G+ PhotoWalk in Austin during SXSW! Join me!

It’s that time again!  This year is going to be huge… mega huge!

All skill levels are invited – bring your whole family… it’s great fun for all.

• RSVP on Google Schemer: http://goo.gl/LkaKO
• Secret Google Schemer Invite link: goo.gl/RoxQg <– shhhhhh!
• Date: Saturday, March 10 at 2 PM.
• Location: The hidden G+ lot (TBA!) Note: SXSW badge NOT required
• No SXSW badge required!

We’ll have great prizes and more… stay tuned!

Daily Photo – The Endless Night Streets of Tokyo

The streets are like this all night long.  So, how can you possibly go back to the hotel room?  There’s never a good breaking point.  It is very very hard on my body here, actually, because I usually go back at the point of sheet exhaustion or hunger-breakdown.  The last thing I am thinking about is eating or sleeping… but then, once I give in to my body, that’s ALL I can think about.

Limited Edition print available. Click here to see options.

Trey’s Variety Hour #22: Patrick Rothfuss – The Name of the Hangout

Don’t forget you can subscribe for free in iTunes: http://goo.gl/ZAKd8 (or other options at http://twit.tv/tvh) if you want to get these first, or have them available later on your computer, iPhone, or iPad.

This show was a very special one for me (sounds like a very special episode of Blossom, when she gets a visit from Aunt Flo), but you’ll probably detect this while watching. During the first bit, we talked about art, sharing, the human condition, and unexpected benefits of creating art in a vacuum. In the second bit when Veronica Belmont joined, we started going off on all sorts of fantasy tangents. This may or may not have included dipping our wicks into Vaginal Fantasies.

Want to know what book of his to get first? Just get “The Name of the Wind” (Amazon or Audible) and thank me later!

Daily Photo – The Gentle Rays

On my first evening in Yosemite, the sun did some amazing things. There as a big group of Google+ people converging on Yosemite, but I arrived a day early for a little “me” time. Nature must have felt my mojo because it all conspired to create some interesting results as the rays tumbled across the valley floor.

Limited Edition print available. Click here to see options.

Limited Edition print available. Click here to see options.

New Show – Subscribe Now

The podcast of the latest show should come out today.  You’ll get it first if you are subscribed at http://twit.tv/tvh or iTunes Link: goo.gl/ZAKd8.  And tell your friends!

This most recent show was a little bit different…  a conversation with another artist outside of the realm of photography that is very influential to me.

Daily Photo - Old London From Above

It’s a long walk to the top of St. Paul’s.  And by long walk, I should throw in that there are a lot of stairs.  But, after you finally arrive, you’re greeted by a wonderful view of the city.  As long as you don’t have too much of an issue with heights, you’ll be in for a treat.

Even though I saw all sorts of stuff while I was up there, I enjoyed working on this photo too.  I was able to zoom into 100% and look at all the details and little buildings/bridges/shops once again.  It reminded me of walking around many of them at ground level.

Featured on Google TV and Android Market!

Our Android App (Photo Voyages of Trey Ratcliff) is now featured — very exciting.  And, even better if you don’t want to pay, there is a Free version that with a nice collection of about 50 photos or so.   It works great on your Android and your Google TV!  And yes, it even works on the new color Kindle, once you enable it to run other apps.

Daily Photo – Home in the Hillside

Is it okay if I do two Iceland photos in a row?  I hope so, because I’m very excited about this one too.

Some of these places you can’t see from the road.  If you walk over one hill and down another, you can find these wonderful little places tucked away in hillsides.  Even though it’s all fallen apart, it’s still charming… sort of a fixer-upper!

Patrick Rothfuss Tonight!

Are you a fan of Pat? Join us tonight for the live hangout at 7 PM PT on Live.TWIT.tv.

EG Video – I’ll Save you $4000

So, instead of buying that ticket, I promised you could watch my video for free, and here you go.  I took a risk with this one, and I hope there are bits in here that are of interest.  Enjoy!  (and yes, I’ll be returning to Monterey this year…maybe I will see some of you there!)

Daily Photo – The Beginning of Time

I spent most of this weekend working on this photo.  One common question is, “How long do these photos take?”  They take me anywhere from a few minutes to a few days.  It’s not contiguous work, of course, but some are so challenging that I have to keep returning to them time and time again.

This spot in northern central Iceland is a bit perilous to reach.  It’s so perilous here at Godafoss, in fact, that I am glad my mom didn’t see me getting into position.  Is the water cold?  Yes,  yes it is.

 1 Million Downloads!

100 Cameras in 1 for the iPad (iTunes Link) and for the iPhone have passed 1 million downloads!  That’s awesome – thanks so much and thanks for telling your friends!  We just put up another update that fixed a few problems with rotation and memory issues.  Also, thanks for all the great ratings…  I appreciate you taking the time to do those.

Daily Photo – The Old Temple of Lore

The shapes of many SE Asian temples mimic the closed lotus flower.  Once I found this out, it was incredibly obvious and I saw them everywhere.  I did try to find a photo of a closed lotus flower floating in water alongside the temple, but that plan never really worked out.

Patrick Rothfuss, Charity, The Show

So, regular friends around here will know that my inspiration comes from the world outside of photography.  I read like a madman.  And look, I’m not bragging when I say I’m very well-read in Fantasy.  That’s just a fact.  And so, maybe it carries a lot of weight when I say that Patrick Rothfuss is teaching us all.

Now, before I tell you more about that bit, first let me point you to Pat’s charity team at Worldbuilders.  I’ve donated, and you might like to also.  There are all kinds of rare signed books that will be given away as part of the fund-raising effort.

