The Azure Blue Indoor Pool at Hearst Castle I was able to get a private tour throughout Hearst - so that made for an amazing and long day!Thank goodness I had a mass of memory cards... I got so much footage it was crazy!I could have picked a bunch of shots to be the "first", but I thought this one was particularly wonderful.  There are two enormous pools at Hearst Castle, and this is the indoor one.  This is a nice vantage point because this spot is actually quite difficult to reach!  There is no door behind me... so I had to "shimmy" along that edge you see... It was NARROW... the shimmy was like a video game, except while holding a $10,000 camera!  Sketchy!  But I just had to get over here because I could visualize the shot before it happened...Here's a cool fact about this pool.  Nearby, there is a huge room that was intended for a gymnasium that Hearst never constructed.  The State then made it usable for IT and Archive area, so the water cools the computers...  wild, eh?- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Exploring the Cathedral No tripods allowed.  I think maybe it said this in French.  Or English.  I can't remember because I ignored it.  How are you supposed to get a decent photo inside Notre Dame without a tripod?I spent this weekend processing a bunch of photos from France, and this is one that took quite a while.  People often ask me, 'How long do you work on your photos?"  My answer is always a bit strange, since any time-allotment will not seem correct.  The thing is... I've processed so many photos over the years -- I've gotten very fast at it.  I've got macros, keyboard shortcuts, etc etc.  I think I might look like a Korean Starcraft player... I slow it down a lot for the tutorial and stuff.  But, anyway, having said that, my answer is "anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours".  This shot in particular took a little over an hour.  It was a hard one...  I had to take a few breaks and refill the green tea a few times to work out some issues with it.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The River Runs Through the Andes Getting to this position was not as long a hike as the others around Patagonia, but it was no cakewalk! It was one of those strange river-rock strewn areas where the rocks seemed to be the perfect size for spraining your ankles. I had the tripod extended to act like a walking stick, although it's not the most handy walking stick with a giant Nikon on one end of it!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Another Summer Day in Paris I'm having an amazing time in Paris.  As usual, it's off-the-rails perfect.  The weather has been remarkable, the sunsets amazing, and the chocolate flows like mana from heaven.   I made it over to the Eiffel Tower for a big night of shooting, and arrived there just as the sun was setting.  I have a few little special spots I like to visit around the tower that are not full of tourists and the like.This shot looks much more delicate, perhaps, than I did while achieving it.  Unfortunately, this was one of those tricky ones where the tripod legs were splayed out like a flattened armadillo.  I looked beyond redonkulous while taking it...Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Under the Eiffel This time of night only lasts a fleeting five minutes.  So, as a photographer in Paris, it's a major commitment to get in place for that dire period.  There's never an easy decision, and... after all... it is Paris, so there is no "bad" place to be.I'm glad it's a city where many restaurants stay open late.  I miss the "normal" dinner time, since those are the prime sunset hours.  I usually try to grab a snack around 4 PM to carb-up for a busy shooting session.  And then after I eek out every last minute of atmospheric light, I like to go to a late-night restaurant to edit photos and relax a little bit.  Okay, actually I relax a lot.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Secret Workshop of Jules Verne This is perhaps my favorite find on my most recent trip to Europe.  How can a place so wonderful exist in our world?  It's amazing.I got a recommendation from a close friend that told me I would love this place.  And he was right!  As usual, to see the full-size image, click Original in the menu that appears when you hover over the image in SmugMug.This is the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and is one of the least-known places in Paris.  Everyone goes for the hot tourist spots, and this museum sounds rather boring, yes?  But as you can see... au contraire!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Deep in Paris
To get a photo like this, you need a wide-angle lens but not necessarily a fish-eye lens.  The 14-24 on the Nikon looks like a fisheye because it is so bulbous, but it is not.  The fisheye does that extreme warping that can be quite artistic and nice.  These wide angles, however, while warping, do not make the final image so abstract as to be almost unrecognizable.

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
A Day of PhotographyAnd speaking of the subject matter at large – I decided to spend one day out of my birthday weekend out on a little photo adventure. I jumped in the car and drive towards Pyramid Lake just past Glenorchy.I was probably out for 10 hours, and I came back with 3 photos I really liked. That seems like a lot of time for just 3 photos… and, on the other side, I’m glad I came back with 3 photos! :)All in all, I took about 70 photos (many were brackets of 9 because I was out in the snowy conditions at one point. There is one more set still unprocessed… I have my fingers crossed that it will come out okay!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the entire post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Cathedral Under the Cathedral What an awesome place this is… This is the cathedral that is on the bottom level of Sainte-Chapelle. I did my best to capture the feeling of this place, and I hope I did an adequate job.This is a handheld HDR taken with 5 exposures. It was really quite difficult to hold the camera still. I felt a bit like a sniper in Call of Duty.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Azure Blue Indoor Pool at Hearst Castle


I was able to get a private tour throughout Hearst - so that made for an amazing and long day!Thank goodness I had a mass of memory cards... I got so much footage it was crazy!

I could have picked a bunch of shots to be the "first", but I thought this one was particularly wonderful. There are two enormous pools at Hearst Castle, and this is the indoor one. This is a nice vantage point because this spot is actually quite difficult to reach! There is no door behind me... so I had to "shimmy" along that edge you see... It was NARROW... the shimmy was like a video game, except while holding a $10,000 camera! Sketchy! But I just had to get over here because I could visualize the shot before it happened...

Here's a cool fact about this pool. Nearby, there is a huge room that was intended for a gymnasium that Hearst never constructed. The State then made it usable for IT and Archive area, so the water cools the computers... wild, eh?

- Trey Ratcliff

Click here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Azure Blue Indoor Pool at Hearst Castle


I was able to get a private tour throughout Hearst - so that made for an amazing and long day!Thank goodness I had a mass of memory cards... I got so much footage it was crazy!

I could have picked a bunch of shots to be the "first", but I thought this one was particularly wonderful. There are two enormous pools at Hearst Castle, and this is the indoor one. This is a nice vantage point because this spot is actually quite difficult to reach! There is no door behind me... so I had to "shimmy" along that edge you see... It was NARROW... the shimmy was like a video game, except while holding a $10,000 camera! Sketchy! But I just had to get over here because I could visualize the shot before it happened...

Here's a cool fact about this pool. Nearby, there is a huge room that was intended for a gymnasium that Hearst never constructed. The State then made it usable for IT and Archive area, so the water cools the computers... wild, eh?

- Trey Ratcliff

Click here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
See photo in original gallery.

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