We're in the middle of this family trip around the world for 60 days, and I've been eating so much good food that I'm gaining weight like a sumo-wrestler (more on that in our upcoming video). So here in Aruba at the @ritzcarlton , I'm going out on a run every day up and down the white beaches here. Since I don't carry my camera when I run (that would be WAY too geeky), I carry my new Pixel phone from Google. I've seen all kinds of interesting stuff... shipwrecks, crazy outfits, ruins, and then, out of nowhere, I turned around and this super-hero guy was galloping full force through the ocean. I'm glad I had my phone camera ready to go! #aruba #rcmemories via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Here's another view of our beach day at The Baths yesterday in Virgin Gorda. #virgingorda #rcmemories #beach #dji #phantom4pro #travel #fun @ritzcarlton via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

This is a new Plotagraph I just finished after a midnight walk in the docks of Puerto Rico. Also, there is Plotagraph Pro news! If you don't know what a Plotagraph is, the easiest way to explain it is you can take a SINGLE photo and then animate it. Any jpeg you can upload and animate. It's easy and fun.

So the NEW news is now there is a new level of subscription at 29 a month. Pretty good! It used to be 300 a year or something, which made it hard for people to try.

www.stuckincustoms.com/links/plotagraph

We went out to Rum Point on Grand Cayman Island for an amazing Beach Bash! Amazing chefs from countries all around the world as I gorged and gorged. I was barely able to move around enough to fly the quad up to get this shot :) #caymancookout #rcmemories #grandcayman #Twitter via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Beautiful Miami Beach at sunset. You Floridians have the best clouds ever! Each sunset brings something totally new an unpredictable. Here’s an awesome little lighthouse that looks fake but is totally authentic, Miami-style! I’ve been doing a bunch of live Facebook broadcasts - so check out ift.tt/1QyRtPD if you want to see more. #miami #florida #lighthouse #sas2016 #summitatsea #rcmemories #beach #sunset #hdr #aurorahdr via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

More dramatic sunrises here on east coast of Florida here in Fort Lauderdale! I'm having a great time and getting some good photo-time in. There's a bit of a rush because today is a travel day but will try to get a few photos up while in transit! :) #burlockcoast @burlockcoast @ritzcarlton #rcmemories #viewfrommyroom via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

We took the family over the wilder west side of Aruba to explore this amazing natural pool. You can see us in there, swimming away like little guppies! This was taken from above with the Phantom 4 Pro. #aruba #rcmemories via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Here’s another photo of my daughter Isabella when we were in Krabi, Thailand. We were walking home from dinner over the bridge and I asked her to stop for a moment because I thought she looked so lovely. :) #krabi #thailand #rcmemories #treyratcliff #jungle #bridge via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

I took my quadcopter to a new high to see the curve of the earth over Grand Cayman island during another amazing sunset. Next, heading to Aruba then San Juan then St. Thomas before stopping in Cairo to visit the Great Pyramids and then back to New Zealand. #grandcayman #caymancookout #rcmemories #ritcarlton @ritzcarlton via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Another beautiful sunset last night here on Grand Cayman. I've been really lucky here to get such good light. I literally have so many sunrise and sunset photos I don't know which to process first! But I'm just now dipping my toes in... #Grandcayman #rcmemories #caymancookout via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Here's a new photo I just finished on the flight to Denver, Colorado. This is a right after a storm at the Hindu temple of Prambanan in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. We just arrived here at the fab Ritz-Carlton and will be here for the week. This is the same place we'll be having our fun Sunday event! #Indonesia #Prambanan #Yogyakarta #AuroraHDR #RCMemories via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Yesterday we went snorkeling into some caves! I got so deep in there I could not even see my hands... There are Planet Earth fish inside that glow in the dark. I got a bit creeped out so I made a not-so-graceful egress. This is in the British Virgin Islands - a very small island called Norman Island. It's my first time here and there is amazing coral here! My daughter Isabella was petrified to get in the water after hearing about the fire coral, but she finally acquiesced after she saw all the colorful fish. There was also a cool crewman on our ship that recognized my Alex Grey shirt! Isabella thought it was strange... "Why would anyone notice dad's stupid shirt???" #normanisland #stthomas #rcmemories #ritzcarlton @ritzcarlton via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Here’s this morning’s sunrise here in Half Moon Bay just south of San Francisco. I took this about 45 minutes ago… the start of a great 7-week-trip I think! That place on the stunning coastline is the Ritz-Carlton where I’ve been staying with the family. A few nights ago there was a big fire pit out there and we were roasting smores — always a big hit with the kids! Just last night I was about 3 minutes away over with my friend Robert Scoble as the kids/wife played VR for until about midnight — That was a blast too! :) #Halfmoonbay #california #sunrise #RCmemories #hdr #aurorahdr @ritzcarlton via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

