Category Archives: photography

Harambe Village

Posted by Mike on

Harambe Village, Africa,
Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World

One of the aspects of my Disney photography that I tried to work on last year was getting more people into my pictures. I think I do OK on the landscapes and the detail images but I have found that I like seeing people in the parks. Don’t get me wrong I really do enjoy a nice image of the parks sans people but I find myself more engaged with the image if there are people involved.

People add a sense of scale to a landscape image. They can make an image of the parks feel warmer and more inviting. I always proclaim how anti-social I am but in truth I find myself having more fun when I join the world. To this end I ventured outside my comfort zone last year and started capturing more atmosphere with my images.

One of my favorite areas of the Animal Kingdom park is Harambe Village in the Africa section. There is so much life in this village. It doesn’t hurt that the walkways narrow a little as you make your way through the village to your favorite attractions. Disney has also added a lot of character in the way of wood carvers sitting outside the stores performing their craft and a couple of entertainment options as well in the middle of the village.

Burudika is an African band that performs numerous shows every day. I find myself stopping whenever they are playing. They are very entertaining and they usually get the crowd dancing in the streets.

When I go back this year I am focusing even more of my efforts to capture the energy within the parks. The images below are my first attempts from last year, hopefully I will be able to improve on these…

Wood Carver - Justus Nikon D5100, Nikor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/640s, 55mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Wood Carver – Justus
Nikon D5100, Nikor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/640s, 55mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/1250s, 32mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/1250s, 32mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika 1 Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/2500s, 145mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika 1
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/2500s, 145mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika 2 Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/800s, 116mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika 2
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/800s, 116mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika 3 Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/1000s, 180mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika 3
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/1000s, 180mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika 4 Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/2000s, 122mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Burudika 4
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/2000s, 122mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Contemplative Cinderella

Posted by Mike on

Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

Contemplative Cinderella Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/800s, 46mm, f/8, ISO 400

Contemplative Cinderella
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/800s, 46mm, f/8, ISO 400

The Fence

Posted by Mike on

In The Yard – ITY04

Another image from last Friday when we had that rare sunny afternoon. I thought I would include a little more of the landscape to show what a beautiful day it was. This is the type of winter day I can get behind, not those grey, cloudy days. 🙂

The Fence Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/50s, 35mm, f/8, ISO 200

The Fence
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/50s, 35mm, f/8, ISO 200

Frozen Field

Posted by Mike on

In The Yard – ITY03

I might be taking liberty with my definition of “in the yard” for this one but since I walked across the road into the pasture to get this image I’m calling it part of my series. LOL After quite a few days of gloomy weather a brilliant sunny afternoon carried me home from work so I quickly suited up in my winter shoveling clothes, grabbed the camera and ventured outside. I could live with a little warmer temperatures but the sun was nice. I really liked how the shadows of the grass were playing across the whole field and I tried to focus on that as I composed this scene.

Frozen Field Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/320s, 35mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Frozen Field
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/320s, 35mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Video Games

Posted by Mike on

Collections: C02

Today brought another good day to try more indoor still photography. I thought I would work on another image for my new Collections Series. Creating these images is an attempt to come to terms with my bad habit of collecting things. I just went through my closet yesterday cleaning out some of the unwanted collections that have been accumulating inside (empty boxes from various purchases, magazines I’ll never read again, etc.). It felt good to clean out the junk.

Today’s image is from another of my obsessions – video games. I grew up as the video game industry was just beginning. I never was able to have the Atari 2600 or the Nintendo Entertainment System, although I had friends who did so I made it a point to stay friends with them. I did have some of the Mattel and Coleco handheld electronic games. I wish I had the foresight to keep those games. I bet today they would be something special or at least a curiosity for my kids.

I wasn’t able to disassemble my video game center to show everything in this image but I did manage to collect quite a few representatives. With both kids home I lost my extra room which doubled as a makeshift studio for me. I managed OK in the corner of the bedroom (had to keep Oliver away) but had a little more difficulty then necessary bouncing the flash properly. Not much processing applied to this image. A few tweaks in Lightroom and then a couple more in Photoshop.

Video Games Nikon D5100, Nikkor 4-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/50s, 36mm, f/16, ISO 400

Video Games
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 4-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/50s, 36mm, f/16, ISO 400