There must be a hundred little canals spread here and there through the old town. There are so many opportunities for photos! This is what we call a target-rich environment.
This is the town I was in with Tom Anderson -- every night we explored a new area. It was an amazing time... I can't wait to go back some day!
- Trey Ratcliff
Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Tags: China lijiang stuckincustoms travel trey ratcliff stuck customs stuckincustoms.com blog travelblog photography photoblog photographyblog hdr high dynamic range imaging digital processing software tutorial hdrtutorial trey ratcliff east asia people’s republic of china republic prc 云南 雲南 Yúnnán Yunnan province shi prefecture city 丽江市 麗江市 Lìjiāng Shì old ancient historic history canal lantern water waterway bridge village quaint traditional imperial windows cottage night reflection serene scenic September 2011 Nikon d3x
This is the spot where I cracked a rib. I'll tell that story in a moment... This is the ancient village of Feng Huang in distant southern China. I hired a local driver to get me there, and the ride was longer than most plane trips! And a lot less comfortable... Anyway, after arriving, I had a wonderful time exploring. One morning, the old town was covered with thick fog. And it's that still, wet, timeless fog of China. When you are looking at it, you become convinced it will just never go away. I worked my way down one of the banks to an area where the local rivermen keep the boats to grab this shot. The morning was wet, obviously, and that was the downfall of my mishap. I stepped down onto what looked like damp, dirty concrete. I've done this a thousand times. I was carrying my D3X with 14-24mm lens on a tripod on my left hand and holding my D3S with 50mm 1.4 prime in my right hand. It turned out that I was stepping onto that super-slick wet clay. It was razor-thin and slicker than ice. I didn't stand a chance. I fell right down, both cameras slamming into the ground. The D3X hit extra hard because the tripod gave it some painful torque. I landed on the D3S, it's body caving in one of ribs... right in the middle of the man-nipple area. It was too bad because I've always treasured that area. I made reference to the injury when I was still unsure about it in this Part 2 China Interview.
from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com travel blog travelblog photography photoblog photographyblog hdr high dynamic range imaging digital processing software tutorial hdrtutorial trey ratcliff treyratcliff east asia china people’s republic of china republic prc hunan Húnán 湖南 province 省 shěng division 湘 Xiāng 湘西土家族苗族自治州 Xiāngxī Tǔjiāzú Miáozú Zìzhìzhōu Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Fenghuang County 凤凰县 Fènghuáng Xiàn Xiangxi ancient history historic historical culture harbor town village unesco tradition traditional water dock gazebo mountains canal river October 2010 Nikon d3x boats
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?
- Trey Ratcliff
Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Tags: China feng Feng huang Phoenix City stuckincustoms treyratcliff stuck customs stuckincustoms.com travel blog travelblog photography photoblog photographyblog hdr high dynamic range imaging digital processing software tutorial hdrtutorial trey ratcliff east asia people’s republic of china republic prc hunan Húnán 湖南 province 省 shěng division 湘 Xiāng 湘西土家族苗族自治州 Xiāngxī Tǔjiāzú Miáozú Zìzhìzhōu Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Fenghuang County 凤凰县 Fènghuáng Xiàn Xiangxi ancient history historic historical culture harbor town village unesco October 2010 Nikon d3x
The “Temple” is different every year, and it’s always fun to explore. I usually visit the temple several times before I decide to take photos. It’s fun to show up on the scene completely green and study all the angles and ideas around different compositions with different lighting conditions.
- Trey Ratcliff
Read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
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I was not sure where exactly the fireworks shot off the top of the Disney Fantasy, so I gambled and guessed that this area on Deck 13 in the "Adults Only" area of the ship would be best. There is a little curving area that juts out that I thought would be perfect... I asked a few cast members, and they told me to be over on the starboard side, but I tried to explain that I wanted to get the boat in the shot too -- this confounded them... so, anyway, I was over in this spot pretty much by myself... which is fine with me!
- Trey Ratcliff
Read the rest of this post over at the Stuck in Customs blog.
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