And…. Patrick will be joining me for Trey’s Variety Hour #22 on Monday night.  How cool is that?

What Do You See?

And… which eyes are mine?  Yes, I’ll be back at EG in Monterey this year…

Daily Photo – The Mysterious Creatures Among Us

While in the southern town of Lixiang, I came upon this creature in the evening.  Maybe you know the legend of this…  maybe it is better to make up your own legend than to have me tell you everything about it… or, perhaps one of you intrepid explorers in the community can tell us all what is going on here!

Subscribe to the Show

If you were already subscribed at http://twit.tv/tvh or iTunes Link: goo.gl/ZAKd8 , then you would already have the show below.  So… why didn’t you do it yet?  Or better yet, why didn’t you tell your friends!?

Trey’s Hangout #21 – Horror Stories

Here’s the new video where we share all kinds of stories… This show had +Scott Kelby +Jeremy Cowart +Nicole S. Young+Catherine Hall +RC Concepcion +Gordon Laing.  Enjoy!

During the “Discoveries” portion, here are the photographers we showed off: +Gregory Colbert+Isabel Sousa Silva +Isabelle Lafrance +Nori Sakamoto +Dean Bradshaw +Ibarionex Perello+Ryan Dyar +Mihailo Radičević +Brad Moore +Douglas Sonders

And thanks again to the production team: +Leo Laporte and +Tony Wang from TWiT.tv and +Dave Veffer

Daily Photo – The Lodge at Night

On the final night of the Yosemite PhotoWalk, we ended up here to explore the evening.  This is the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, and I hope I made it look as beautiful as it really is.  This is also the place that Steve Jobs got married.

Karen Hutton and I arrived here very late at night after our extra-long walk!  We could even see a few people camping for the night halfway up the mountain they were climbing.  After going around the back side of the lodge, we saw the stars and trees and cliffs above…

Strangest Post Ever

This might be my strangest blog post ever…  well, hey, I figured… why not?  Besides, maybe some of you want to see where I have lived for the past seven years or so…  and yes, we are moving to New Zealand.  More info on that later, I promise!

Daily Photo – Anyone Wanna Buy a House in Austin?

Contact me at wildcard (at) stuckincustoms.com if you are interested in finding out more… this is just a little teaser with some photos.

It’s in a great area of the hill country, about 15 mins from downtown (with no traffic!) Austin.  The neighborhood is called Jester, and it weaves in and out of a natural preserve.  It’s mega hilly with tons of trees.  Our house, as you can see below from the backyard shot (the fourth one) backs onto a natural preserve… so there is nothing for miles and miles except for little creeks and hilly forests.

The house itself is 5 bedroom, two stories, contemporary design, with all sorts of nice-to-haves.  I’m even leaving the media room with the projector, big screen, and all that stuff.  Anyway, here are a few photos below!

First, here is a photo from the street, looking down the hill at our house on the left.

Second, here is another view of the front of the house at Christmas time.

Below is the family room.  The kids are not included with the house.

Fourth, here is a view off the back deck.  The first dip you see down below leads to a quaint little bubbling brook that tumbles away on rainy mornings, like when I took this photo.

1,000,000 Followers on Google+ !

Thanks to all of you that made the early jump over to Google+ to help out with this.  And I hope you all are enjoying that network as much as I am!  Here’s a post about when we passed a million with some book recommendations!

Anyone Want to Buy My House in Austin?

I’ll put up photos in the next week or so…  But, you know, we are moving…. MORE INFO on that move later!

It’s a five-bedroom house in the Jester area, so there is a little bit o’ info for you.  Drop me a note at wildcard (at) stuckincustoms.com.

I know many people will want to know more info right now… but just wait wait wait… I’ll tell you everything soon

Daily Photo – The Remarkables

If these mountains don’t have the coolest name ever, then I don’t know what does!

The mountains border the lake in Queenstown, but right before they dip into the deep water, a gentle dollop of green hills present themselves.  They are those soft kind of New Zealand hills – the kind that look like you could just take a giant thumb and mush them around into one shape or another.

Podcast Now Available!

You can subscribe to the podcast here:  Link to iTunes.   You can also find out more on the Twit page for Trey’s Variety Hour.

Daily Photo – Girl in Park in Beijing

I was walking around a park in Beijing — and it was quite unusual.  It was a city park, but it had all sorts of rides like Disneyworld.  Except, it wasn’t really very good.  It was quite dated and everything was spread out all over the place.  To get from one attraction to the other, you had to walk for almost a mile along lonely pathways.

There would be occasional clusters of people here and there, mysteriously milling about.  Inside one of the clusters was this girl, so I grabbed a quick shot with my 50mm lens on the D3s.

TWIT Schedule for Show

Tonight is the night!  So many have asked for it to be a regularly-schedule thing, and now it is!

• Time: See you every Monday (tonight!) at 7 PM PT (Your World Time)
• Location:  Live.twit.TV
• Live Chat:  Join us for a live chat too!  Just click on the “Popout Chat” button on the website and join in the fun.  Ask questions, etc etc.
• Podcast Location:  Link to iTunes –  Thanks Tony!

Daily Photo – The TWIT Network Mothership Table

The studio is cool because they have a number of different “sets” there for different shows.  This is the main round table where Leo Laporte does some of his biggest shows, like This Week in Tech, MacBreak Weekly, This Week in Google, and many others.  He lets anyone in the area come sit in as a guest to watch the live production… and that’s a lot of fun too because of all the geeky equipment around.

On this particular day, my mom came to sit in the audience (after she got lost and needed Tony to go rescue her!).  She brought a load of fudge with her and made everyone happy… she even got a hug from Leo