DON'T Read This TRIP REPORT If You're a Princess Hater!

[fairestoneofall]

i have the G12. for a P&S, it really is a nice camera. it still doesn't compare to a DSLR (i have a Nikon D700). but it is a nice, sharp camera. and the videos are nice and crisp as well. i'd say the video is better quality than our HD video camera (which is, admittedly, a few years old).

normally, i take my DSLR and a P&S to WDW and then switch out which ones i'll carry on which days. i left the DSLR home in June (no DH, so i carried most everyone's stuff) so that my neck and back could have a break. but i regretted it. and most of my pictures were pretty awful. but this was BEFORE i'd bought the G12. i would've been fine if i'd had that and taken it.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

So I see you have the G10, I just got the G12... how do you likes yours for travel? Apparently you still are not happy with the quality if you are thinking of switching to your DSLR, I wish I had a smaller DSLR the Nikon D2X is just TOO big for travel. My friend Jenn has the nikon 300s that she might bring but I'm trying to tell her to bring a point and shoot and enjoy her time

Darn tootin'... I just can't leave it at home...

ESPECIALLY since I just bought a new lens... It's not that heavy. Unless I slap my gigantic 80-200 on it, but I'll leave that at home... I promise!

[I'll admit... I can't relinquish control...]

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Then as we started to leave........ Chip (or was it Dale?????) picked up my backpack to carry FOR me......... but then started to wander away with it. We had a BALL with them!

Okay, sorry to drudge up the past but I fell wicked behind. I haven't been on the computer since last Friday...




I hope this makes sense...

Chip comes first in the alphabet. So does BLACK. Chip has a black nose

Dale comes second in the alphabet. Red comes at the end of the alphabet. Dale has a red nose.

If you think that's bad... you should see how I remember to spell words.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Again your photos are just as amazing as always, it kinda makes me want to carry my DSLR to WDW (Don't tell Jenn I said that), but then my brain goes its two heavy! For one my DSLR is a D2X, much larger than hers or yours and all of my lens are 2.8 .

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I'm FINALLY caught up!

Janet... LOVE LOVE LOVE the parade photos AND what a M&G!!! Holy carp! I could only ever wish to be that lucky! So awesome of Corey too. What a special night!

 

[jenseib]

I hope this makes sense...

Chip comes first in the alphabet. So does BLACK. Chip has a black nose

Dale comes second in the alphabet. Red comes at the end of the alphabet. Dale has a red nose.

If you think that's bad... you should see how I remember to spell words.

You know how I remember Dale and Duh start with D and Dales teeth are spaced apart for the "duh" look!

 

[SueRS]

Okay, sorry to drudge up the past but I fell wicked behind. I haven't been on the computer since last Friday...




I hope this makes sense...

Chip comes first in the alphabet. So does BLACK. Chip has a black nose

Dale comes second in the alphabet. Red comes at the end of the alphabet. Dale has a red nose.

If you think that's bad... you should see how I remember to spell words.

I remember it by - Chip like Chocolate Chip.

 

[vamassey1]

I wasn't on this weekend so I'm behind.

Great updates! Once again your pictures are fabulous. I can't wait to see the pages you do with the pictures.

I was feeling your frustration on trying to catch Snow White. I'm so glad it had a very happy ending.

Reading your character hunting makes me sad. Danielle will no longer hunt with me so I've had to give it up. The only pictures we get now are when we're at character meals. She would rather spend her time riding rides and catching shows. She does still enjoy the parades.

 

[Caretames1]

Chip has the brown nose ( chocolate chip) and Dale has the red. I learned that on Chip N dale rescue rangers

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

I stayed up last night reading all of what I missed and am now current. I LOVE that shot of Jafar from the parade! And I had seen your siggy pic of Katie with the princesses and princes before and wondered how you managed to get that - glad I know the backstory now. Glad you came away with such a great memory after that runaround!

I am just blown away by your firework pictures against the castle...I swear I could print them all poster size and hang them around my house! They are just beyond amazing.

Thank you so much for the kind words! That blue Tiana might have been Katie's #1 pick for favorite costume of the trip. There's one more coming up that MIGHT be in the running for her favorite. I'll have to ask her after school which one wins.

So which Rebel do you have? And which lenses? I love photography talk almost as much as character talk! Any time you have questions, post over on the photography board. My friend decided to buy a DSLR last week, so I posted a thread asking about various models, and they answered all her questions quickly, and offered links to the best deals. She went for the Sony A500 DSLR.

I just have the basic Rebel XS. I've always loved taking pics and now that my kids are both starting activities and I just wanted a camera that could keep up with the action better than a P&S. I'm still very much learning!! Right now I just have the kit lens and a 55-250mm zoom that I LOVED having fun with on Kilamanjaro Safari at AK. I'm eyeing a portrait lens in the near future b/c the kids, my son especially, has hit the age of horrible studio portraits and forced smiles and I've love to capture some good ones.

