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.
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…
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…
WDW in B&W – WBW38
Yacht & Beach Club, Crescent Lake, Walt Disney World
Other Disney Dreams
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 25mm f/1.8, 1/4000s, f/2.8, ISO 200
WDW in B&W – WBW37
Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World
Hollywood Dreams
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/400s, 40mm, f/11, ISO 400
MLCreations Photography 