Disney

Fort Wilderness Lodge Christmas Tree

Disney Christmas

I headed off to the Magic Kingdom and Fort Wilderness lodge with the usual suspects of central florida photographers (you know who you are!) last week and captured this image in the Lodge’s lobby.

Disney always does a great job with the decorations in the resort lobbies.  The Grand Floridian, for example, has an amazing tree as well.  We had planned on heading there, but as with most photowalks, we spent most of our time photo-stopped and didn’t get very far!

Disney Fantasy in the Caribbean

Disney Fantasy Cruise Ship

This is the Disney Fantasy (Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship) docked in Cozumel, Mexico in late September.  I took this shot after a long day at port immediately before boarding to depart for Grand Cayman.

Cozumel was a fun port of call – complete with Mayan Ruins at San Gervasio; now they’re not what one would imagine Mayan ruins to be (tall pyramids nestled in a valley, etc).  They’re about 35 minutes out from the port and they’re easy to get to and walk around.  Everyone will tell you the mosquitos are really bad, but they really aren’t  – though this could have been a function of being out there in late September.

As for the Fantasy, the ship is, in a word, amazing.  It’s beautiful, clean, and very well maintained.  It’s not hard to see why it’s the jewel in the Disney Cruise Line  fleet.  I won’t do a full review here but I will recommend mousesavers for a good discussion on DCL and the Fantasy.

Have a Magical Night!

Have a Magical Night

I photographed this last night at the Magic Kingdom and thought you all might enjoy it :)  Someone said there was some Super Bowl thing going on, but from what I heard about the score, you might as well have been playing minecraft (you might have been better off playing minecraft anyway ;))

By the way, you can checkout my photographing fireworks tutorial to read up on how to create images like these; fireworks can be intimidating at first, but can be one the most straight-forward subjects to shoot (once you get the hang of them).  You’ll need a couple of things (like a good tripod) and, if you can afford it, a remote trigger (I use an radio trigger, but just a simple wired one will do the trick).

I say all this then have to tell you that all I did yesterday was shoot handheld: camera, lens, that’s it.  While I normally do carry a tripod with me,  I wasn’t really planning on shooting the fireworks yesterday.  The plan was to be home pretty early, but time can run away from you when you’re having a bit of fun!

Have a magical night!

Disney’s Fantasyland: Eric’s Castle

Disney's Fantasyland: Eric's Castle

The light isn’t always there and sometimes you just have to wait for it. This was one of those times where I just sat around with nothing to do for a while until the light was just right.

A cloud or two would have made this just perfect, but one can’t have everything I suppose.

From the new Fantasyland at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

Single handheld exposure edited in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Epcot’s Illuminations, Japan

Epcot Fireworks Illuminations

Epcot’s Illuminations fireworks display as seen from the Japan Pavilion at the World Showcase.  I was shooting very long exposures this night (30″+) and was only able to get a few images because of the duration.  I didn’t get a lot of images, but I do like what I captured.

It was also a fun shoot.  I locked up focus and composition an hour or so before the show, ate some sushi, chatted with some friends and waited for the fireworks to start.  I love the music that accompanies the show.

China Epcot’s World Showcase

Located between the Germany and Norway Pavilions at Epcot’s World Showcase, the China Pavilion features a replica of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.   Epcot’s replica is home to the 360° movie “Reflections of China”.  I love seeing this movie and all the images of China it contains but I don’t always get a chance to when I visit Epcot.

Outside of the frame on either side of the bridge are serene ponds that make for interesting photos themselves.  I’ll see about grabbing a shot of some of the lily pads next time I’m there during the day.

France: Epcot’s World Showcase

There’s no way to travel faster around the world than to take a walk through the World Showcase at Epcot.  There are eleven countries represented including France (which you see in the photo here).  There are rides, foods, and shows at the various countries to give visitors a “taste” each nation (especially if you’re there during the annual Food & Wine Festival as I was to take this photo).

I wasn’t fortunate to have clouds that night, but it was an exceptionally clear sunset which has its own charm.

Sitting Area

Sitting Area at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club

Another one from Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club.  I photographed this the same day I captured the corridor at the Yacht and Beach Club Convention Center.  I was drawn to the texture in the chairs and the symmetry.  Sometimes it’s the simple things that draw you in.

Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club

I was able to spend some time last week at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club, and wow- was it ever a treat!  Everything about the resort is top notch.  What you see here is the main corridor of the resort’s Convention Center.  I was fascinated with this hallway and the symmetry on display.   Many thanks go to the staff, who were very kind and accommodating as I took my time shooting.

Disney World 40th Anniversary Fireworks

I normally never post this late, but today is the Special 40th Anniversary of Walt Disney World. I have a couple more shots from the fireworks and other happenings during the night.

Wil post more in the coming day or so, but enjoy this one for now!