I will definitely have to check out the photography board here!

 

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

You know how I remember Dale and Duh start with D and Dales teeth are spaced apart for the "duh" look!

 

[mom2rtk]

Sorry to be behind again! Today is my middle child's 16th birthday!

And we finally have another driver in the house! Well, we're not ready to set him loose on the world yet, but when we feel ready, he'll be street legal. It has to happen though......... I can't take much more running. 5 trips to the high school today alone.........

Darn tootin'... I just can't leave it at home...

ESPECIALLY since I just bought a new lens... It's not that heavy. Unless I slap my gigantic 80-200 on it, but I'll leave that at home... I promise!

[I'll admit... I can't relinquish control...]

So spill it........ what's the new lens you got????? And are you guys planning a joint trip report when you get back????

Are you all healed up ok and settled back in at work?

Okay, sorry to drudge up the past but I fell wicked behind. I haven't been on the computer since last Friday...




I hope this makes sense...

Chip comes first in the alphabet. So does BLACK. Chip has a black nose

Dale comes second in the alphabet. Red comes at the end of the alphabet. Dale has a red nose.

If you think that's bad... you should see how I remember to spell words.

You know how I remember Dale and Duh start with D and Dales teeth are spaced apart for the "duh" look!

I remember it by - Chip like Chocolate Chip.

Chip has the brown nose ( chocolate chip) and Dale has the red. I learned that on Chip N dale rescue rangers

So am I the ONLY one who didn't have a plan for telling those 2 squirrels apart????????



Sorry .......... just kidding. Chip and Dale don't seem to like it when I call them that either..........

Thanks for all the help. I'll have to look back at my photos and see which of the little scamps tried to abscond with my back pack!

I'm FINALLY caught up!

Janet... LOVE LOVE LOVE the parade photos AND what a M&G!!! Holy carp! I could only ever wish to be that lucky! So awesome of Corey too. What a special night!

Thank you! I think I did better this time with the parade just because I didn't have such harsh sun/shade lines in my photos. I think it might be fun to shoot it next time with just the telephoto lens.

And yes, Corey did more than right by us. We'll probably never top that moment. It was SO fun to be caught completely by surprise with it too.

I wasn't on this weekend so I'm behind.

Great updates! Once again your pictures are fabulous. I can't wait to see the pages you do with the pictures.

I was feeling your frustration on trying to catch Snow White. I'm so glad it had a very happy ending.

Reading your character hunting makes me sad. Danielle will no longer hunt with me so I've had to give it up. The only pictures we get now are when we're at character meals. She would rather spend her time riding rides and catching shows. She does still enjoy the parades.

Thanks for the kind comments on the photos Vanessa!

So is there a little emoticon guy with his fingers in his ears so he can't hear any of what you're saying??????

I'm sad that you don't get to do the character hunting with Danielle. You make me want to jump on the phone and book another trip REAL FAST to squeeze in one more shot at this before Katie's done with it too! Well, who am I kidding...... Of course I want to book a trip REGARDLESS of the reason......... but still........

Katie was late to the ride thing, but I think she caught the bug. So we could be done too. Of course since we had 9 days on our trip, we had plenty of time for all of it. On a shorter trip, I think it would be rides, rides, rides. That's sort of how it was last summer when we were at Disneyland for a few days. I'm glad she still likes the parades at least. I appreciate that morsel of hope........

I am hoping to get some scrapping time again soon. I haven't been in my scrap corner in 3 weeks... and I'm starting to break out in a cold sweat........

I stayed up last night reading all of what I missed and am now current. I LOVE that shot of Jafar from the parade! And I had seen your siggy pic of Katie with the princesses and princes before and wondered how you managed to get that - glad I know the backstory now. Glad you came away with such a great memory after that runaround!

I am just blown away by your firework pictures against the castle...I swear I could print them all poster size and hang them around my house! They are just beyond amazing.


I just have the basic Rebel XS. I've always loved taking pics and now that my kids are both starting activities and I just wanted a camera that could keep up with the action better than a P&S. I'm still very much learning!! Right now I just have the kit lens and a 55-250mm zoom that I LOVED having fun with on Kilamanjaro Safari at AK. I'm eyeing a portrait lens in the near future b/c the kids, my son especially, has hit the age of horrible studio portraits and forced smiles and I've love to capture some good ones.

I will definitely have to check out the photography board here!

Yeah! For being caught up! I'm glad you're enjoying the photos! You can take nice fireworks photos with your Xs. You just need a tripod and remote shutter release. Your kit lens will work just fine. There's a thread on the photography board on it:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1237506

It's a lot of fun to try. Careful though.... it's addicting. I still have one more night of fireworks photos to go....

