Category Archives: WDW in B&W

This Way to the Magic

Posted by Mike on

WDW in B&W – WBW46
Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

Twelve days!

What?

Only twelve days until my trip to Disney.

Oh. So.

Hey, you should be more excited.

Ok.

That doesn’t sound like you are excited.

It is your trip… you Disney-holic.

Fair.

I have been attempting to visit Disney around this time for quite a few years now. I’m going down for the International Festival of the Arts at Epcot. The park will be full of artists, both visual and musical. This is also my first visit after moving south. I’ll be driving down early on February 6th for a weekend of fun at the festival as well as making the tour of the other parks. As everyone knows, I’ll be posting while I’m there and maybe this year I’ll be providing more commentary in addition to a few pics.

Looking through images from my trip last May I found this non-typical view of Cinderella Castle. This is right after entering the park before the rope drop allowing everyone to “race” to the attractions. I liked the path leading up to the castle as well as the bright side light from the morning sun.

This Way to the Magic
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/160s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 100

Tomorrow Castle

Posted by Mike on

Wordless Wednesday
WDW in B&W – WBW45
Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

Tomorrow Castle
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 40mm f/2, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 100

Light of Morning

Posted by Mike on

WDW in B&W – WBW44
Crescent Lake, Walt Disney World

Light of Morning
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1s, 18mm, f/11, ISO 200

Morning Light

Posted by Mike on

WDW in B&W – WBW43
Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World

Morning Light
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/80s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200

Cindy’s Morning Shine

Posted by Mike on

WDW in B&W – WBW42
Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

I’m still in the middle of my love/hate relationship with Walt Disney World. The 50th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World is October 1st. It is 31 days away! When the other anniversary milestones came I didn’t do anything special (to be fair neither did Disney on a couple of them). But I thought the 50th would be something spectacular and I would be there. I currently have no plans.

What I do have is more images from my trip this past May. As much as I might complain about Disney, and Walt Disney World in particular, I did have a few good times on my trip. Unexpected early entry into the parks was one of those times. The Magic Kingdom was scheduled to open at 8am but as soon as I arrived cast members were letting guests into the park. OK I thought, they probably have a rope at the end of Main Street holding everyone back until the official time. Nope! The park was open to us. While everyone was running off to any open ride, I was running around capturing as many images as I could.

I was on my way to Frontierland for sunrise-like images along the Rivers of America. Passing over the bridge from the hub presented this harsh view of Cinderella Castle which I could not pass up. Upon my first look at this image back in May I didn’t see anything special. I liked the sun flare but there were too many flare spots. Although I love shooting into the sun, there were to many spots to overcome in post-processing. While cruising the trip’s album in Lightroom last night this image jumped out at me. I needed to work on it.

It might be a cheat to convert it to monochrome but it did alleviate my problem with the sun spots. The other great affect of converting this image, it removes the new color scheme Disney used for the anniversary. I mentioned in a post back in May that the new scheme has Cindy looking like her sibling in Disneyland. I’m still undecided about the look for her but this version helps me forget. I think it fits nicely with the other images in my WDW in B&W series.

Cindy’s Morning Shine
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 17mm f/1.8, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 200

Shrine of the Mountain

Posted by Mike on

WDW in B&W – WBW41

Shrine of the Mountain
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/125s, 41mm, f/11, ISO 200

Classy

Posted by Mike on

WDW in B&W – WBW40
Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

Cinderella Castle in profile is probably more photographed than the full front view, at least by me. Especially this view from the bridge into Liberty Square. During certain times of the day you will need to line-up for your chance to capture Cindy. Late afternoon isn’t generally one of those times. I had this spot to myself and was able to explore various angles before deciding this is the one I wanted. The simple black & white processing is definitely a favorite of mine…

Classy
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/200s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200

Port of East Africa

Posted by Mike on

WDW in B&W – WBW39
Africa, Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World

As colorful and visually stimulating as Walt Disney World can be, there is something special about a black and white image of the park. The removal of color allows the eye to focus on the details and textures of a scene. The gentle balance between shadow and light. Converting an image to monochrome does not lessen it at all.

This view of the port in the village of Harambe in the Africa section of the Animal Kingdom is a favorite view of mine. The amount of detail created by the Imagineers for nothing more than visual decoration is incredible to me. The guests can not walk down to the water nor is there a boat ride that passes by the port. It is the introduction to an area, the tone setter, the preamble for a whole section of a park.

I probably capture a dozen images of this view throughout the course of my day at Animal Kingdom. Actually, both views from the bridge into the village are as photogenic as hell. When the season is right, the sunset will occur over the building for the Festival of the Lion King and adds even more punch to my images.

But this one is an early morning capture with the sun rising over the Tree of Life behind me. I would have liked a few clouds in the sky but who is going to argue with a perfect Florida blue sky. The almost mirror-like surface of the water only “plusses” this view with detailed reflections.

This one definitely belongs in my WDW in B&W series…

Port of East Africa
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/100s, 17mm, f/11, ISO 200