Uploads from Stuck in Customs, tagged illinois

Chicago Forever

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 10:20:58 -0800

I took this from on top of one of the highest buildings in Chicago. Everyone else was shooting in the other direction - towards all the big buildings. Well, I did too to be honest... but, then I came over here... looking out this way was strangely compelling, so I decided to give it a go! :)

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Secret Church

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:28:30 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

Who would have ever guessed that this immense, classically architected church is in the middle of Chicago, Il? It's quite amazing, isn't it?

My friend Fiona took me here around the time of the Chicago book launch party. It is a great place place for all kinds of HDR photography.

Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Metal Moose

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 19:22:38 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

After the book party in Chicago (thanks again for all of you that showed up!), we had a little photowalk the next day. Along the way, we stopped outside an office building near Michigan Avenue that had this enormous metal moose. I'm not a big fan of taking photos of art, but this was an exception.

The rest of this entry, as well as plugs for a few eBooks by friends of mine, is here.

The Red Room Revisited

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:21:19 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

The Red Room, Revisited
Frequent visitors will recognize this amazing place in Chicago.

It is the Crimson Lounge, and this is where we had the big book party in Chicago.

Read more of this entry at the Stuck in Customs Blog.

The Olde Organ

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:18:46 -0800

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

My Music Playlist

As I travel around the world, I've picked up an amazing collection of unique music. It's not for everyone, but if you like eclectic stuff that gets you in a right-brain mode, I think it's great.

This first list I am releasing is my "World Lounge Mix" - I made an iTunes iMix of it and added the mix to Trey's Music List!

Daily photo - The Olde Organ
Okay, if you were in one of my workshops, you are not allowed to guess, because you heard the unexpected answer.

But, of the rest of you, who can guess where this photo of this ornate organ was taken? Those in my workshop know because I worked on it during the festivities. It's so funny whenever I zoom into 100% and people ooh and ahh at the details. It's funny because I do the same thing! I know a lot of people say that 24 megapixel is overkill, but... well... it's just cool.

I plan for the future when many people have 70 inch wall displays at 10,000 pixels across. I want to make sure my images are ready for them!

from Trey Ratcliff at www.stuckincustoms.com

Belly Up to the Bar

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:15:38 -0800

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

Special Advance Notice for Special Communities

I know you all are BUSY. Also, I know you like to come here and hang out with the community since we enjoy finding some of the best stuff, sharing tricks, techniques, and art with you. However, some people go the extra mile. For each little sub-community within Stuck In Customs, I try to do something extra special:

Newsletter Subscribers - I gave out a $50 off coupon on something cool just to subscribers, and many acted on it! Cool! The Newsletter is free, so why not join? Besides that, I try to give advance notice on all sorts of things.
Facebook Fans - I gave these fine people an advance link to a new review I am doing, so they can see it before anyone else. The Fan page was started by a Dutch fan, and we are starting to do all sorts of things on it, including a fun discussion on Which Lens do you Want?
Twitter Followers - Many times throughout the week, I open it up for questions on the new book or anything in between. I think it is cool that I can have direct contact with so many people -- I really try my best to answer most everyone! In addition, I sprinkle in all sorts of inspirational art finds and do my best to keep things fun and light - the way the internet should be!

If you are a member of one or more of these special sub-communities - let me know any other ideas you might have!

Chicago Party in a Few Days!
Woo! This will be fun! The New York and Austin parties were exciting and fun - I really enjoyed getting to meet people and the like. Chicago is next. You can either RSVP on the Facebook Event Page or see more info here on the site!

Daily Photo - Belly up to the Bar
Here is another shot from the ultra-cook Hotel Sax, where we are having the party mentioned above. The Hotel Sax has tons of these really swanky rooms that have a very nice feeling about them. Now, I don't drink alcohol at all... which makes awesome bars like this a little disappointing... but not so disappointing if there is someone interesting to talk to!

I actually, on occasion, end up with people who spend half the time talking about previous drinking experiences while having a drinking experience. I suppose this becomes a recursive function at some point... and I guess it's no different than going out with photographers and talking about other photography outings!

From the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com

Chicago from a Chopper

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:53:48 -0800

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

Upcoming Chicago Party
On January 2nd, we have our Chicago Book Party. You can see more information there or sign up on the Facebook Event Page.

