Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[Pinkocto]

Fabulous pictures! Now that's my very favorite parade I did not see Spectromagic so don't know what I missed.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Great photos as others have said they do not fail to disappoint! A real skill and great camera at night. Not easy to pull off so fabbo!

I have not had the pleasure of this parade yet but looks great. I adored Spectromagic. So looks like I will enjoy this too

 

[PrincessInOz]

The photos are amazing and thanks for sharing all the facts with us.

Corinna

Thanks, Corinna. You're welcomed!

Very nice pictures from the MSEP. It is so great to see the parade when it was at DL and looks great at the MK.

Very nice pictures PiO.

Thanks Bret. You know - I'm not sure I've seen the Electric Parade at Disneyland or at DCA either. I think I keep missing that parade whenever I'm in CA.

Was I at the same parade!? My pictures are not nearly as good as yours! How come everyone is looking right at you?! And all of your pictures are so sharp and clear!!!!

I have objective evidence that you were at the same parade.

I was really lucky with the characters on this night.

Thanks.

Wow! Those pics just blew me away!

Thank you.

Great parade pictures! It was like being there without the annoying crowds.

Jill in CO

Thanks Jill. We were fairly lucky with the crowds down this side of Magic Kingdom. Everyone was down Main Street and the Castle this night.

Wonderful pictures as always, it almost makes me like MSEP. Almost.

I can't watch it without thinking (a) Spectromagic was better and (b) this music is tragically bad. (Maybe that's why I like your pictures better than the parade, no sound!)

One of the few things I like of the parade is how the ending remiinds me of Sam Eagle from the Muppets describing his big finale as "A celebration of all nations, but mostly America." DO they still have that ending? We haven't seen MSEP since 2011, so maybe they cut the ending, I didn't see any photos in there.

Pete - Spectromagic is head and shoulders a much better parade. I really wish they would bring it back but I gather according to the rumours that the floats have not been maintained and will require a lot of effort to fix them. The music for MSEP is cute....for about 2 minutes. I don't like the highly synthesized sound of it but it IS a Disney parade. And if I don't compare it to Spectromagic, it's pretty good.

From memory, Pete's Dragon was the last float that came out. I was a little surprised that there wasn't much more of a 'finale'; but if they cut a float or two out of the ending, it totally makes sense. I thought this one just kinda fizzled out at the end.

And without the annoying music!

No but seriously those pictures are amazing! Crisp and ckean and like Denise said, you got all the characters to look at you!

Thanks Alison. I got real lucky with the characters.

I think the parade was about 15 minutes. I was happy with the music for about 2 minutes and after that, I just tuned out and focussed on taking pictures. I think it's the highly synthesized sound of the music that is off-putting.

Fabulous pictures! Now that's my very favorite parade I did not see Spectromagic so don't know what I missed.

Your favourite parade? Awesome. If you haven't seen Spectro, then it actually is pretty good.
I liked the lights of the floats.

Great photos as others have said they do not fail to disappoint! A real skill and great camera at night. Not easy to pull off so fabbo!

I have not had the pleasure of this parade yet but looks great. I adored Spectromagic. So looks like I will enjoy this too

Hope you catch it on your next trip. I'll be curious to know what you think of it.

Thanks.

 

[franandaj]

Thanks Bret. You know - I'm not sure I've seen the Electric Parade at Disneyland or at DCA either. I think I keep missing that parade whenever I'm in CA.

There is only one of them. Remember your trip back before we met in 3D when you were in Long Beach and I was at VGC? I caught the very last night out my balcony window as the parade snaked around Paradise Pier. The next day they packed up all the floats and shipped them off to Florida, so far never to return.

Thanks Alison. I got real lucky with the characters.

I think the parade was about 15 minutes. I was happy with the music for about 2 minutes and after that, I just tuned out and focussed on taking pictures. I think it's the highly synthesized sound of the music that is off-putting.

You nailed it right on the head. The parade came out while I was in college studying, MUSIC. And synthesized music was just coming into being. Musicians were starting to realize that they were going to be out of jobs as place after place replaced real musicians with synthesizers. So I started to despise any sound similar to that sort of highly synthesized product. You know back when this joke started:

Q - How many Bass players does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A - None, the keyboard player can do it with his left hand.

Bu, dum, chuck!

 

[PrincessInOz]

There is only one of them. Remember your trip back before we met in 3D when you were in Long Beach and I was at VGC? I caught the very last night out my balcony window as the parade snaked around Paradise Pier. The next day they packed up all the floats and shipped them off to Florida, so far never to return.

May, 2010.

Okay. Then I think I may have caught it in 2008. We were in SoCal for 10 nights that trip and we spent 3 of those days in DLR. I'm pretty sure we caught most of the parades; although we may have been somewhere where the view wasn't great.