My two little girls reluctantly coming out of the ocean so they can join us for dinner... these two are water bugs!! :) #rcmemories #florida #familyvacation #twitter via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

J'aime le Mont St. Michel! :) Here's a photo from the sunset yesterday here in Normandy. We had high hopes of going up into the castle to find some pizza. An advance party went up and explored all around but everything was closed, so we went back to the bus for some toasties and games.

My hot travel tip if you come here is to book one of the few hotels inside the castle-monastery and eat early.

We're now back on the bus and on the way to London - see you soon! Apologies to those that can't make the sold-out event, but I'll come back another time with a bigger venue! :)

Here's a photo I just finished working on... it took quite a while. This is a huge panorama of the sunset in Bali. You can see one of the beautiful temples on a cliffside there on the left. #Bali #Indonesia #RCMemories via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Walking along the beach in the early morning in Grand Cayman... #Grandcayman #rcmemories #caymancookout via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Here's a panorama I just took from our room before leaving Naples to drive to Ft Lauderdale! #naplesbeach #rcmemories #rcnaples #naples #florida @ritzcarlton via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Yesterday it was rainy and moody all day here in Hong Kong. But we were out taking photos anyway and loving it. I don't know if you saw my Instagram stories or not, but we have a really good team out with us trying to find cool spots. This was one of those rainy situations where I had to wipe down the lens after every exposure until I could get a clean shot. We have one more day here in Hong Kong, and then we're going to Macau, Sanya, Koh Samui, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, then Langkawi! I'm getting tired and excited just thinking about it! #ritzcarltonhongkong #RCMemories #hongkong #HDR #China

Join me for an all-expenses paid trip here to New Zealand to take photos for a week and join my photo adventure workshop! Yes, flights and all. This contest is available all around the world and anyone can win. I'll give you three steps here and tell you how it works. And if you don't win that one, maybe you'll win a chance to come see Hans Zimmer in concert with me in the best seats in the house amidst 40,000 fans in Frankfurt, Germany's Commerzbank-Arena. Two great prizes there, both celebrating these 10 Photo Walks I'm doing across Europe in 10 great cities. Join me for these free events!

What do you do to enter?

First, if you think any of this sounds cool, tell your friends! We have more about the photo contest at 80stays.treyratcliff.com/

Second, on that site, you can see links to all the contests and more along the top! I said two great prizes… not quite accurate as there are actually more!

Third, and this is not a requirement, but a fun thing - if you’re in the area, RSVP to one of our free photo walks coming up in Europe. You’ll also see links to all 10 events at the site above.

Good luck, and I hope you win! You’ll be on a shiny new Air New Zealand bird, heading here to Queenstown for a week of some of the most insanely beautiful scenery in the world. I’ll show you all my secret spots and you’ll have a great time at our workshop… stay in a beautiful hotel, have great food and wine, take photo walks all through the southern alps, and meet my dog Blueberry (a real highlight hehe!). Anyway, I’m packing my bags now to come to Europe for 40 days for these photo walks (spending 4 days in each city as our bus of merry traveling artists weave our way from Lisbon to Barcelona to Milan to Paris to London to Amsterdam to Berlin to Vienna to Budapest, then jumping on a plane to end the tour in Moscow) - sound exhausting eh? Okay gonna take a nap now while my camera batteries charge.

See you all soon, and best of luck again on the contest. We thought it would be a fun way to get the whole world involved even if you can join me in Europe.

