Im releasing 1,000 unique 1 of 1 photography NFTs from my travels across all seven continents, each with its own story as part of a PROOF Collective Official collaboration. Minting December 19.

TREY RATCLIFF: 1K1K PROJECT

As is the case with every day here, I have also included a photo. This is of the indomitable Fitz Roy at sunrise buried deep in the Andes, in the hinterland between Argentina and Chile. To get this shot, it was none too easy! First, I "woke" up after a sleepless night in a two-man tent with Yuri. It was perhaps the worst night of my life and I've never had a panic attack before, but I honestly felt like I was pretty close. The smell combined with the pitch black, the snoring, the freezing cold, and the tiny tent was almost more than I could bear!

I woke up around 4:30 AM with -7 Celsius temperatures. It was bitter cold. I got dressed QUICKLy in the pitch-black cold and then headed off with two of my Russian friends to begin scaling the mountain. They had lights on their hats; I did not. I walked between them, trying not to slip on the icy "trail" between the dodging shadows cast by their headlights. I'll never forget it for the rest of my life. We ascended 1,500 feet in less than 45 minutes so we could catch the pink rays of sunrise just as they hit the peaks.

Patagonia, Argentina

A Razor to the Sky #0071

On our last day here, we took a ferry over to Macau. Right before the ferry, we went through customs because there's still a whole process to go from Hong Kong to Macau, even though they are both in China. I had to get a multi-pass (Fifth Element Style) entry Visa for China because I was going in and out so much. I still find the whole customs process to be so slow, especially in light of new tech. Anyway, at least it was a pretty morning!

Hong Kong, China

The Commute Across the Bay in Hong Kong on a Rare Foggy Morning... #0075

These are some rather mysterious pygmy people that came down out of the mountain jungles one day to have a dance-off with the other tribes. Dance-off is not really the right word. It's actually kind of a serious cultural thing that is the highlight of the year for all the tribes. I was kind of hoping they'd do Thriller or something that I knew... or maybe re-enact a classic scene from Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. But they didn't! They did a very special kind of dance that was threatening, hugely impressive and used absolutely none of Turbo's marquee moves.

Anyway, this particular tribe had a bunch of kids with their heads shaved down the middle and then they take some of that hair and attach it under their chins. It certainly makes for a unique look that clearly makes this tribe appear a bit different than the others.

Goroka, Papua New Guinea

People of Papua New Guinea #0082

After you pass Glenorchy, the paved road continues for a while as you approach Paradise. The paved road then turns into a dirt road. At this point, many visitors turn around, which is a shame. you can keep on rolling down this road in your rental car for quite a way. There's even a few river crossings you can make, like Arwen on horseback. you can do it! Probably. 

There is also a lesser-known place to stay down here called the "Paradise Trust." There are about a dozen little cabins, all different and each remote from one another. There is no electricity, but there is running water and many of them have an iron bathtub outside where you can heat it with firewood and watch the stars overhead. It's incredibly romantic... almost beyond romantic.

Paradise, New Zealand

The Dirt Road to Paradise #0086

While in the north of India, I visited this Hindu temple. It was beautiful and decadent inside. I can't even imagine what it used to look like back in the day. The walls supposedly had inlaid jewels and other precious stones. Despite time, it is still impressive today.

I had set up for a normal multi-exposure shot, but then this Muslim woman came floating through the room, so I quickly made some adjustments and grabbed a quick single-exposure HDR.

Agra, India

Floating Through the Temple #0087

It was a damp but pleasant day, after raining all morning. I was inside a tiny little cafe near Kyoto having a green tea which was warm and smelled so nice. I drank it while I watched the rain outside and watched a few people walk by with purpose and umbrellas. I saw a tiny edge of light in the sky and thought things might change, so I somewhat reluctantly geared up with all my camera equipment and hiked over to this bamboo forest. The sun came out and started melting all the morning rain into a foggy mist that fell down around and behind me.

