11/13/2013 - Pirates of the Caribbean Holy Grail One of the shots on my list of “Holy Grailsâ€Â
12/12/2013 - Tree of Life Anyone who knows me or has gone shooting in the ‘Parks with me knows how much I absolutely, positively LOVE Animal Kingdom at night. ; I think the park is absolutely gorgeous at night with the subdued landscape lighting and the illumination of the buildings. ; It has a sort of “haunted beautyâ€Â
1/28/2014 - Be Prepared! During our family trip to Walt Disney World in November of last year, we made it a priority to take in a late night viewing of the Festival of the Lion King show in Camp Minnie-Mickey at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. ; It was a priority because it would turn out to be the last time seeing the show in the current theater in Camp Minnie-Mickey as that area is set to be demolished in order to make room for the upcoming Avatar land of Pandora. ; In fact the last show in Camp Minnie-Mickey was on 1/5/2014. This scene, based on the song Be Prepared from the Lion King movie, features the live-action performer Kiume singing Be Prepared as a fire juggler performs on the stage. ; It is a challenging scene to try to get photos of, due to the dark ambient light, fast moving action, and bright highlights coming from the flaming baton.
1/29/2014 - Asia Bridge During Pixelmania 2013, we had the opportunity to walk around Disney’s Animal Kingdom after the sun had set and shoot for about an hour and a half in the dark. ; I have said before (and I am probably one of the biggest advocates for DAK after dark) that I LOVE Animal Kingdom at night and it kills me that the night-time extra magic hours were discontinued several years ago. ; Therefore, I always try to take maximum advantage of the opportunity to shoot some night shots at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This shot is one that I would probably have overlooked if it had not been pointed out by my good buddy, Justin (zackiedawg). ; Justin and I have “knownâ€Â
2/6/2014 - Minnie Mouse Around the Partners Statue in the main ‘hub of The Magic Kingdom are numerous smaller bronze statues of some of Disney’s greatest characters. ; I tried to photograph them during Pixelmania but due to the parade taping I was only able to get to a few of them, as most of the area was roped off. I wanted to use the red poinsettias for the Christmas season as they made for a great backdrop in which to make this photo of Minnie Mouse. ; I got in close, zoomed in tight, and opened the aperture to its widest position to get a nice shallow depth of field, rendering Minnie Mouse nice and sharp and the background soft and out of focus. ; I was using my Sony NEX-6 mirrorless with the 18-200 lens for this image. Thanks for checking in once again today and enjoy the rest of your day.
2/12/2014 - Now... SING! Ariel signs the contact with Ursula in the Little Mermaid and the next words we hear are the infamous… <blockquote>Paluga, sarruga, come winds of the Caspian Sea. Now rings us glossitis and max laryngitis, La voce to me! Now… SING!</blockquote> As your ride vehicle passes through Ariel’s Undersea Adventure in the New Fantasyland, you encounter one of the most impressive audio-animatronic figures in all of Walt Disney World, Ursula. ; This gigantic representation of the sea witch is so convincing and life-like you would think it was real. ; In this scene, Ariel has just sealed her fate to Ursual who bids her “Now… SING!â€Â
2/13/2014 - Mexico There is nothing quite as relaxing as a late-night walk around World Showcase in Epcot. ; The local ambient music, the smell of the food, and the cultural aspects of each pavilion are some of my favorite things in all of Walt Disney World. ; The facade of Mexico always was a difficult one for me to photograph because you are fairly close even at maximum distance because of its relation to the new restaurant across from the entrance and the top of the pyramid is quite high. ; Some of the other pavilions are much easier to capture an overview from the ground, but Mexico is one of the exceptions. ; That said, there are lovely views from across World Showcase lagoon but that is another photo for another day. This picture was made using my Sony NEX-6 using the in-camera, 3 shot HDR mode using my “stroller-podâ€Â
Thanks for posting the details on this great series of shots... and yes... we DO "hate" you for getting stuck at the Hitch hiking ghosts.... %^#@* *&%^# *@%$ ~Joanie
Totally missed these here, only saw them on the front page, nice! ; I see you changed your watermark.
2/17/2014 - Walt Disney World Dolphin Sunset We spent my wife’s birthday last year at Epcot then walked over to have an awesome dinner at IL MULINO at the Walt Disney World Swan. ; Along the way the sun began to set and I could not resist the chance to take a few pictures of the sunset behind the Dolphin from the bridge between Swan and Dolphin and the Boardwalk. ; I have always liked this vantage point as it gives a lovely view of the Dolphin, especially when a wide-angle lens. ; By positioning myself carefully, I was able to shoot between the palm trees to not have any sight obstructions in the frame. This picture, once again, was made using my Sony NEX-6 using the in-camera, 3 shot HDR mode, handheld. ; The base shot was 1/60 second, the -2 shot was 1/250 seconds, and the +2 shot was 1/15 second. Post-processing of this image consisted of some adjustments in Lightroom, followed by a bit of OnOne Perfect Effects 8 with a splash of Adobe Photoshop using the overlay blend mode until I got the look that I was seeking. ; I really like using the overlay blend mode to drop down highlights and open up shadows; I paint at full strength and vary the effect using layer opacity. If you have never stayed at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, you really owe it to yourself to give them a shot. ; Their rooms are clean, comfortable (AWESOME beds), and the hospitality and dining is top notch. ; Check them out at SWANDOLPHIN.COM and tell them Tim sent you!