You nailed it right on the head. The parade came out while I was in college studying, MUSIC. And synthesized music was just coming into being. Musicians were starting to realize that they were going to be out of jobs as place after place replaced real musicians with synthesizers. So I started to despise any sound similar to that sort of highly synthesized product. You know back when this joke started:

Q - How many Bass players does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A - None, the keyboard player can do it with his left hand.

Bu, dum, chuck!

 

[dgbg100106]

Love the fact that you got tangle the web...

The pictures are amazing and as a mathematician I enjoy the numbers...

 

[rentayenta]

The MSEP is my all time favorite Disney parade. I love the music too. Thank you for the wonderful photos.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the fact that you got tangle the web...

The pictures are amazing and as a mathematician I enjoy the numbers...

Thanks Brandi. Glad you liked the numbers.

The MSEP is my all time favorite Disney parade. I love the music too. Thank you for the wonderful photos.

There's always one in every crowd.

It's a very colourful parade, isn't it.

 

[knewton64]

...literally BRING me into the action!






Getting caught up -







T.T.F.N.
&
Cheers Y'all

 

[wiigirl]

All caught up.

 

[Leshaface]

I pulled out an old home movie of my family trip to DLR in 1992 the other day and my dad happened to record the entire MSEP. Never gets old. I love that parade so much! And thanks for all those fun facts

 

[ACDSNY]

The MSEP is my all time favorite Disney parade. I love the music too. Thank you for the wonderful photos.

We'll have to stick together as it's my favorite too!

There's always one in every crowd.

Now there's two.

Thanks for sharing the amazing pics as I've really been missing it. I've seen Spectromagic and never enjoyed it as much as the MSEP, I guess it's all what you're used to seeing.

 

[PrincessInOz]

...literally BRING me into the action!

Getting caught up -


T.T.F.N.
&
Cheers Y'all

Thanks for sticking around, Kris. Glad you like the pictures.

All caught up.

Thanks for reading!

I pulled out an old home movie of my family trip to DLR in 1992 the other day and my dad happened to record the entire MSEP. Never gets old. I love that parade so much! And thanks for all those fun facts

You have a home video of MSEP from 1992? I wonder if the floats are different and if they've changed much.

Seems like you like MSEP as well.

We'll have to stick together as it's my favorite too!



Now there's two.

Thanks for sharing the amazing pics as I've really been missing it. I've seen Spectromagic and never enjoyed it as much as the MSEP, I guess it's all what you're used to seeing.

Two in the crowd? Plus lesha = Three!!! That's practically a mob.


Glad you liked the pictures.

 

[PrincessInOz]

"The display of an image on an arbitrarily complex surface"




The display of an image on an arbitrarily complex surface or Projection Mapping is the creative medium where video projectors are used to bring everyday objects to life. Normally, video projectors are used to display images on flat, white screens (e.g. watching a movie, viewing a PowerPoint). Projection mapping displays images on non-flat (possibly non-white) surfaces.

Seems like projection mapping has exploded into the consciousness of artists and advertisers everywhere over the last 3 years and practically every landmark building in the world is getting a night time make-over. Not that I'm complaining, I love having the opportunity to go shooting at night....even in Melbourne.

These were taken recently as part of White Night Melbourne.











But look further back than the last 3 years and you may find that the history of projection mapping dates back longer than you may imagine and there is a Disney link.


Most of us here will have gotten on to the Haunted Mansion ride at some time or another.
Yes! The first known instance of projection onto a non-flat surface dates back to the 1969 opening of the Haunted Mansion ride in Disneyland. The dark ride featured a number of interesting optical illusions, including a disembodied head, Madame Leota....





....and 5 singing busts, the 'Grim Grinning Ghosts', singing the theme song of the ride. These were accomplished by filming head-shots of the singers (with 16 mm film) and then projecting this film onto busts of their faces.







Okay. I took these from WDW later on from this chronological point in time but it so completely fits in this point of the TR right now! You might see them again at some stage.




Disney not only pioneered the technology of projection mapping, they also have the earliest patent in the space. Entitled "Apparatus and method for projection upon a three-dimensional object", it essentially describes a system for digitally painting an image onto 'a countoured, three-dimensional object'.
By using specialized software, a two- or three-dimensional object is spatially mapped on the virtual program which mimics the real environment it is to be projected on. The software can interact with a projector to fit any desired image onto the surface of that object. This technique is used by artists and advertisers alike who can add extra dimensions, optical illusions, and notions of movement onto previously static objects. The video is commonly combined with, or triggered by, audio to create an audio-visual narrative.



Phew! That's a lot of technical mumbo jumbo to describe here. But y’all know where I'm heading, right?