Kyoto, Japan

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU FOUND A UBER-UNIQUE!

In this collection of 1k1k, there are six uber-uniques. That means if you are holding this in your wallet on Mar 31, 2023, you can have the full print shipped to you! The real-life prints range in price from $35,000 USD to $95,000 USD, and you'll join amazing collectors like Edward Norton and Leonardo DiCaprio. Note after the 1 print is claimed, there will not be additional prints for future buyers of the NFT. Check our project website and contact us to find out more details.

The Mist From the Tree Tops Fell on Me From Above and Behind #0088

On the final night of Burning Man, when the Temple burns, most of the 80,000 people there take their bikes in the same direction. Well, kinda, but you know what I mean. I was headed out to the deep playa and stopped to watch the sunset and take photos of the worshippers riding by.

Burning Man, Nevada

The Final Night #0092

I love all the umbrellas in Tokyo! I captured these two girls that were giggling away while looking at some Christmas decorations just as it started to snow.

Have you noticed how Japanese girls cover their mouths when they laugh? you know why that is? you"ll never guess. I"ll get some of the details wrong on these dates. Before the Meiji period of the late 1800s, women would often die their teeth with a black lacquer to show adulthood or marriage. They often found this embarrassing, so they would cover their mouths when laughing. Even though it stopped 150 years ago, the tradition continues, passed on by daughters watching their mothers for generations. 

Tokyo, Japan

Christmas Snow in Tokyo #0095

Twas a Saturday after dark, and the party and the fire keep going all night long. This was taken about 15 minutes after the man fell down and was being consumed by fire.

The burning reminds me of this wonderful little physics nugget from Richard Feynman. This might be from his book "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out." Anyway, he makes a nice description that trees don't grow out of the ground, but they mostly grow out of the air. They get a few nutrients and some water and stuff from the ground, but 99% of the meat of the tree is made from carbon. The leaves grab the carbon dioxide and then use the sun to slice off the C from the O2. It hangs on to the carbon and it becomes the wood. The tree then gets rid of the O2 because it is waste.

Later, we take that wood and make it super-hot with fire, which makes the carbon reconnect with the oxygen, creating carbon dioxide once again. And then the cycle starts all over as it floats over to a nearby tree to go through it all again. All that fire, then, can be seen as stored sunlight. 
Anyhoo... that's the kind of stuff I read! Haha... you can probably search on youTube for "Feynman Tree Growing out of Air" and see more. He has so many great little physics thoughts like that. Wow, I really end up boring whoever sits by me on burn night.

Burning Man, Nevada

Trees Grow Out of Air #0111

I love this area of China and right upon arrival, there was a huge storm hitting. So exciting! I love a good storm. It was probably ill-advised, but my friend Tom (MySpace Tom) and I climbed up a mountain to get some photos. We were underneath the shade of an old pagoda, which kept us from getting wet... it was perfect conditions for storm shooting, really!

This is the result of taking about 100 photos while waiting to get lucky with the lightning. It's honestly just a guessing game to know when it will strike. I had the shutter open for 1.3 seconds with each shot so I might be able to capture the whole thing. MOST cool lightning shots you see are fake or a composition of several different lightning shots. I don't do that sort of thing... I never add stuff to my photos. Sure, there is post-processing, but I don't add in elements that I didn't see at that particular moment. If anything, I am a reductionist and remove things from a photo that I find unnecessary or distracting.

Guilin, China

Storm Chasing in Guilin #0125

This was taken near a giant Gundam robot in Tokyo. It's not only a great spot to take photos of the robot, but also a great place to people-watch. A lot of cute Japanese kids come here and I enjoy taking photos of them just as much! Some people ask me if it's weird to take photos of the kids or whatever. I don't think so, especially not in Japan. All the parents are totally cool with it. I think there is some kind of a Western fear-based hang-up that there must be something inherently strange about it... but I certainly don't feel that way - cute kids are awesome and fun to photograph!

you can get this look with the natural lens flare when shooting with a lens like the 50mm f/1.4 (this was a Leica) and if you aim into the sun with it a little bit in the corner. If you were to draw orthogonal lines from the lens-flare-curve, it would point exactly to the sun.

