The Tale of Many Items Lost- Lots of Photos! August 2010 Trip Report

[Docarino]

Deleted

 

[Imagineer5]

WOW. Your photos of the fireworks are just amazing. My main goal with my new camera (Canon T1i) is to get good Wishes shots, and we plan to bring the tripod. Can you please let me know your settings? I did buy a shutter release and a remote, but am so worried about screwing up the settings.

Thanks! You've also given me some new perspective on how to get great shots at EPCOT, amazing photos there too

 

[heaven2dc]

As always, I am so amazed at your photos

 

[Docarino]

WOW. Your photos of the fireworks are just amazing. My main goal with my new camera (Canon T1i) is to get good Wishes shots, and we plan to bring the tripod. Can you please let me know your settings? I did buy a shutter release and a remote, but am so worried about screwing up the settings.

Thanks! You've also given me some new perspective on how to get great shots at EPCOT, amazing photos there too

So exciting that you're going so soon. As for fireworks, I get a little more comfortable each time I shoot fireworks but it is a work in progress. It is something that you start to get a feel for. As you know, the tripod and remote shutter release is key. Get a locker during the day- it is worth every penny (just don't leave the key in the locker like I did I set it on ISO 100, manual with shutter speed at bulb and the aperature around f/10-14. (I'm going to try to stop down a little more next trip). I find that at those settings, leaving the shutter open about 8-14 seconds works, depending on what's going on in the show. Check your LCD frequently and adjust to shorter or longer shutter speeds as necessary. Or, you could adjust the aperature. When I'm thinking clearly, I stop down more for the finale and the exposure is much shorter- 1-3 seconds or it's blown out.

Let me know if you have other questions- I love to talk photography!

As always, I am so amazed at your photos

Thanks again! I appreciate you looking!

 

[Docarino]

Deleted

 

[wdwgirl03]

WOW. Amazing AMAZING pictures! So good! The one of Pete's Dragon is great.

 

[davebon23]

Beautiful pictures! Can you tell me how the weather was this week? We are going the same time next year. You are so lucky to be going back again in October. TIA

 

[hill6]

OMG your photos are tremendous.

I understand the losing things. I went through a phase where I misplaced everything.

 

[Imagineer5]

Thanks for the tips regarding fireworks photos....I looked at my camera to put in those settings just to see what I had to work with. I found the bulb shutter speed - no idea what that means though? Before all of this I was thinking that a low ISO = lots of light (ie mid-day sun). A high ISO would be good for night shots. So I was surprised to hear that you used a 100 ISO...of course I have NO idea about any of this. I've only had the chance to fiddle with the camera at home, and read a little about it. So any explanations would be very helpful! Thanks!

 

[Docarino]

WOW. Amazing AMAZING pictures! So good! The one of Pete's Dragon is great.

Thanks! The only sad thing about Pete's Dragon is that I know when he comes around, the parade is coming to an end.

Beautiful pictures! Can you tell me how the weather was this week? We are going the same time next year. You are so lucky to be going back again in October. TIA

The weather was really great but I don't think it was typical. It was high 80s and wonderful. Honestly, I think we just got lucky but I hope you get lucky, too. It's a great week to go- the crowds were very light.

I feel very lucky to be going back in October. Honestly, it's a relatively cheap vacation if you stay value, have an annual pass and are only paying for one person.

OMG your photos are tremendous.

I understand the losing things. I went through a phase where I misplaced everything.

Thanks! I am determined not to lose anything on the next trip. That reminds me, I need to go on amazon and order back up lens caps.

Thanks for the tips regarding fireworks photos....I looked at my camera to put in those settings just to see what I had to work with. I found the bulb shutter speed - no idea what that means though? Before all of this I was thinking that a low ISO = lots of light (ie mid-day sun). A high ISO would be good for night shots. So I was surprised to hear that you used a 100 ISO...of course I have NO idea about any of this. I've only had the chance to fiddle with the camera at home, and read a little about it. So any explanations would be very helpful! Thanks!

So the bulb setting basically means that you are determining the shutter speed- it starts when you press the shutter and stops when you release it. This way, you can decide how long to keep the shutter open depending on how many bursts there are, how bright they are, etc. Play around with it to get a feel for it right now at home- you'll have enough to think about when you're in the middle of Main Street. Also, play around with your remote. Mine has a quirk that I need to hold the shutter down for the first 5 seconds of exposure but after that, I can release it and it will keep the shutter open until I press it a second time.

You are correct that a low ISO is less sensitive to light so typically, you use that when you have plenty of light and increase the ISO when need the camera to be more sensitive to light- because the light is low and you don't want your shutter speed to go to long because you are hand holding and you'll get blur. But in this case, you are on a tripod so you don't have to worry about that. You want the ISO as low as possible to reduce noise- and you want a longer shutter speed so you can get as many bursts as possible.

Definitely ask more questions if you have them !

 

[ChiCat]

Your pictures are giving me the chills. You have a great eye and really captured the Magic of Disney in your photos.

So true, they are positively breathtaking! I already used one has a wallpaper for my laptop! It was so hard to choose though. What a great trip report too

 

[davebon23]

Thanks! The only sad thing about Pete's Dragon is that I know when he comes around, the parade is coming to an end.