Do you know what lens you're thinking about for portraits? The 50mm f/1.8 is a great bargain at around $100, and comes highly recommended. I have one but barely use it. I think it would be a good focal length for portraits, but I'm not crazy about that length for much of anything else. It just seems too long for a short lens and too short for a long lens. Make any sense????

Thanks for the kind words on the Jafar photo and the princess photo! Can you imagine how bummed I'd have been if that one hadn't turned out! Thankfully they also had a photopass photog there too, so I was well covered.

 

[jenseib]

I have the nifty 50 too. And you are absolutely right it's either too far or too close. Hard to get just the right distance. But the pictures I take with it are amazing and very sharp. But they just don't work well at character dining unless you can take about 8 steps back (into the next table. )

 

[jenseib]

AND Happy Birthday to your son!!!

 

[poisonapple_PRINCESS]

I love your trip report! (the title is quite the attention grabber!) All of your pictures are great and I absolutely LOVE the costumes!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Sorry to be behind again! Today is my middle child's 16th birthday!

You're excused!

Happy belated birthday to your "kiddo"!!!

And we finally have another driver in the house! Well, we're not ready to set him loose on the world yet, but when we feel ready, he'll be street legal. It has to happen though......... I can't take much more running. 5 trips to the high school today alone.........

You're a good mom and your kids are lucky. My folks lived < 1/4 mi from my school... if I forgot something, I was toast!!! They said it taught me to be responsible... I think they just didn't want to venture out if it was cold!

So spill it........ what's the new lens you got?????

It's not a new kind of lens... I did a direct swap of my 24-85mm. My road dog is gone, may it rest in photo-peace. I should be JAILED for what I put that poor lens through. I bought it for a travel photography class I did and within 3 days of buying it, I literally "dipped" the front standard into a bowl of Cold Stone ice cream. Got it cleaned off though. 5 weeks later, I packed the little bugger in my fanny pack bag (yes, I use a waist pack...) and took it horseback riding. And it wasn't the standard city folk horse back riding... we rode. Hard. And I couldn't walk for 3 days afterward...

I'm taking photos at the boys high school state championship game on Saturday and I had beaten up my lens so bad that it was actually falling out of focus on ONE SIDE. It was flat busted between 24-35mm. High stakes, so I HAVE to deliver. I was frustrated with my submission to the paper on some of the images - I tried to get it to work in my favor, but alas, he was too far gone.

The 24-85mm is out of production, but luckily I found a camera store in Indianapolis that had 3 in their used department. 2 were factory refurbs that have the same warranty classification as a new lens... FOR A FRACTION OF THE PRICE!

And are you guys planning a joint trip report when you get back????

I hope we can work it out and make it happen!

Are you all healed up ok and settled back in at work?

I actually returned to work last Tuesday. I was only out for 3 work days plus a weekend. I went for my 2 week check up yesterday and got an A+ report from the doctor.

Thanks for asking!

So am I the ONLY one who didn't have a plan for telling those 2 squirrels apart????????



Sorry .......... just kidding. Chip and Dale don't seem to like it when I call them that either..........

I've heard those two go NUTS lmao if you call them anything but chipmunks to their face. I keep forgetting to try it though!

Thank you! I think I did better this time with the parade just because I didn't have such harsh sun/shade lines in my photos. I think it might be fun to shoot it next time with just the telephoto lens.

I was going to ask... what tripod to do you haul? Have you ever tried the gorillapod? I want some fantastic night shots, but have NO DESIRE (nor will E let me take it into the park... ) to take even my little tripod. It's just not worth it to me. Broken down the little bugger is 3ft. Super lightweight, but it's not portable.

 

[Caretames1]

Happy Birthday to your son! I let my DD loose on the public 2 years ago So far she only gotten one speeding tix, and stuck in the snow twice.

Carey

 

[mom2rtk]

You're excused!

Happy belated birthday to your "kiddo"!!!


You're a good mom and your kids are lucky. My folks lived < 1/4 mi from my school... if I forgot something, I was toast!!! They said it taught me to be responsible... I think they just didn't want to venture out if it was cold!


It's not a new kind of lens... I did a direct swap of my 24-85mm. My road dog is gone, may it rest in photo-peace. I should be JAILED for what I put that poor lens through. I bought it for a travel photography class I did and within 3 days of buying it, I literally "dipped" the front standard into a bowl of Cold Stone ice cream. Got it cleaned off though. 5 weeks later, I packed the little bugger in my fanny pack bag (yes, I use a waist pack...) and took it horseback riding. And it wasn't the standard city folk horse back riding... we rode. Hard. And I couldn't walk for 3 days afterward...