Tokyo, Japan

Little Girl in Tokyo #0126

I often hear an interesting piece of advice for artists, and, well for anyone. Don't be boring. Well, this is definitely not boring.

However, not being boring also means you take a lot of risks. Some of these risks push the edges of "polite society" or what is proper. So, yes, I occasionally get in trouble, but that doesn't really stop me from trying new things.

Either way this was definitely not boring. you can't quite see it from this angle, but two freight trains crashed together and exploded. This used to be a common spectacle in the olden days,

Burning Man, Nevada

Boring #0127

On another icy morning after waking up in a camp covered with snow, I crunched through the fresh fall and found my way down to this lake, It was still and silent. There"s something about a soft snow that seems to absorb even more sound, making it extra ethereal.

Patagonia, Antarctica

The Glassy Lake Near Antarctica #0131

If you want to get to this location, it's really easy! When you are in Shinjuku, go to the big movie theater there with the Godzilla on top. you can't miss it! When you go in, head up to the third floor with the elevator or escalator. There are huge windows here (clean windows) that give you this cool view right down one of the craziest streets in Tokyo. I shot this at about 70mm to give more of a compressed feel.

I was here in Tokyo with my son Ethan and we had the best time. We ate a ton of Ramen and sushi and walked all over the city. He's great to travel with... he's chill like me. Only travel with chill people. I learned this the hard way.

Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Shinjuku From The Movie Theater #0133

The beautiful temple at Burning Man from above with a drone. Every year it is a new design... this one was one of my favorites.

They have gotten very strict about using drones at the burn. I keep trying to get permission, but I keep getting denied. you know how it is, over time more and more rules and regulations come into place.

Burning Man, Nevada

The Temple #0134

I am a very Zen person generally, so whenever I feel anxious or out-of-place, I try to figure out why. This is one of those places. I felt like I wasn't supposed to be here as the ice towers turned and folded above me, cracking and pulling apart into an azure-blue glow. Everything was moving all the time, and I felt seconds away from falling into a crevasse and getting stuck forever. It was beautiful, ephemeral, and I removed myself from the ripping as quickly as seemed natural.

This was captured around midnight on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica when I lived there for a month. you'll see more stories in the other Antarctica photos in the collection.

Antarctica

Brora Action Shot #0135

Check out this old-timer. We drove about an hour outside of Chengdu to see some of the "old ways" since a lot of that has been swept away in the urban growth of China. We came to this old tea house where people were just sitting around having tea and smoking some rather insane-looking pipes. That is literally all they did... all... day... long... But it was really interesting and great for photography. I even sat down and had a little tea for myself!

Chengdu, China

An Old Tea House Near Chengdu #0136

It was well over 10 hours from Christchurch, New Zealand to Antarctica and this was our temporary home. I had never been on a plane in these conditions, so it was great to experience something new. However, before I got on board, my friend Stu and I were warned about something that scared us.

We had a briefing from a woman that works for Antarctica NZ before we went. She told us the plane would have people going to the four bases down there: New Zealand, USA, Italy, and South Korea. Each one wore a different uniform. Of course, the Italians had the coolest uniforms that looked like red leather jetfighters that just jumped out of a Ferrari. Anyway, I'm getting off the point.

So this lady told us not to make eye-contact with anyone else on the plane and absolutely no photos allowed. We were like, WTF? We thought Antarctica was some kind of international kumbaya place where we all work together on cool science and stuff. Anyway, she was a total loon... and I completely ignored her and moved around the plane to meet almost everyone and take a ton of photos.

Antarctica