Free talk in New York on Dec 15th at B&H Photo - A Firehose of HDR
See the photo below? One of the most common questions I get is "How do you make an HDR out of a single photo?" Well, I'll go over that and more on Dec 15th at noon at the Incredible B&H Photo in New York. You can get more New York B&H event info here.

Also, you may know that B&H is a partner of Stuck in Customs -- I recommend you buy from them on my Digital SLR recommendations page.

Daily Photo - Chicago from a Chopper
Chicago is an awesome city and I always have a good time there. This time of year, it gets a bit cold... and if you don't have a good coat pre-buttoned before you go outside, well, that's a big mistake.

I have a good friend there that arranged a helicopter for me in Chicago and took the door off! I hung out for a few hours battling the backwash as we circled the city and flew in and out of the buildings. This is one of the shots from that series, and I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I did shooting it!

From the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com

The Crimson before the Party

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:47:38 -0800

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

(the bigger sizes are nice!)

I was lucky enough, thanks to a friend, get entry to run around the Crimson Lounge in Chicago on a Saturday before they opened. I think maybe some of you have seen the other Chicago photos of this location... there were so many interesting things to shoot with great angles. That reminds me -- did you know that if you scroll down and look on the right, you can click there to see photos from various locations around the world?

Speaking of shooting cool stuff inside of an amazing place, we have a secret event coming up in Austin in the beginning of December. But shhh... don't tell anyone... I'll announce more as the time gets closer. It's going to be quite a party. It may or may not have something to do with a major book launch from someone you may or may not know.

From the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com

The Red Room

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:46:36 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

Does anyone else remember the Red Room from Twin Peaks? I was a real fan of that show and saw every one. The Red Room was this perfectly insane place that came out of David Lynch's mind. All the scenes inside there were filmed in reverse, and the lines were spoken backwards. They were then played backwards to give a very creepy feeling to the place. It was where Agent Cooper visited in many of his strange dreams. I wish Lynch would make a new TV series!

This is yet another shot from the Crimson Lounge in Chicago. The place was awesome. I took a ton of shots and I probably could have taken even more!

Also, we have a new sponsor of the site here - www.borrowlenses.com/?blpid=STUCKINCUSTOMS. I have a review coming up in the next Newsletter that will talk more about it. In short, it's like Netflix for lenses! Very cool idea... It's a great way to try out all those lenses that you've always wondered about or wanted!

From the blog at at www.stuckincustoms.com

The Inner Membrane of the Crimson Lounge

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:40:21 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

This is another shot of one of the coolest lounges in the world. It's called the Crimson Lounge in downtown Chicago. It has incredible textures and lights inside that are very hard to capture unless you use this HDR technique. At least, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Now, if you really want to see the details, I will explain how to see the huge size. I sometimes expect people know how to do this, but many do not, so I am happy to explain. 1) Click on the photo, and that will go to the Flickr page. 2) Click on ALL SIZES+ above the photo. 3) Click on ORIGINAL. That will show the huge version... the only problem is it probably won't fit on your monitor! You can do that with all the photos I upload... I like putting the huge ones on there for people to enjoy, use as personal wallpaper on their computers, other non-commercial purposes, etc.

From the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com

Hanging Out of the Chopper

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:19:23 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

Here is another photo that I took that evening when I was flying in a helicopter around downtown Chicago. The pilots were cool enough to take off the door to give me an unencumbered view. That part was great -- the thing I did not expect was the 200 MPH backwash flying through the cavity. It made it rather tough to keep the camera steady!

BTW, I am getting a few questions for my HDR TUTORIAL so there is the link.

This is a shot (on Facebook) that Fiona got of me hanging out of the helicopter (albeit on the ground!).

Now, I know some of you EXIF-hunters love to know all the dirty details of the exposure. I keep it inside the Flickr page if you click on More Properties. But to save you the time, here is the basic info. BTW, this is a single-exposure RAW file that I converted into an HDR. This was shot at f/2.8 with an Exposure Bias of -5. The shutter was 1/8000, the ISO 800, and it was shot at 18mm. The camera was the Nikon D3X and it was shot with the 14-24mm 2.8 lens. I have details of all that stuff over there in the DSLR Camera equipment area.

From the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com

Inside My Secret Cloning Chamber

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:10:16 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

I would love to have a mad scientist lab that is only accessible via a retinal scan and a special dance. Inside I would have all kinds of fabulous things, including a clone chamber where I would clone myself several times so that I could keep track of all my various social networks. The clone would, of course, have the same retina, but it could not gain access into the mad science lab because it would fail the special dance bit.