#80Stays #rcmemories #AirNZ #InterFlixContest

Rice fields from above in Bali… taken while staying at the amazing @MandapaReserve there. #Bali#rice#ricefields#rcmemories#ritzcarlton#mandapa#mandapareserve#dji#phantom#becoming#treyratcliff via Instagram ift.tt/1ZC7W8g

This was the sunset before the Barefoot BBQ here on Grand Cayman island last night. We took off our shoes while great chefs like Eric Ripert, José Andrés. and Anthony Bourdain cooked up their favorite island dishes. How fun! It went late into the night and I ate waaaay too much. I'm feeling guilty so about to go out for a morning jog on that beach down there - 7-mile beach that runs in front of the Ritz-Carlton below. #Caymancookout #rcmemories #grandcayman #twitter via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Right before we left Barcelona, we went to this beautiful mountaintop called "Tibidabo" where these amazing towers look over all of the city below. Next stop is Nice, then Eze, then Cinque Terre and ending up in Milano!

I tried paddleboard yoga only twice, and each time was more of an hour-long panic rather than hour-long zen. This is a class I was tempted to take in Aruba.

A woman checks her map to help navigate around the Old Town area of San Juan. #SanJuan #rcmemories #puertorico #oldtownsanjuan #streetphotography #travelgram #lost via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

This morning on a temple wander in Kyoto, Japan. If you're following my Instagram stories, then you can see it's mostly fun & games with the occasional photo!

#80stays #rcmemories #kyoto #japan

Here's a photo of the amazing blue streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico, along with a very adorable dog!

#sanjuan #rcmemories #puertorico

Farewell Japan! I had an amazing time here, and I look forward to updating my portfolio at SmugMug when I return at www.stuckincustoms.com/links/smugmug . It's such a beautiful country with such a zen, Shinto culture that I really appreciate.

#zen #kyoto #rcmemories #japan #bamboo

Here's a look at Hong Kong from a new place. I usually shoot the city from The Peak, but that part is so crowded that it kinda drives me nuts! So my friends recommended that we go up on top of a mountain over on the Kowloon side and shoot down at the buildings.

#hongkong #rcmemories #china #kowloon

Here we are in Kyoto again and ready for the photo walk today at 3 PM! Be sure to check out our events on Facebook if you would like to join us. We'll be walking around the special district of Kyoto where you can still see the real geishas. They start moving around the tiny streets around 5 PM, right in the middle of our photo walk. It's hard to take photos of them because they are so rare... sort of a Japanese unicorn!

#80stays #rcmemories #japan #kyoto

Here's a photo of Hong Kong taken from across the river on the Kowloon side. This was taken out of the window of the Ritz-Carlton there when we were doing the tour there. This is one of the photos I submitted to the whole Vanity Fair team for the Oscars thing, but it was rejected! No, that's okay.... they were just selecting one photo from Hong Kong and this was one of a few submissions. They decided on another one that I really like as well.

#hongkong #rcmemories #china

Moscow's Red Square - if you missed the live video I did here, be sure to check the Videos section of my Facebook page.

Here's my favorite part of the Sagrada Familia in Barthalona. I was actually allowed to use a tripod in here, something that most cathedrals do not allow. I'd like to think that Gaudi was a fan of tripods, so he made sure that people could use them to capture one of his master-works. #Spain #rcmemories #barcelona

If you tuned into the Live show I just did from Singapore, then you saw me get this shot. It was a bit of a ropey situation since I had no real tripod and had to throw my jumper over the front of the camera, but it still turned out pretty good! Not long after this, I went on a walk around that whole inlet, starting with that beautiful double-helix purple bridge on the left. #Singapore #rcmemories #layover

Morning fog rolling in through Hong Kong...

#HongKong #rcmemories #china #fog

Here's a photo I edited in the live class a few days ago... can anyone name this city? It's a tough one to guess! #rcmemories

A big rainstorm hit Moscow just before our photo walk... we were a little worried, but then it cleared up beautifully at the last moment. Here's a view of the Red Square with the post-storm-sun hitting it and the dark storm clouds behind.

