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

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

So I thought I would let all in a little secret in case Jen and I may have forgot to tell you guys....

There is a BIG reason we both are good at photography and know are stuff. You see both of us went to college together, a photography college. So if you get lost in what we are saying do not feel bad, we had three years to learn the stuff she is doing an amazing job teaching to you. Heck, I still don't get all of it . She teaches better than I. She is great with the light stuff... I am great at composure. So my point do not feel bad if you are confused by al of this, it just takes time and practice practice practice and a little pixie dust

 

[mom2rtk]

OK.... time to catch up before I dive back into some work!

It's a Tamron 75-300. I got it dirt cheap on ebay too a few years ago. I love that lens.

Well, I've been very impressed with the shots you've been posting. You got a good one!

I think it was the 14th. It was so cold that night that they cancelled the show in Tomorrowland. We're from the South & the cold just hurt my skin. I might be a little whimpy. It was still fun though. And the good day, Friday, was our last full day. We didn't go to the parks that day, just relaxed & went to the Spirit of Aloha Show; which we loved. Then we had to go home the next day.

That was the bitter cold night. It could take your breath away! And I'm from the midwest and used to really cold weather. But I typically don't go hang outside all day that time of year, especially at night!

We have done the party the night before leaving a couple times. I actually like that. We were so busy we didn't dwell on our impending departure.

When I was three years old my parents took me on my first trip to Disney World. My favorite picture is of my mother and I riding the carousel together on this very horse. 21 years later I refuse to ride any other horse than this one

Awwwww......... that's an awesome story. Thank you for sharing it with us! And I'm glad Katie got to ride it. I'll be sure to tell her.

And........... to my Trip Report!

Hello-just found your report and love the title. I am absolutely NOT a princess hater, so just wanted to sub. Can't wait to go back and do some reading!

to another princess lover!

Hello! I found your report a couple days ago and I'm now caught up! I am amazed by all your costumes and so glad that you and your DD enjoy dressing up and visiting characters together, I think that is so special! I must say that Belle's red dress is my all-time favorite princess outfit and you definitely did it justice!

DH and I arrived at Disney on Friday, Dec 17th and stayed until the 24th. The weather was comfortable during the day and cool/cold at night. I was watching the weather every day leading up to the trip, and I'm glad it warmed up when we arrived!

to you too!

Thank you for the nice comments.

You got there at about the best time you could. The weather for the 4 days right before you arrived was a challenge, to say the least! We're actually thinking of playing weather roulette and going back in December this year. We'll see........

Love, love, love the Belle and Jasmine pictures - those dresses you made just blow me away!!!! I just love Belle's christmas gown - Maddie has never been that into Belle - but I so love that dress.

So if we go to Disney - there are 2 dates we could go to the party - but the adult price is up to $60 now. I've been to MNSSHP 3 times and think the parade and fireworks are worth the ticket price (even if it were more) but I'm not sure about the Christmas parade/fireworks. Having been to both - what is your opinion. If we go - we will only have 4 park days most likely and I may not do park hoppers to save a bit of money - so that could be my party money and would give us one way to get back to Magic Kingdom a second time.

Thanks! Katie's favorite princess is Aurora. Mine has always been Cinderella. But our favorite "shared" choice is Belle. And I've now done every single costume of hers.... I think...... There's one more coming up from this trip. Anyone want to guess? It's probably her most obscure.........

I would definitely forego parkhoppers to do the party. Of course, it's complicated by the fact that you have already been to the better of the 2 parties. MNSSHP definitely has more going on. But if you are a Christmas lover, and haven't done the party, you really must go. The parade is quite magical, and the fireworks are spectacular. Just know that the closer you get to Christmas, the busier the parties are.

You could probably get by with one night at the party, depending on how important it is to you to "do it all" and how likely you are to stay stay up until midnight. I only like to do 2 parties, because it frustrates me to try and squeeze it all in. With 2 parties, I find I can relax much more and not worry about what I'm missing.

 

[mom2rtk]

Your Birthday? Well now,

29?

Carey

Thanks Carey! And sure........ we'll go with that number...... I started going backwards with numbers some time ago....... so I'm sure I must be back there again!

Is today your birthday?? It's my wedding anniversary (#2)! Happy Birthday May 1st is a great day!

Oh, btw, I think your daughter is just adorable and looks like she has a great personality! Have you watched Modern Family? Your daughter reminds me so much of the younger daughter/middle child. Seriously, they could be sisters!

Thank you! I haven't watched Modern Family, but I might have to start!

And Happy Anniversary! I've always loved having a May Day birthday. Of course I have now found out that both Hitler and Bin Laden died on my birthday. Not sure what to make of that........... Maybe that's justification to stop having birthdays????

I'm all caught up again!

I'm so loving all the dresses and outfits, but of course Belle is my favorite!

Your photos are once again fabulous. I had to skip the talk about taking pictures since is all so over my head. Kudos to everyone who does understand it.

Can't wait to see you pages.

Many thanks Vanessa! I do think red Belle is our favorite of all time.

Again, no problem at all. I know it's a lot, but I wanted to be thorough!

Happy belated 29th birthday by the way!!!

You're doing a great job. And it's most appreciated! I've really been reading it over closely and soaking it all in. HUGE HELP!

And........ if only you knew just HOW belated your were to that 29th birthday party! It's been so long I don't even remember it! But then all 3 kids came since then........ so just imagine how many brain cells have left me since then!

Oh, and Janet... I will be pouring over your info like crazy from MVMCP... guess who just added it to the agenda for this December!

<-- this gal!

It's so helpful to be able to follow up and learn from you!

Well, you've offered up so much photography advice that I definitely owe you. We've done 4 Christmas parties now, and I'm full of opinions!

As for the parade, we watched up by the castle as you have already seen. I'm about to get to our second viewing, which was from my favorite all-time parade spot........a great one for photography too!

Be sure to let me know what questions you have about the party!

Kwitcherkicken99, & Janet;
I've following along(or trying too) with the photo instructional you got going here, and while I'll admit to being lost, I am catching bits of knowledge here and there.
I wish you two taught a class, I'd be the first one there!

I need someone who'll explain things in a way I'd understand. I tried a couple different books, but .


Okay, carry on!

Carey

Hi Carey! I'm glad you're reading along with the photography stuff too! And I like that as time goes by, it will always be easy to find in my trip report. So when you find yourself with questions down the road, you can drop back by and read it again!

Have you ever read "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson? The folks on the photography forum recommend it highly. I had never read it, but just recently picked it up, and it really is a great place to start. It's very easy to follow and is full of lots of great info.

So I thought I would let all in a little secret in case Jen and I may have forgot to tell you guys....

There is a BIG reason we both are good at photography and know are stuff. You see both of us went to college together, a photography college. So if you get lost in what we are saying do not feel bad, we had three years to learn the stuff she is doing an amazing job teaching to you. Heck, I still don't get all of it . She teaches better than I. She is great with the light stuff... I am great at composure. So my point do not feel bad if you are confused by al of this, it just takes time and practice practice practice and a little pixie dust

CHEATERS!!!! Acutally, I'm not surprised.

I just wish I could take a class or 2. But at this point in my life, there just aren't enough hours in the day. So to have 2 friends here on the DIS willing to share their own experience and education......... is priceless.

Many thanks!

 

[jenseib]

I was playing around with my camera lenses the other day and took some great shots (not perfect, but I liked them) of Claire using my telephoto. I did post a couple on my TR.

Question about the low shutter speed. It seems that when I go at 1/60 I get blur. I think I might be too shakey.

So with a flash and an ISO of about 1/60 though I should be Ok in manual? I usually try to dial the shutter speed to somewhere between 1/200 and 1/100 and shoot with the aperture wide open.

Another dumb question that I should really know. How do I find the info out on a picture on my computer?

And that concludes Camera Talk with Janet and friends for today!

 

[mom2rtk]

I was playing around with my camera lenses the other day and took some great shots (not perfect, but I liked them) of Claire using my telephoto. I did post a couple on my TR.

Question about the low shutter speed. It seems that when I go at 1/60 I get blur. I think I might be too shakey.

So with a flash and an ISO of about 1/60 though I should be Ok in manual? I usually try to dial the shutter speed to somewhere between 1/200 and 1/100 and shoot with the aperture wide open.

Another dumb question that I should really know. How do I find the info out on a picture on my computer?

And that concludes Camera Talk with Janet and friends for today!

So who said you could call it a conclusion????

I have always heard that you shouldn't go lower than the inverse of your focal length. So at 30 mm, you could get away with 1/30 for the shutter speed. But at 75 the minimum is around 1/75, at 150, it would be 1/150 and so on. So probably you just need to bump up the shutter speed and you'll sharpen it up. You can do better with image stabilized lenses, but I'm assuming your telephoto does not have IS. If it does, then can I borrow it????

To find the EXIF on my own photos in my photo program, I just have to right click and choose properties. Not sure about what you're using. In Lightroom3, it displays the EXIF data on the page with all the editing controls.

If you see a photo posted by someone else online, there are lots of free EXIF programs out there. I use this one:

http://regex.info/exif.cgi

You just copy the web address for the photo (by right clicking on the online photo and choosing "view image info") then putting it in the box, and it will display the info that is there. Some images have had the data stripped out in post processing, but many have it still there. Mine should all be there if you want to play with pictures I have posted here.

 

[jenseib]

Thanks!

Ok, The conclusion for that minute!

 

[Caretames1]

Have you ever read "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson? The folks on the photography forum recommend it highly. I had never read it, but just recently picked it up, and it really is a great place to start. It's very easy to follow and is full of lots of great info.

No, I haven't. I will check it out online. I have a hard time understanding some of the books out there as they talk way above my head. I wish I had time for a class as well. Photography for dummies

 

[mom2rtk]

No, I haven't. I will check it out online. I have a hard time understanding some of the books out there as they talk way above my head. I wish I had time for a class as well. Photography for dummies

I think you'll be fine with this. It seems pretty easy to follow.

And don't DIS (pun intended! ) the dummies books. My first photography book was the Dummies book specific for my camera. I really liked it. Very straightforward with lots of colorful pictures!

Remind me again what camera you have?

I didn't get completely caught up on your TR yet, but I saw your Ghost family photo. You did great!

I don't think I'll get a shot at that one again. I think I'm over riding that.......

 

[Caretames1]

I think you'll be fine with this. It seems pretty easy to follow.

And don't DIS (pun intended! ) the dummies books. My first photography book was the Dummies book specific for my camera. I really liked it. Very straightforward with lots of colorful pictures!

Remind me again what camera you have?

I didn't get completely caught up on your TR yet, but I saw your Ghost family photo. You did great!

I don't think I'll get a shot at that one again. I think I'm over riding that.......

I have a Sony A100.
I have a dummies book, but it's not specific to my camera. I should really get that!

I took the ghost family shot with my cannon powershot, the one that was messing up on our trip. I didn't want to take my DSLR on the TOT, so I fgured if my cannon broke or didn't capture what I wanted no big deal.

I'm currently looking for a new point & shoot. I just don't know where to start

I know I can can take a nice picture when I try, but the conditons can't be too crazy. I took my daughters senior pics and I think they turned out great, and I've gotten some very nice compliments on them . If you like to see them, I could post a few on my TR.

 

[jenseib]

No, I haven't. I will check it out online. I have a hard time understanding some of the books out there as they talk way above my head. I wish I had time for a class as well. Photography for dummies

I have that book. It is an easy read...but for me I didn't learn a lot. I should reread it again.

I have a Sony A100.
I have a dummies book, but it's not specific to my camera. I should really get that!

I took the ghost family shot with my cannon powershot, the one that was messing up on our trip. I didn't want to take my DSLR on the TOT, so I fgured if my cannon broke or didn't capture what I wanted no big deal.

I'm currently looking for a new point & shoot. I just don't know where to start

I know I can can take a nice picture when I try, but the conditons can't be too crazy. I took my daughters senior pics and I think they turned out great, and I've gotten some very nice compliments on them . If you like to see them, I could post a few on my TR.

I almost bought that camera when I was looking. It took great shots, but Sony was so new to SLR's that many people (mostly Canon fans) steered me away. There is a Canon P&S I want to get...I think it is the SX130is. I have een pictures take with that and the model before it...actually 2 models before it and they are fabulous for a point and shoot.

 

[mom2rtk]

I have a Sony A100.
I have a dummies book, but it's not specific to my camera. I should really get that!

I took the ghost family shot with my cannon powershot, the one that was messing up on our trip. I didn't want to take my DSLR on the TOT, so I fgured if my cannon broke or didn't capture what I wanted no big deal.

I'm currently looking for a new point & shoot. I just don't know where to start

I know I can can take a nice picture when I try, but the conditons can't be too crazy. I took my daughters senior pics and I think they turned out great, and I've gotten some very nice compliments on them . If you like to see them, I could post a few on my TR.

I'd love to see some! My son graduates in less than 3 weeks and I still haven't taken senior photos. I tried last fall, but he was in a bad mood that day and just wanted it over with. So not what I hoped for. So I'll probably still take him to a studio. I could probably do ok, but don't think he'll relax and pose for me like he might......... stressing the word "might".......... do for someone else.

 

[jenseib]

I'd love to see some! My son graduates in less than 3 weeks and I still haven't taken senior photos. I tried last fall, but he was in a bad mood that day and just wanted it over with. So not what I hoped for. So I'll probably still take him to a studio. I could probably do ok, but don't think he'll relax and pose for me like he might......... stressing the word "might".......... do for someone else.

I took Paige's too. She loved them. But my son refused to let me do them. I refused to pay for them, so he got my Aunt to pay for them for him.

I saw Carey's pictures. They are great!

 

[mom2rtk]

I took Paige's too. She loved them. But my son refused to let me do them. I refused to pay for them, so he got my Aunt to pay for them for him.

I saw Carey's pictures. They are great!

You think his Aunt would pay for my son's????

I still need to work this out. But I don't have a problem doing it this summer when things (hopefully) slow down a bit.

 

[jenseib]

You think his Aunt would pay for my son's????

I still need to work this out. But I don't have a problem doing it this summer when things (hopefully) slow down a bit.

She is pretty generous!

 

[Caretames1]

I'd love to see some! My son graduates in less than 3 weeks and I still haven't taken senior photos. I tried last fall, but he was in a bad mood that day and just wanted it over with. So not what I hoped for. So I'll probably still take him to a studio. I could probably do ok, but don't think he'll relax and pose for me like he might......... stressing the word "might".......... do for someone else.

I posted them on my TR. I took hers because I can't see paying sombody 1,000 dollars( just figure thrown out, and becuse her friend spent 1500 on hers UGH!) for something I felt I could do. I gave Sammy the option, that if she didn't like them we'd do a stuido shoot, but I'd only pay for half, and not over 150 dollars.

I saw Carey's pictures. They are great!

Thanks Jen.

 

[mom2rtk]

I posted them on my TR. I took hers because I can't see paying sombody 1,000 dollars( just figure thrown out, and becuse her friend spent 1500 on hers UGH!) for something I felt I could do. I gave Sammy the option, that if she didn't like them we'd do a stuido shoot, but I'd only pay for half, and not over 150 dollars.



Thanks Jen.

I've heard stories about what people spend. That's not happening here. I'm going to give this one more try when school's out and we have more time. But I'll probably also do a studio shoot, even if I only buy a few. Of course, he won't like that either. No way would he pay anything toward it. He's very annoyed he has to do it at all!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I'd love to see some! My son graduates in less than 3 weeks and I still haven't taken senior photos.

Sounds like me... my student has been pestering me for a few weeks now, but life hasn't exactly freed up any time...

 

[Iron Mouse]

Amazing trip report! I can't wait to read more!!!

By the way I have to say you are so talented!

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

I love the Jasmine dress, Janet! It is beautiful. Jasmine is Eve's favorite princess!

I won't have time to learn how to use a camera before my trip this summer. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good point and shoot that I could purchase for my upcoming trip? I am looking in the $300-$500 range.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Ollie - I personally like the Canon line of point and shoot digitals (if I had to pick one!).