Nights, Lights and Reflections

Posted by Mike on June 11, 2013

I was feeling a little homesick, well, more accurately second homesick, so I decided to look through my unprocessed Disney images. What can I say, this is me…

In recent years my visiting habits have changed dramatically. I am no longer in a rush to see and do everything. I have slowed down and taken the time to enjoy all the little details that are prevalent in the parks. Amazingly some of the best detail and atmosphere can be enjoyed at the resorts themselves.

I fell in love with the resorts around Crescent Lake a few years ago. The area “behind” Epcot is my favorite quiet spot in Walt Disney World. This prompted me to purchase my vacation club points at the Beach Club Villas. I know, I’m spoiled. The ability to take a leisurely walk around the lake or have two parks within walking distance does have its advantages. I’m a morning person and most days will be up and out of the room before sunrise. This allows for some great photography. On my most recent trip, sadly almost 9 months ago, I was able to capture some early morning images of the Boardwalk with great reflections in Crescent Lake.

Boardwalk Floating
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 30s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 200

Night Lights
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 30s, 28mm, f/22, ISO 250

Flower and Garden Festival

Posted by Mike on March 13, 2013

Over the last 20 years the Epcot park in Walt Disney World has presented an International Flower & Garden Festival for 8 weeks in the spring. The entire park is budding with horticultural displays, events and activities. I was fortunate enough to spend a few days at last years festival with my new camera and was totally blown away with the whole presentation.

I had planned on attending again this year but my plans did not come to fruition. With the melting snow and hopefully emerging greenery here in Upstate NY I wanted to share some of the images from my trip. One of my favorite displays was the bonsai competition. A majority of the entries were on display in the Japan pavilion in World Showcase. Looking at the images last night I wish I had spent more time getting better compositions and watching my backgrounds. I’m sure I could do a better job now…

We Take a Break for a Quick Disney Moment…

Posted by Mike on January 17, 2013

I have not had time to go exploring with the camera the past few days and have been thinking it is time to plan the next trip to Disney. So, looking through the unprocessed images from my last trip I present Temple of Heaven, China Pavilion, Epcot…

Temple of Heaven
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/30s, 17mm, f/8, ISO 400

Disney in the Details

Posted by Mike on August 5, 2012

As I have said numerous times and anyone that stays around long enough reading this blog will figure out, I am a fan of Disney. In particular, I love going to the parks. My latest trip was a first time solo adventure in May 2012 to Walt Disney World. I had four days during the first Star Wars Weekend at Hollywood Studios and the last weekend of the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. It was also my first visit since obtaining my DSLR. It was glorious!

I have reached that point with my visits where I just enjoy spending time exploring all the nooks and crannies. The first few trips with the kids were all out assaults on each of the parks. We tried to cram as much into each day as we possibly could. Now I enjoy a much more relaxed form of visit. And with that relaxed attitude comes a new appreciation for the amount of detail the imagineers have put into their creations. I would also attribute this new outlook to the way I see the world around me due to my photography. I notice more, see differently and appreciate the subtle touches.

Don’t get me wrong, I still grab that image of Cinderella’s Castle looking down Main Street and have a hard drive full of Spaceship Earth images, but this post is about the details. The often overlooked treasures you can find when you slow down and explore. During this visit I spent a couple of hours crawling all over Tom Sawyer Island at the Magic Kingdom and I found trails around the Tree of Life at the Animal Kingdom I didn’t even knew existed. I still managed to do all my favorite activities but I found so many knew places it was as if I had visited for the first time.