A beautiful Autumn in Tokyo! Thanks for coming out to the photo walk last night! What a great crowd (feel free to watch the live video on my Facebook page)! Next up is Kyoto then Osaka then Okinawa. As the photo walk ended, I went to go join the team for dinner and stopped here to take a photo of the Autumn trees outside the Ritz-Carlton (our awesome partners for our 80 Stays tour). Now, we're about to board the bullet train to the next stop.

#80stays #rcmemories #japan #kyoto #autumn

Here's another view of one of the five cities along the coast of Italy we visited in Cinque Terre. What a cool spot! I'd love to go back here and stay for a few days to really explore and hike the area more.

I'm giving away 10 free scholarships to students in Europe!

Directly after the 10 photo walks (which are free), there is an after-party learning event in each city which is ticketed. These are really fun events where I give a talk, share fun photo secrets, and do an extended Q&A that often gets very deep! I always like to save a few spots for students.

If you're interested, just leave a comment below about what city you'll be closest to and RSVP in the Facebook event! Check the list of cities at 80stays.treyratcliff.com/ to find one close to you.

#80stays #paris #france #rcmemories #AirNZ #InterFlixContest

Every sunset has been a stunner here in Langkawi. I haven't been back here for ten years. A lot has changed, but the sunsets have not! #80stays #RCMemories #ritzcarltonlangkawi

Really looking forward to going back to New Zealand... the long long trek begins today from Germany > London > LA > Home!

The moon sets behind a catamaran at dawn here. Join me at 10 AM EST with Bourdain as we have a fun live event on ift.tt/1QyRtPD ! This was shot off the beach here on the Grand Cayman islands - Anthony Bourdain and a bunch of other chefs are here at the Ritz-Carlton for the famous #CaymanCookout #GrandCayman #RCMemories #Twitter via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Heading here for Japanese food tonight in Naples. I got the hot tip from my friends Pasha and Katie today when they joined us at our beach cabana! I stopped in last night to take a few photos, and now happy to realized the coincidence. Thx again Pasha and Katie - see our cancer charity effort at goo.gl/kdUzJp #naples #naplesflorida #rcmemories #sushi #dusk #japanesefood ! :) via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

I spent a few hours visiting old tea houses outside of Chengdu, China a few days ago. It was fun to hang out with the locals and have a truly authentic Chinese tea experience.

几天前我来到成都的一家古老茶室，和当地人一起同游并感受传统茶文化，非常的有意思。

#80Stays #RCMemories #China #Chengdu

Made it here to Monte Carlo with about an hour before sunset so we made a little hike to discover some new areas. We also found a great little pizza place... quattro fromaggio... always my go-to-pizza where I have a lot of guilt the next day. Oh well. This was a unique spot up here on top of this hill where the palace is. You can shoot down towards this harbour, but if the light is no good, you can walk about 5 minutes to the other side of the peak and see down towards the other harbour. I'll post that shot in a few days when I have a chance to process it! This was a vertirama (two photos, vertically), shot with the Hasselblad X1D then edited together in Aurora HDR.

Here's a view of the pool looking back at the hotel here - we finally got the kids out of the pool, but now we can't get them out of the ocean... surfing classes tomorrow with my son! :) #sanjuan #rcmemories #puertorico @ritzcarlton via Trey Ratcliff on FB at ift.tt/1v05hWZ Snapchat: treyratcliff ift.tt/1qx3iMJ Instagram: treyratcliff ift.tt/1c7s6Uy

Who wants to go on photo walks in Japan with me? We've got all the information for these free events up on my Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TreyRatcliff

I see we have over 100 people already RSVPed for the London Photo Walk - great! That's just one of 9 cities I am visiting in Europe - find out if I'm coming to your city and RSVP with some friends at 80stays.treyratcliff.com/ ! :) #80stays #rcmemories #europe

We had an amazing day in Mont Saint Michel. It was much too short, and I want to go back again to explore more… but I was happy to escape with a few shots! Here's one that I took right before I was about to give up and walk back to our bus. I was about to pack up my tripod but then turned around to see a bus coming toward Mont Saint Michel. I quickly set everything up to get a long exposure right as soon as the bus passed, hoping it would give some dreamy light streaks towards the old monastery.

- Trey Ratcliff

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