I'm taking photos at the boys high school state championship game on Saturday and I had beaten up my lens so bad that it was actually falling out of focus on ONE SIDE. It was flat busted between 24-35mm. High stakes, so I HAVE to deliver. I was frustrated with my submission to the paper on some of the images - I tried to get it to work in my favor, but alas, he was too far gone.

The 24-85mm is out of production, but luckily I found a camera store in Indianapolis that had 3 in their used department. 2 were factory refurbs that have the same warranty classification as a new lens... FOR A FRACTION OF THE PRICE!


I hope we can work it out and make it happen!


I actually returned to work last Tuesday. I was only out for 3 work days plus a weekend. I went for my 2 week check up yesterday and got an A+ report from the doctor.

Thanks for asking!



I've heard those two go NUTS lmao if you call them anything but chipmunks to their face. I keep forgetting to try it though!


I was going to ask... what tripod to do you haul? Have you ever tried the gorillapod? I want some fantastic night shots, but have NO DESIRE (nor will E let me take it into the park... ) to take even my little tripod. It's just not worth it to me. Broken down the little bugger is 3ft. Super lightweight, but it's not portable.

First off............. YEAH! for the A+ from the doctor!

Thanks for the birthday wishes and kind words of encouragement! This running back and forth has taken its toll lately. I work from home, so when I'm out running, I'm not working, and end up working evenings and weekends to make up for it. But I do want to encourage the kids to be involved in school. Track season just started, but he also runs cross country in the fall. He's very dedicated and works out most days, rain or shine, winter or summer. I'm really hoping he's ready to be set loose on his own this summer. His running group runs around 5:30 when it's hot out ....... I'm really not up for another season of that. Guess I'm just getting old........

It sounds like you really earned that new lens! I'm glad you got a deal. I am certainly one to not shy away from pushing the limits with my gear, but dipping it in ice cream? LOL! Hopefully I can keep my lens out of the cake and ice cream at my son's party this weekend!

I hope you have a great time running it through the paces this weekend at the championships! I'll be at my son's track meet Friday afternoon giving my own camera a good workout. Of course, with track, I get about 2 hours of waiting followed by about a minute of shooting, if I'm lucky! I really was sad when he switched from soccer to track...... just not as much photography fun! I really think that should have been one of his considerations when changing!

My tripod is the Velbon luxi-l. I know a lot of folks love their gorillapods. I just like the control the tripod gives me to pick from so many more spots. With the gorillapod, you have to be near something to attach it. I chose this model with an eye toward photography at Disney. It's nice and tall (a HUGE help and a prime consideration in the selection). And equally as important, it folds down nice and light (15" long and about 2.8 lbs.) It fits just fine in a Disney locker, and once we pick it up for the evening Katie usually carries it for me.

I still wish I had more time on this trip for night photography. I did tons of fireworks photography, but I would have loved some time to go around the park with the tripod. But once the fireworks were over each night, we were WAY done and WAY frozen!

I'm hoping to get another update done soon. After our late night at the party, I finally got smart on this trip and planned a "down" day. Well, sort of a down day. We still had some fun and saw a great show!

 

[mom2rtk]

Happy Birthday to your son! I let my DD loose on the public 2 years ago So far she only gotten one speeding tix, and stuck in the snow twice.

Carey

Thanks Carey! I don't think it will take real long before we're ready to let him give it a go. But I want us to do more driving with him first. Even the driving examiner told me what I already knew....... he needs more practice.

But he did get the lecture from the insurance agent yesterday when we stopped to add him to the policy. The cost wasn't bad, even for a teenage boy, because he has great grades. But one ticket and we'll lose a huge piece of the discount. And she reassured him they do run a check on the license every 6 months..........

And boy am I glad we're just coming OUT of the snow season. I hadn't even thought about him getting stuck!

 

[Caretames1]

Thanks Carey! I don't think it will take real long before we're ready to let him give it a go. But I want us to do more driving with him first. Even the driving examiner told me what I already knew....... he needs more practice.

But he did get the lecture from the insurance agent yesterday when we stopped to add him to the policy. The cost wasn't bad, even for a teenage boy, because he has great grades. But one ticket and we'll lose a huge piece of the discount. And she reassured him they do run a check on the license every 6 months..........

And boy am I glad we're just coming OUT of the snow season. I hadn't even thought about him getting stuck!

Sam had a great rate for insurance for good student discount and taking some class, until the ticket.
Her diving insrtructor had told me that if he didin't think she was ready, he would tell me. She did well. She has grown up driving tractors and trucks in her uncles/grandma fields so I think that helped.

Oh, btw the snow bank and Sam met yesterday Nothing bad, she just parked too close and counln't get out.