Tag Archives: walt disney world

Put your right foot in…

Posted by Mike on

Kilimanjaro Safaris, Africa, Animal Kingdom

I always take a ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris in the Africa section of Animal Kingdom. It is a ride which is the ultimate challenge for a photographer. The ride is not smooth. You will bounce around in the safari truck. There are animals on every side so you must decide at the start which side to focus on. The lighting will change throughout the ride. And of course, the animals might not be out.

In October I had my Olympus OM-D E-M10 camera which has in camera stabilization. I chose to use the 60mm lens so I didn’t have to worry about changing the focal length. And then I always ask to sit in the last row. It might be a little rougher but I can turn around and shoot out the back without any people in my view. I also got very lucky on this particular trip… I had the back row all to myself! I was like a kid in the candy store!

 

MLCreations Photography: Animal Kingdom &emdash; Put your right foot in...

Put your right foot in…
Olympus OM-D E-M10, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8, 1/800s, f/8, ISO 400

Motion Blur

Posted by Mike on

Imagination Pavilion, Future World, Epcot

Mondays are always difficult. The start of another work week. The first get up after a relaxing weekend. But they are also known in my Disney Photography world as Monorail Monday. I have posted lots of monorail images and as any frequent reader will know I have a thing for those darn monorails. 🙂

Today’s monorail image is a little different. It is more of a hint of monorail image than anything else. I also have a thing for photographing the reverse waterfall at the Imagination Pavilion in Epcot. This image combines those two favorites.

I was right in the middle of the evening blue hour. The sky still had that deep blue color and near the horizon you can catch a glimpse of the sun reflecting off the clouds. I setup the tripod with the thought of capturing the monorail as it approached the waterfalls. In order to freeze the monorail I would have had to increase my ISO to get a fast enough shutter speed.

I went in the other direction. I triggered the shutter as the monorail approached and captured the whole passing in a 25 second exposure. This allowed for a nice smoothing of the waterfall and monorail.  You can still make out a few distinguishing features of the monorail…  the red stripe, the white body and the window area.  The headlight created a great reflection in the water.

MLCreations Photography: Epcot &emdash; Motion Blur

Motion Blur
Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, 25s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200

Light & Shadow

Posted by Mike on

Spaceship Earth, Future World, Epcot

MLCreations Photography: Epcot &emdash; Light & Shadow

Light & Shadow
Olympus OM-D E-M10, M. Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II R, 1/1250s, 41mm, f/8, ISO 200

Boardwalk Glow

Posted by Mike on

Crescent Lake, Walt Disney World

I am going to go with the excuse that I have not been feeling well and that work has been really hectic as the reason for not venturing out with the camera of late. That is my story and I am going to stick with it. So that leaves me looking through my photo library for something interesting to show.

I seem to be stuck on night/pre-dawn/sundown type images recently. I know I can attribute this fixation on the fun I had during my vacation over Christmas. I came away with quite a few great images and it sparked a desire to learn more.

This image is from my October trip to Walt Disney World. An early morning walk around Crescent Lake which ended up having a very foggy sunrise. This is the Yacht Club Lighthouse looking toward the Boardwalk about thirty minutes before the official sunrise. Usually there would be wonderful deep blues in the sky and if there were only a hint of clouds the morning colors would be bouncing off of them. What I captured is the glow of the Boardwalk lights soaking into the clouds and fog.  The colors create a different mood but they work together.

MLCreations Photography: Around WDW &emdash; Boardwalk Glow

Boardwalk Glow
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 20s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 200

Nine Dragons

Posted by Mike on

China Pavilion, World Showcase, Epcot, Walt Disney World

There are a few locations in Epcot that I always spend extra time exploring. The China Pavilion is one of those places. Visually, there is a lot happening in the pavilion. I love the architecture, colors and layout of the entire area. Normally, I am photographing the Temple of Heaven but honestly there is not a bad direction to point your camera.

This image is captured near the stairs into the Temple looking back across the lily pond toward the Nine Dragons restaurant. The bold primary colors with the building, sky and shrubbery make everything jump out at me. I love the reflection in the water and the lines formed by the lily pads pointing toward the building.

This is actually two images blended together, not as an HDR image but to remove a few distractions.  Normally I would have been using a tripod but the two images were captured handheld  so combining them involved a few extra steps.  If anyone is interested in the process, leave a comment and I’ll create a post of how I created this image.

MLCreations Photography: Epcot &emdash; Nine Dragons


Nine Dragons
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/125s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200

Tower Blue

Posted by Mike on

Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World

When we were in Florida for Christmas it was a given that we would be going to Disney. The trip was to be with Grandma, but the kids had not been to Disney in almost 4 years. There was no way I was getting away without taking them. So we picked two parks and went over for a couple of days.

After a successful day at Epcot we did change up our plans and rather than fight the crowds at the Magic Kingdom we opted to go to Hollywood Studios and spend the middle of the day at Disney Springs (formally Downtown Disney). This worked out well as sadly, Hollywood Studios is going through some changes and we were able to do everything in the morning, and make it back for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at night (this was the last year for the lights).

We arrived back at the park via one of the Friendship boats from the Boardwalk resort. I decided to run to the car to drop off everyone’s purchases and dare I say it, my camera! I didn’t want to get caught up trying to photograph the lights and thought I would rather just enjoy the evening. It was a great decision.

On my way to the parking lot I couldn’t help but notice the Tower of Terror against the blue evening sky. I didn’t have the tripod but I made my exposure adjustments, balanced the camera on a railing and grabbed this image. I really love the colors in this one…

MLCreations Photography: Hollywood Studios &emdash; Tower Blue

Tower Blue
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 25mm f/1.8, 1/3s, f/2, ISO 400

The Force Glides Through

Posted by Mike on

Monorail Monday – Epcot, Walt Disney World

MLCreations Photography: Epcot &emdash; The Force Glides Through

The Force Glides Through
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/320s, 21mm, f/11, ISO 400