Mapping out a Spot in Park #3
Did I mention that we hadn't planned on getting to a park today?
Ha! Ha!
The good and bad thing about having an early ADR and finishing up dinner early was the possibilities it opens up for the rest of the night. I had originally thought that as we were at DTD, it might be a good option to spend the evening at DTD shopping and taking night time photographs. But given what the time was, another option bubbled away in my mind and I made the last minute decision to head to Magic Kingdom instead.
Yes, for a day where we didn't have any park plans, we covered a lot of territory, didn't we?
DS wanted to head back to the resort and rest up; and after a bit of discussion, DH agreed to take him back and join me at MK later.
So we said our farewells to our dining partners; particularly Goopy. She was heading back home the next day and we would not see her again. I believe Fran and Alison did stay at DTD for a bit of shopping.
Our luck held up with the transport at DTD. There was a bus heading back to the BC waiting when we got to the bus stop and a bus pulled in heading to the Contemporary Resort within 2 minutes of us getting there. I caught the monorail from CR to get to MK.
I knew exactly where I was going to stake out a spot tonight. Afterall, I am a Dis-ser and a bit OCD where planning for the World is concerned. I was seeking a spot at the 'hump' down Main Street and was incredibly lucky that there were no other OCD photographers in the park that night. I'd gotten there in time to map out my territory and contemplate my photography equipment.
I only had one other lens choice in my bag that was appropriate for this night and that's what I went with.
For those of you not interested in photobabble, move right along and look at the pictures only.
I had gotten to MK in time to catch the Castle projection show. The first picture above was taken with the ultrawide angle lens but it wasn't going to be the ideal lens for the Castle projection show. The 50 mm f/1.8 lens is one of those lenses that is much loved as much as it is maligned when talking about lenses for Disney. As Gear Acquisition Syndrome (aka GAS) goes, after the kit lenses, the 50 mm is the next lens that most everyone gets. Afterall, irrespective of manufacturer, this lens is priced around the $120 mark and is comparatively reasonable to buy. It's a great lens for portrait and because it has a larger aperture opening, it can be very handy to use in the dark. The problem is that it really is too tight for Disney and most of the pro-sumers will choose a different lens or recommend the 35 mm ahead of the 50 mm for Disney. I almost left it behind in Melbourne; and it made its way into my camera bag as a last minute decision just as we were leaving the house on the way to the airport.
I am so glad that I brought it along. That's the lens that I've used for the dark rides and also for the second shot above. From where I was standing, it was the perfect lens for the Castle Projection show.
I'd already taken some pictures of the Castle Projection show a couple of nights ago. Then I'd used a high ISO to get the right exposure and I took those pictures 'hand held'. This time round, I decided to try using long exposure settings for my shots. Most of these were taken at an ISO 160, f/9, 4 - 9 seconds.
The thing about using long exposure for this particular attraction is that the pictures change so quickly that you miss out on the detail. And with this particular section of the show early on, there are so many colours and so much movement that it was effectively the reverse of a prism. My early shots ended up white.
And for the projections that are a little slower but still changing fairly quickly, using long exposure will result in blur.
So why use it?
One of the benefits of the settings I chose was that with a lower ISO (of 100 - 200), I would have little noise in the pictures. This only makes a difference if you're planning on printing out your pictures to a larger size. If you're sharing on social media, then the pictures should be fine using a higher ISO setting.
For some of the later projections, where the picture is built up on itself by adding various components on top of the base picture, I like that I can get all the layers in the one picture. This is the reason why I went with the longer exposure setting for this show.
I think you can see what I mean from these next shots. The projections towards the back half of the show layer elements on top of each other.
I think this is the Sleeping Beauty sequence.
I also prefer the intensity and depth of colours that comes with opening the lens for a longer period of time.
So that's the result of the Castle Projection show using this particular photography technique. You can also use this technique for fireworks and I hope you try it out!
For long exposure shots, you WILL need to place your camera on somewhere stable so that it doesn't move. If you haven't got a tripod, Disney trash cans are perfect for this. The aim is to keep the camera still and not move it. For this reason, you may also find that some people will recommend that you need to have a remote trigger as the camera will shake a little when you press the button down. I do agree that you will inadvertently cause the camera to bounce a little if you aren't gentle when you press that button and I've lost any number of shots for this reason.
Personally, I've used the self-timer function on my camera (usually with a 2 second delay) successfully for quite a while before I got GAS and decided to go out and purchase a remote trigger. My success rate of 'keepers' may be better using the remote trigger; but there was nothing wrong with the shots I was getting from using the self-timer function on my camera especially when I was learning how to. You can use this for fireworks as well.
For those of you not shooting in manual mode, move your camera to time or shutter priority (Tv or S depending on your camera). You should have your ISO setting at 100 or 200 if possible (and the self-timer function turned on).
Set the time to 4 seconds and take the shot. Check your picture.
If it appears too dark, increase your time to 6 seconds and take another shot; and then check the picture again. Adjust the time accordingly.
If it appears too bright, decrease your time to 4 seconds and take another shot; and then check the picture again. Adjust the time accordingly.
For me, whether you get the right exposure by increasing the ISO (e.g. to ISO 3200) or by increasing the shutter speed is immaterial. There really isn't one right way as long as youre happy with the pictures you get. The main thing is to get out and try the various exposures and work out which one suits you best. And for those of you wanting to get pictures of Fireworks with long exposure trails, try the above out.
(Continued in Next Post)
the shepards has a herb in it that shouldn't be in there. It tastes very odd! 
I can't fit it in next month, but since I can drive up to DTD from my dad's, I might have to make that trip sometime specifically to try RR.
....too busy soaking in the atmosphere.
Hi Kris. Yup...remember to eat before coming in here. Hope you and your LadyBug are doing well.
We have gotten better at planning a down day with each passing trip, but it really is about planning it out. Only a true Disney planner schedules their down time! 
