Experiment_626
Stealth Geek
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2008
- Messages
- 1,652
If you're like me -- and I know I am -- there are photos you'd like to get, that you envision, but you can't get them because of access issues or for various other reasons.
One non-Disney example -- take a look at this:
Unconquered HDR January 2009 by Scott S. Baxter, on Flickr
Now, I like this image. But what I really want is a photo of the same location and subject, but with a vivid sunset. In addition to the hit-or-miss nature of sunsets, the problem is that by that time of day, the lights in the stadium would be on -- but only on the right half. For whatever reason, they make a habit of not turning on the lights inside on the left half except at ground level, It draws attention away from everything else in the shot. The only exceptions are when there's an actual football game going on, but then the place is a madhouse, with people everywhere and TV trucks all over the place.
The second thing on my wish list here is that during home football games, the top of the spear is aflame. I already said why I don't want this angle during a game. But if you look up information about this practice, you'll read that the spear is ignited at dawn on the Saturday of a game and extinguished at sunrise the following morning. The problems is that this is apparently a lie. I've made special trips up here (50 miles round trip) in the pitch-black wee hours of several Sunday mornings following games, hoping to get a shot near dawn and sunrise. The spear has never been burning at that time that I've seen. Supposedly, the also light the spear for other special athletic events not taking place at the stadium, but as best I can tell, that is also BS.
Another shot I want to get here is a close-up UWA or fisheye shot of the statue from the right side, so that the spear is pointed more or less at the camera -- I mean a serious close-up, as in "inches away." But I can't get any closer than the railing, even though I have placed my tripod over the rail. I haven't put myself on the other side, though. I've tried to imagine how to design a special tripod-esque device made just for the shot I want -- I do have access to a well-staffed machine shop. But I'd want an HDR, and I need stability for that ...
At Walt Disney World, I so want to get up on the lawn in front of the Haunted Mansion to shoot the facade from about 10000 different angles -- especially a straight-on shot with lots of distortion to make it look even more like an animal ready to pounce.
I don't think there's a rooftop in the park I wouldn't like to have as a photography perch.
I want to get out on the rock work at Big Thunder Mountain and shoot a train going by inches from my face. I want to do the same thing at Expedition Everest. I'd love to be out of the boat in the haunted grotto of Pirates.
I want an elevated shot of the interior courtyard area at Wilderness Lodge.
And I really want an HDR of one of the entrance gates to the resort property -- the ones where the signs say "No stopping -- strictly enforced." I wonder what happens if you come in on foot ...
Any one else have a seemingly unattainable "Holy Grail Shot" like these?
SSB
One non-Disney example -- take a look at this:
Unconquered HDR January 2009 by Scott S. Baxter, on Flickr
Now, I like this image. But what I really want is a photo of the same location and subject, but with a vivid sunset. In addition to the hit-or-miss nature of sunsets, the problem is that by that time of day, the lights in the stadium would be on -- but only on the right half. For whatever reason, they make a habit of not turning on the lights inside on the left half except at ground level, It draws attention away from everything else in the shot. The only exceptions are when there's an actual football game going on, but then the place is a madhouse, with people everywhere and TV trucks all over the place.
The second thing on my wish list here is that during home football games, the top of the spear is aflame. I already said why I don't want this angle during a game. But if you look up information about this practice, you'll read that the spear is ignited at dawn on the Saturday of a game and extinguished at sunrise the following morning. The problems is that this is apparently a lie. I've made special trips up here (50 miles round trip) in the pitch-black wee hours of several Sunday mornings following games, hoping to get a shot near dawn and sunrise. The spear has never been burning at that time that I've seen. Supposedly, the also light the spear for other special athletic events not taking place at the stadium, but as best I can tell, that is also BS.
Another shot I want to get here is a close-up UWA or fisheye shot of the statue from the right side, so that the spear is pointed more or less at the camera -- I mean a serious close-up, as in "inches away." But I can't get any closer than the railing, even though I have placed my tripod over the rail. I haven't put myself on the other side, though. I've tried to imagine how to design a special tripod-esque device made just for the shot I want -- I do have access to a well-staffed machine shop. But I'd want an HDR, and I need stability for that ...
At Walt Disney World, I so want to get up on the lawn in front of the Haunted Mansion to shoot the facade from about 10000 different angles -- especially a straight-on shot with lots of distortion to make it look even more like an animal ready to pounce.
I don't think there's a rooftop in the park I wouldn't like to have as a photography perch.
I want to get out on the rock work at Big Thunder Mountain and shoot a train going by inches from my face. I want to do the same thing at Expedition Everest. I'd love to be out of the boat in the haunted grotto of Pirates.
I want an elevated shot of the interior courtyard area at Wilderness Lodge.
And I really want an HDR of one of the entrance gates to the resort property -- the ones where the signs say "No stopping -- strictly enforced." I wonder what happens if you come in on foot ...
Any one else have a seemingly unattainable "Holy Grail Shot" like these?
SSB
