Disney World & Disneyland Pictures & Photo Tips

Shooting the Disney Dark Rides – Part 2

Posted by Todd Hurley | Filed under: Photography 101 | 4 Responses

Jul 28

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Shooting Disney Dark Rides

My approach to shooting the dark rides addresses each of the challenges above. First, get to know your equipment well (button placement, menu options, scrolling quickly through menu options, setting up custom functions, etc.) and also know it’s limits (if you’ve never photographed a dark ride, you may not know your equipment’s limitations just yet). Shooting the dark rides will help you gain an intimate knowledge of your camera’s controls, which will in turn help your chances of capturing better images.

Don’t let the water hold you back

Posted by Paul Gowder | Filed under: Camera Gear | 7 Responses

Jul 27

Imagineering the Shot Typhoon Lagoon, Kali River Rapids, Splash Mountain… Words that strike fear into us camera toting tourists. But there are ways to capture images on these attractions without drowning in debt or soaking your camera. From all of my WDW photos, I get more “how did you do that” questions about this series of photos than any other. Most people either don’t know anything about the gear or have sticker shock from the prices. Underwater and in water photography, however, provides you with great creative perspectives and fun images of your family. Underwater housing for our DSLRs can cost more than the body itself. Spending $1,400 for photos on your WDW vacation is not in most of our budgets. I’m sure most of us would rather put that kind of money into a new lens or Annual Passes! But there are some inexpensive alternatives. For your DSLR For your Point and Shoot This series of images was shot with a Canon PowerShot SD800 IS. Someone once gave me the tip to always have a Point and Shoot with me even when carrying the DSLR. These little cameras can go places our larger companions can’t. This is one great example. I chose to get the smaller waterproof housing for our point and shoot so I wasn’t carrying 5 pounds of camera in the pool with me. The size of the Canon PowerShot is perfect [...]

Shooting the Disney Dark Rides – Part 1

Posted by Todd Hurley | Filed under: Photography 101 | 9 Responses

Jul 26

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Shooting Disney Dark Rides

Shooting the dark rides at WDW can be frustrating and extremely challenging, but also fun and good practice for technique. First, a couple of small disclaimers: we’ve all heard the saying “it’s not the equipment, it’s the photographer,” which is fundamentally true. However, in the case of shooting dark rides (i.e. motion under low ambient light conditions), we have to face the fact that getting a decent exposure can be equipment prohibitive.

My Most Magical Moment

Posted by Cory Disbrow | Filed under: Disney Photo Spotlight | 25 Responses

Jul 23

This shot has, I must say, a heck of a story behind it. Late one night on my June trip, we decided to go ride the Tower of Terror with a set of fastpasses we had from earlier in the day. Since it was close to closing time, there really wasn’t anyone in either of the two lines. So when I got into the lobby, I asked the Cast Member if it would be possible for me set up my tripod and take some pictures of the lobby. She said it would be fine as long as I stayed within the Fastpass queue since the standby line was so short that more people were coming through there. After a little while, and some good conversation about the attraction, I got very lucky. I don’t know if this CM could see my love for the parks/photography, or if she was just feeling like getting fired, because the words I heard next made me think twice.

Town Square Exposition Hall

Posted by Bill Ryan | Filed under: Disney Photo Spotlight | 2 Responses

Jul 22

Imagineering the Shot Exposition Hall in Town Square is a great place to stop on the way out of the Magic Kingdom. Nice, cool air conditioning and lots to look at inside. There are also rocking chairs on the porch to rest your bones after a day of walking (or running) through the park. With all of the light bulbs on this sign and the dark blue color of the sky, this looked like it could be something good. Taken with a Canon Powershot S500, f/2.8 ISO 100. Magical Post Production I went very light on the processing – just a little crop and some minor adjustments in Lightroom. I increased the black level +1 and adjusted the orange/yellow saturation and luminance to get the colors on the sign popping. Also increased the blue luminance level for a slightly darker sky. A bit of sharpening and it was all set. Conclusion Some of my best pictures are shot when the group is taking a break and I can wander around a little and look for interesting compositions. This picture seems very simple, but I think it came out really good, even though it was shot with a point and shoot digital camera over 6 years ago. I’ll be in Disney World the last week of July. Armed with my Nikon D90 and 3 lenses (including a fisheye), I hope to come back with some new and unique shots from the Happiest Place on Earth. Thanks for looking and make it [...]