Saturday, August 26, 2006
More Castle Views
This one, just a few metres from the last...
Princess Castle II - EuroDisney
Technical Data: Canon EOS 10D, ƒ8.0, 1/60s
Canon 24-70mm ƒ2.8L @ 24mm (38mm effective)
White balance: auto, RAW, ISO 100
Circular polariser
And last but not least, always flip the camera and try the other orientation, landscape, in this
case.
Princess Castle III - EuroDisney
Technical Data: Canon EOS 10D, ƒ8.0, 1/125s
Canon 24-70mm ƒ2.8L @ 24mm (38mm effective)
White balance: auto, RAW, ISO 100
Circular polariser
Thursday, August 24, 2006
A Brief Update
We are all back and stuff. In nothing short of a miracle on our last day, Katherine fell and hurt herself twice, got
stung by a bee, and then got lovie back within about five minutes of getting on the coach to the Eurostar. Wow.
I have lots more stuff to post, but I'm still trying to get some basic organisation to the more than 800 photos I took
(and mind you, I didn't get very many opportunities to actually shoot pictures or the total would have been much, much higher).
But here's one of the obvious stand-outs.
Let me just set this up for you. There are actually some very clever things going on at Disney World if you happen
to stumble across them. This is one of them. There is one side of the castle that is clearly designed to produce the 'cover
shot', day in, and day out. How do I know this? Well, let's just say it's too perfect. For one thing, if you move only 10
metres down the path you get a steady stream of people through the frame in various walkways and passages. But there is this
one stretch that can be absolutely perfectly framed from a zillion perspectives with the trees in the foreground and not another
human soul in sight.
It is also located in such a position that the sun is not in the frame but illuminates the castle at an angle to the
shot you are taking. That's pretty much perfect. It's also a great angle for using polarisation to really pop the colour.
Notice also that this framing is accomplished using basically a 50mm lens. That used to be the standard for a new camera -
well, it would have been when this was built, anyway. But enough yapping, enjoy.
Princess Castle I - EuroDisney
Technical Data: Canon EOS 10D, ƒ8.0, 1/125s
Canon 24-70mm ƒ2.8L @ 34mm (54mm effective)
White balance: auto, RAW, ISO 100
Circular polariser
Monday, August 21, 2006
It's A Small World
Here we have the It's a small world ride. You can see the entrance here. The ride takes you through a huge building
that's been transformed to represent the many cultures and animals of the world. Look, I'm in Disney with two small kids,
OK, this is as good as it gets.
Although I must say it's a very stimulating journey, although some of the figurines are a little creepy. This is not
one of the creepy ones. This a nice, happy, safe kiddie one that everyone loves.
There are lots of displays like this with various dolls of the world. They are all very vivid. By the way, if you were
wondering how I took these photos, I will give you the short story. These were taken with available light at ISO 1600 with
the shutter wide open (ƒ2.8) at 1/125s or so. No flash - that would have ruined the photos. (notice the
increase in the creepiness quotient here)
Katherine enjoyed this quite a bit, as did Kara and I. We were here well before noon and the lines were very short. We
almost went around and did it again but then Katherine saw the fast kiddie train and it was all over for slow boat rides.
OK, since I showed you that very compelling opening, I should show you the winter wonderland inside...
And now, just before we go, a word from our sponsor.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
A Day At The Park
We've been in the park a few days now and I'm ready to show off some photos. But first, in this security minded age,
we start with early morning at the park. Not too many people about. Except for the soldiers. Don't want any terrorists here.
Yes, that's a big gun.
Ah, but let's not focus on the bad stuff. Of course, any trip to Disney Land begins once you pass the gates and find
yourself at the top of Main Street, U. S. A.
The princess castle is, of course, beautiful. Katherine really likes the square trees. And the princesses. But not in
that order. Anyway, there is one side of the castle that doesn't really have any outside walkways or anything and is the perfect
spot to get the must-have, castle grab-shot.
These are pretty long days. We usually make two or even sometimes three trips to the park from our hotel, which is, of
course, about a mile away. But no matter. At the end of the evening, after dinner with Mickey and the gang, we took a little
carousel ride before bed.