I'd very much like to record a music video in here alongside Flight of the Conchords.

As you can see from my intricate tagging system, this was shot in Chicago. Who is the first to know this location?. and my Chicago insider is not allowed to say! :)

From the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com

The Haunting Textures of the Hotel Sax

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:42:57 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

The Crimson Lounge sits behind some ornate doors in the lobby of the Hotel Sax in Chicago. I was lucky enough to get a private tour of this beautiful and secret place. It would be callously gauche to call this a hotel bar, because it is so much more.

There are about a dozen little rooms, enclaves, and velvet-curtained grottos that make up a textured complex of rooms that are just waiting around for me to lounge in while drinking something with an absurd name.

I collected a variety of other shots from this little gem of a place that I will be sprinkling into the blog over the next few months and years...

from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com

Freezing some time in Chicago at Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:21:14 -0800

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

It was a great (but freezing!) weekend in Chicago for the holidays. It was adventurous and relaxing. The first shot here is from the amazing tree in front of Bloomingdale's off Michigan Avenue.

I also spent a lot of time in the Art Institute of Chicago, coming away from my favorite room with the great Impressionists -- the room is filled with over $100 million in Renoirs, Monets, and Cézannes. After coming out of that forum, I always get a bit melancholy... a strange combination of inspiration while feeling like I have no talent at all.

The final shot (on the blog) is one of a wonderful little adventure journal that I thought you might enjoy. The other captures are little bits from here and there around my room... freezing some time, perhaps.

from my daily photo blog at www.stuckincustoms.com

Evening in Chicago

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 05:40:12 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

From the John Hancock building...

The Underground Peoplemover to the International Terminal

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 08:27:21 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

Found on the way to Hong Kong....

from my daily photo blog at www.stuckincustoms.com

A Silent Bridge to the City

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:24:09 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

Chicago! You can't go wrong with photographing this city just before or after it gets dark. All the light from the city casts sort of a matrix-glow up into the sky. It's always a neat effect and this area around Millennium Park is always a prime area for shooting.

Chicago from Above

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 20:08:32 -0800

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

I thank you for all the comments! Here, for you, are the Favorite shots from my stream. Thanks again!

See it larger on www.stuckincustoms.com

I think I like this Chicago picture the best... I was glad to catch the blue of the lake and the particolored sunset.

Green Man in Chicago

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:40:18 -0800

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

Top iPhone Apps for Christmas
I use my iPhone a lot. And I mean A LOT. I'm a big gamer and app-user. Besides playing games with my wife and friends, my 8-year-old is also uses it to play games... and he just may get an iTouch for Christmas. Anyway, here are some great games and apps for you and/or your family!

www.stuckincustoms.com/2009/12/24/top-iphone-apps/

Daily Photo - Green Man in Chicago

This is the famous "Bean" sculpture in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. It was an extremely busy day around there, so there was no hope of getting the bean sans tourists... generally, I don't like people around in my photos, but if there are going to be people, I want them to be interesting! Well I was lucky that Green Man was there... Now, I'm sure MOST of you don't know who Green Man is... you sort of have to be a mindless disciple of a rather edgy TV show called "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Like the apps above, I do recommend it... although, it can be a little offensive, to say the least!

Chicago Thaws into Spring

nobody@flickr.com (Stuck in Customs) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:45:17 -0700

Stuck in Customs posted a photo:

I was lucky enough to be in a helicopter over Chicago at sunset. A big thanks to Fiona and our pilots Bill and Jeff. They took the door off the helicopter for me, which sounds like a good idea until you are experiencing 100 MPH of chopper backwash while hanging out trying to get this kind of shot!

It was a fun day. We stayed up for a few hours and circled around the city several times. I got hundreds of amazing shots. I haven't had time to process any of them except for this one... but I wanted to go ahead and get it up since I know the Twitter and Facebook crowd has been waiting on it since I mentioned it on there. Also my mom was very worried about the whole door-off-the-helicopter thing.

Right in the center of the shot on the bottom is the famous Navy Pier. We timed this shot to get at the right height the second the sun dipped below the horizon to cast a rainbow of hues into the sky.

(and there are pics of me hanging out of the helicopter on my Facebook page if you want to come see!) :)

from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com