After the WitW Dissers finished enjoying MSEP, we realised that the timing could work out great to go catch the fireworks. So, we headed towards the hub. Or at least we tried to. Sunday night at MK and getting out of Adventureland and heading to the hub, we hit the slow-moving human traffic jam.


We made it to this particular corner in time to catch bits of the Celebrate the Magic Castle Projection show.






Whilst it was all straight lines and angles from the position we had found ourselves to be for the Castle Projection show, we didn't think it would be a good place to view the fireworks from.






I know the others were having a bit of a discussion about where else to go. Contrary to appearances, the hub was packed and there was no way we would make it down to Main Street.






I played it two ways. I started to set up the tripod whilst I waited for a Fix-It Felix to let me know what the group consensus was going to be.







I could definitely hear some free-flow discussion going on behind me.






At this point, I was ready to move on. No doubt about it. I'd long come to the conclusion that this was not going to be a good spot for fireworks. We were too far twisted to the side of the castle to get a decent view.







I was pleased to find that the others had thought the same. One last snap and it was definitely time to move.










And I'm going to do a bit of photog speak here; so for those of you not interested, keep moving along. I think Leshaface asked for some information way back when and I had it in my mind to use these shots as an example.

For those of you without tripods, the pictures here from the Castle Projection show were taken 'hand-held'. Yes, I know I set up the tripod; but I didn't have time to change my settings on the camera.

So just like in a dark ride.....my ISO setting was pretty high; the aperture was opened wide and the time was set to get the right exposure.

For those of you wanting to try this but not wanting to shoot in manual mode, move your setting to Time setting (Tv mode).

You will want to set your camera to the highest ISO setting where the pictures aren't too grainy. For most cameras, this will be ISO 3200 (or ISO 1600 for some of the earlier, older dSLRs).

Next set your time to about 1/50 sec.

This mode will mean that the camera will calculate an the aperture setting to get the right exposure.

Take the picture and see how it looks. If it is too dark, set the time to 1/40 sec and try again.
If it is too bright, set the time higher (1/60 sec) and try again.

Happy shooting!


(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Wishes Fireworks! But still no Cinderella Castle




The tribe had spoken!


The consensus from the WitW Dissers was to move to behind the Cinderella Castle for the fireworks. It was going to be way too crowded for us at the Hub or down Main Street for us to get a decent spot for all of us.
From a personal space perspective, the move to the back of the Castle was a fantastic decision. There was plenty of space back here for us.



But I was faced with a conundrum here. Where do I point the camera???



Naturally, I would pick the Cinderella Castle. Afterall, I'd only be playing with the Firework Gods for the last 3 years for the opportunity to shoot Wishes with the Cinderella Castle in the background.
My last trips to WDW was in 2010 and for the first one, I hadn't yet picked up the camera.
For the second trip, I didn't have a tripod (it was in my suitcase, and don't ask!!!) and I've been patiently waiting for the opportunity to go back and grab some shots of my castle with fireworks.



I had enough time before the fireworks started to set up the camera and get this first test shot in.








I didn't even have time to adjust the settings when the sky was filled with colour. And when the sparklers began to light the sky behind me, it was no contest! I didn't even hesitate.

I turned that camera round 180 degrees and enjoyed the show! Most of you know that the big sparklers are let off from behind the Castle. From where we were standing, we had a great view of them; but the Cinderella Castle was behind us. We missed the perimeter fireworks and the bursts that were shot from right beside the Castle.


However, there are no complaints from me! Given what I captured tonight and as I used the new Fantasyland turrets as the backdrop in my pictures, I was rather pleased with the outcome. Check them out.



























































































If anyone reading ever wants to avoid the human jam down Main Street, this was a great spot to watch Wishes from. I certainly enjoyed it and there was plenty of space for all 7 of us to stay together as a group here.



And yes, I know. I still have unfinished business with Wishes and that Castle.

 

[tiggrbaby]

So beautiful! I copied down your camera directions. I have an old one, so it only goes up to 1600. Was that the setting for the fireworks as well?

 

[jedijill]

Awesome photos as usual. I never think about watching Wishes from behind the Castle...its an unique perspective.

And now you need another trip so you can shoot from the front!

Jill in CO

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Great photos! May I ask what camera you have? If that's not rude.

We had projection mapping in London when we hosted the Olympics it was truly awesome. The effect is really spectacular on an old building like Houses of Parliament or Buckingham Palace. Thank you Disney for pioneering this technology. I might be mistaken but I recall reading Walt Disney and the artist pioneered a new kind of animation using a new form of print screening for Snow White I think it was. The company was bleeding edge from the get go!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I have made a note of the photo settings, too. The photos are great. Some of my favourite Wishes photos I have seen were actually taken by the Little Mermaid ride with that ride in the background.

Corinna

 

[wiigirl]

Wonderful pics!