that much skill is involved!

Daily Photo – Stormchasing in Guilin, China

I love this area of China and right upon arrival there was a huge storm hitting. So exciting! I love a good storm. It was probably ill-advised, but Tom and I climbed up a mountain to get some photos. We were underneath the shade of an old pagoda, which kept us from getting wet… it was perfect conditions for storm shooting, really!

Stormchasing in Guilin, China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-03 00:52:47
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1.3
  • Aperture6.3
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length61.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments