Photography Equipment in the Parks

[BethEJo]

Not a specific question, just a thought really (dangerous I know! )

I know there's lots of great, keen photographers on here, so was just wondering what equipment do you always take to the parks?

I wanted to get some good night time and firework shots when we go at the end of next month; is a tripod something you always take out with you?

And I was also thinking about lenses; do you just take one to the parks and stick with that for the day, or do you take a few so that you can swap and change if needs be?

Just interested in what y'all do, and how you find carrying it all day!

TIA

 

[2Tiggies]

I take pretty much all of my gear to the WDW but I select what I need for the day for the parks.

For fireworks you NEED a tripod! What lenses do you have? Depending what you have and whether you are happy to change them as and when required, you may or may not need more than one. I wouldn't bother with telephoto too much aside from AK because you actually want to lean towards the wide side rather than the extra reach

I'm happy to list the kit I used for my fireworks and the settings I used if you would like them

 

[BethEJo]

I'm happy to list the kit I used for my fireworks and the settings I used if you would like them

Yes please!

Regarding lenses, I have a 55-250mm, a 18-55mm, and a 50mm.

 

[TinkerbellW]

I'm happy to list the kit I used for my fireworks and the settings I used if you would like them

I'm pretty new to the this photography lark and planning to get some good shots during the fireworks (although I'm sure they will turn out pretty rubbish). Any tips, kit, settings you can think of would be gratefully received. Do you find people are pretty accepting when you set up your tripod? I just keep thinking I don't want to invade someone else's space (if you know what I mean)

 

[2Tiggies]

Your kit lens should be fine for all the fireworks. Looking at my Wishes ones, nothing was shot beyond 28 mm and I probably should have gone wider. You don't need a fast lens because you are using long shutter speeds so the one that came with your camera will be more than adequate. There are a lot of peripheral bursts that you will lose if you zoom too much.

I used a shutter remote, a tripod and a 3 stop ND filter (optional)
I did everything on full manual mode (manual exposure, manual focus, shutter on bulb mode) and these were done with a Nikkor 18-105 mm F3.5 VR lens


Wishes by 2Tiggies, on Flickr

28 mm; 16 seconds; F11; ISO 100


Wishes by 2Tiggies, on Flickr

28 mm; 32 seconds; F11; ISO 100


Wishes by 2Tiggies, on Flickr

28 mm; 17 seconds; F11; ISO 100



Wishes by 2Tiggies, on Flickr

28 mm; 34 seconds; F11; ISO 100

Watch your exposure time when you get to the finale so you don't blow out the entire picture like I did with mine

I have my Illuminations ones in a separate album and seem to have not put them on Flickr but I can sort that out too - settings were similar but I'd need to see how long I left the shutter open on those as I seem to think they were shorter exposures

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

My god Lee they are the most awesome photos of fireworks I have ever seen ..... hats off to you

 

[TinkerbellW]

Wow!

If my photos come out half as well as that I'll be blown away. You are very talented!

 

[BethEJo]

I agree, they're spectacular!! Thanks for the info Lee

What's the use behind the ND filter? Does it allow you to have the longer exposure times? Sorry, I'm still trying to get my head around a lot of this Getting there slowly

 

[BethEJo]

Also, out of interest, where did you set up your tripod for those shots?

 

[2Tiggies]

Thank you for your lovely comments. I am not a pro though! This was my second attempt at fireworks, having done Illuminations a few days earlier as my starter and I did LOTS wrong both times but that's part of the fun - you live and learn. If you want to see the real stuff you need to look on the Photography board ..... those guys are really really good!

I agree, they're spectacular!! Thanks for the info Lee

What's the use behind the ND filter? Does it allow you to have the longer exposure times? Sorry, I'm still trying to get my head around a lot of this Getting there slowly

Also, out of interest, where did you set up your tripod for those shots?

Yes, Beth the ND filter allows longer exposure and it's not essential. What I would say is if you go that route, either buy a really good one or forgo it altogether. I bought a Hoya which is a reputable brand, but certainly entry level. I went with one of their regular ones, not the Pro1 and lost an entire set of pictures. It looked like someone had wiped my lens with a dirty rag and the trouble is, because it blocks light into the lens, you can't spot it while you are taking photos So it still cost me another £70+ on top of the £30 odd I wasted to get a decent one!

The ones posted here were taken from the MK reserved / preferred viewing area, which is why I am not facing the castle dead on and also the reason the bottom end of the castle is not visible. A word of caution with this location: there are only 2 spots you can stand with your tripod for a relatively unobstructed view and I spotted the first table taken 2 hours before Wishes so we rushed down and had to sit and wait. For the amount of waiting time I could rather have gone elsewhere in the park for a better view but again, it was a 'safe' place for a first attempt at Wishes. I did Hallowishes too, most photos of which were useless as it rained through the fireworks and there was nothing I could do about the rain drops on the lens which ruined 90% of the shots. For that one I stood right in the middle of Main Street and I would do this again as I preferred this location.

I will get a couple of Illuminations ones for you, which I shot first from the preferred viewing area in Morocco and the second time ..... from under a tree yeah, don't ask. It was my first run-in with someone having an issue with tripods and I rounded up all the self control I could to be the bigger person in front of DD (would have been a different story had I been alone!) and moved and sat on the ground with my lens through the railings lol.

 

[2Tiggies]

Hallowishes 09.21.12 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr

Shot at 18 mm, F16, 42 second exposure time, manual focus, bulb mode, ISO 100

Oh and my remote shutter control decided not to work that night


Hallowishes 09.21.12 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr

Same settings as above but taken at 21 mm

As you can see, you don't need the extra reach of a zoom. In fact I wish I'd used my UWA and stood at the hub that night

 

[TinkerbellW]

Again ...stunning shots!

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

If only ........ from your shutter to my camera

 

[BethEJo]

Agreed - more absolutely stunning photos Particularly love the Hallowishes ones with the silhouette of the buildings on Main St!!!

Yes, Beth the ND filter allows longer exposure and it's not essential. What I would say is if you go that route, either buy a really good one or forgo it altogether. I bought a Hoya which is a reputable brand, but certainly entry level. I went with one of their regular ones, not the Pro1 and lost an entire set of pictures. It looked like someone had wiped my lens with a dirty rag and the trouble is, because it blocks light into the lens, you can't spot it while you are taking photos So it still cost me another £70+ on top of the £30 odd I wasted to get a decent one!

The ones posted here were taken from the MK reserved / preferred viewing area, which is why I am not facing the castle dead on and also the reason the bottom end of the castle is not visible. A word of caution with this location: there are only 2 spots you can stand with your tripod for a relatively unobstructed view and I spotted the first table taken 2 hours before Wishes so we rushed down and had to sit and wait. For the amount of waiting time I could rather have gone elsewhere in the park for a better view but again, it was a 'safe' place for a first attempt at Wishes. I did Hallowishes too, most photos of which were useless as it rained through the fireworks and there was nothing I could do about the rain drops on the lens which ruined 90% of the shots. For that one I stood right in the middle of Main Street and I would do this again as I preferred this location.

I will get a couple of Illuminations ones for you, which I shot first from the preferred viewing area in Morocco and the second time ..... from under a tree yeah, don't ask. It was my first run-in with someone having an issue with tripods and I rounded up all the self control I could to be the bigger person in front of DD (would have been a different story had I been alone!) and moved and sat on the ground with my lens through the railings lol.

Good advice re: the filter, think I'll leave getting one for the time being. Shame about some of your pictures that you said it spoilt

Have decided I'll definitely be taking a tripod in my luggage with me - not looking forward to the run-ins so much Ah well, will give me good practice with standing my ground

 

[2Tiggies]

Have decided I'll definitely be taking a tripod in my luggage with me - not looking forward to the run-ins so much Ah well, will give me good practice with standing my ground

Definitely take the tripod. You don't have to take it with you every day - i only took it for specific purposes on select days, but at least it's there if/when you need it.

Don't worry about run-ins. The when I did the first Wishes show the couple standing next to me actually offered to move up and said they were happy to move if I needed to switch places for a better view. You're not likely to encounter malicious behaviour; you need to be more alerted to carelessness and people for whom tripods are not part of the day to day park experience (most people) so having someone trip over it is more of a risk. Just get your friends to stand one on either side of you to obstruct the legs from the walkways. My DD was great but I didn't have anyone to cover the other side. Still, never had hassles aside from that one time.

Oh and also, remember that the further you get into the displays, the more smoke you have around so try shoot early for the 'clean' shots

 

[TinkerbellW]

Oh and also, remember that the further you get into the displays, the more smoke you have around so try shoot early for the 'clean' shots

I did wonder how you managed clean shots- I always get brilliant smoke photos

 

[2Tiggies]

I did wonder how you managed clean shots- I always get brilliant smoke photos

Oh I got lots. There is some smoke in the ones I posted too. Illuminations was more challenging in that regard. But the smoke can add to the drama of the photos so I wouldn't avoid those shots altogether.

 

[queendisney]

absolutely LOVE your photo's..they gave me a lovely Disney tingle

I must admit with illuminations the smoke can get quite bad. We always look to see which way the wind is blowing and base where we stand on that. Too often I have seen so many people thinking they have a fantastic view when you can tell that after a while they won't see a thing...It doesn't always blow away very quickly.
You don't really have much choice for Wishes though and we have had times when they have been totally obscured by smoke so we never leave seeing the fireworks until the last night.

 

[Cyrano]

Agree with everyone's comment that your photos are excellent Lee.
I am going to let DS read this thread as he is keen to get good fireworks photos.

 

[sjfc99]

I take a my Nikon D300 - although just got the D7100 on launch day last week - so that will be coming this June. Lens wise, its 18-250 for general stuff, the 17-50 2.8, 50mm 1.8, 10-20 4-5.6.

To save weight in the cases, I travel with a Trekpod, which is a monopod/tripod/walking stick thing. Its perfect in some ways for Disney when its crowded, as the legs aren't that big, and stable enough for the D300 and one of those on the front of it.