The weather was really great but I don't think it was typical. It was high 80s and wonderful. Honestly, I think we just got lucky but I hope you get lucky, too. It's a great week to go- the crowds were very light.

I feel very lucky to be going back in October. Honestly, it's a relatively cheap vacation if you stay value, have an annual pass and are only paying for one person.



Thanks! I am determined not to lose anything on the next trip. That reminds me, I need to go on amazon and order back up lens caps.



So the bulb setting basically means that you are determining the shutter speed- it starts when you press the shutter and stops when you release it. This way, you can decide how long to keep the shutter open depending on how many bursts there are, how bright they are, etc. Play around with it to get a feel for it right now at home- you'll have enough to think about when you're in the middle of Main Street. Also, play around with your remote. Mine has a quirk that I need to hold the shutter down for the first 5 seconds of exposure but after that, I can release it and it will keep the shutter open until I press it a second time.

You are correct that a low ISO is less sensitive to light so typically, you use that when you have plenty of light and increase the ISO when need the camera to be more sensitive to light- because the light is low and you don't want your shutter speed to go to long because you are hand holding and you'll get blur. But in this case, you are on a tripod so you don't have to worry about that. You want the ISO as low as possible to reduce noise- and you want a longer shutter speed so you can get as many bursts as possible.

Definitely ask more questions if you have them !

Unfortunately we are four people not one, so that's why it's pricey for us, plus the airfare. But we are staying at the POP this time to save some $$. I hope we do get at lucky as you next summer. Have a nice Halloween at Disney!! THanks for the reply

 

[Docarino]

Unfortunately we are four people not one, so that's why it's pricey for us, plus the airfare. But we are staying at the POP this time to save some $$. I hope we do get at lucky as you next summer. Have a nice Halloween at Disney!! THanks for the reply

Oh, definitely, it starts to add up. I wish I were lucky enough to be a family of 4, but since that hasn't worked out for me yet, I have decided to be happy with what I have and take advantage of the opportunities that affords me- and that means going to Disney

 

[davebon23]

Oh, definitely, it starts to add up. I wish I were lucky enough to be a family of 4, but since that hasn't worked out for me yet, I have decided to be happy with what I have and take advantage of the opportunities that affords me- and that means going to Disney

Well good luck in the future expanding your family. I am slightly (LOL) older than you so that's why we have four in our family already. I am sure you can find someone who loves Disney as much as you do and maybe start a family together. You look like a very nice girl in your pictures.

 

[Docarino]

Well good luck in the future expanding your family. I am slightly (LOL) older than you so that's why we have four in our family already. I am sure you can find someone who loves Disney as much as you do and maybe start a family together. You look like a very nice girl in your pictures.

Thanks, you're very sweet. I'm probably older than you think- 34- but I spent my entire 20s in school so in my mind, I'm 21!

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Your pics are just great and inspiring. I didn't go wide angle on my last trip, but you've inspired me to do that on the next. Which lens did you use for the wide angle shots? Also, I am jealous of your dark ride shots. I had only one salvageable Peter Pan pic and am consumed with the idea of getting it right. Which lens did you use on those? Thanks for any info and again, nice shooting!

 

[Docarino]

Your pics are just great and inspiring. I didn't go wide angle on my last trip, but you've inspired me to do that on the next. Which lens did you use for the wide angle shots? Also, I am jealous of your dark ride shots. I had only one salvageable Peter Pan pic and am consumed with the idea of getting it right. Which lens did you use on those? Thanks for any info and again, nice shooting!

I have the Canon 10-22. I'm still not very good with it but I'm starting to get a feel for it. I find I have to be very focused to use it- definitely not a snapshot lens. But it was a goal of mine to use the 10-22 more and the 24-70 less this trip. I looked at the Canon and the Tokina 2.8 11-16 and I wish I did have the 2.8 aperature but I decided to go with the 10-22 because I'm not that good at wide angle shooting and I wanted the 22mm end of it to fall back upon when I couldn't make the wide angle work. I know that people that are good with the UWA lens almost always use it at it's widest, but I'm a work in progress.

For the dark rides, I used the Sigma 30mm 1.4. On my last trip, I had the Canon 50 mm 1.4 but I replaced it with the 30mm and am very happy with it. I swear that my 50mm was front focusing but I had it tested and they said it was just me not using the lens correctly. I think that since the 30 mm is slightly wider, the focal plane is a little bigger and I'm not missing it like I was with the 50mm. Also, on a crop sensor, I like the 30mm better because it's more of a normal lens and, I don't feel the need to take it off my camera as soon as I get out of the dark ride. Maybe when I develop some more skills, I'll try the 50mm again but for now, I'm happy with the 30mm.

I'm hardly a dark rides expert but two things I did differently this trip. This is probably cheating but I set the camera to burst and then took a few shots quickly as I manually focused. Let's just say, for the handful of shots I got, there were hundreds of throw aways. Also, I trialed Nix software's noise reduction plug-in, Dfine. I had only used Camera RAW's noise reduction previously and the plug in made a huge difference.

Hope that helps I'm hardly an expert but I love to talk photography

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I have the Canon 10-22. I'm still not very good with it but I'm starting to get a feel for it. I find I have to be very focused to use it- definitely not a snapshot lens. But it was a goal of mine to use the 10-22 more and the 24-70 less this trip. I looked at the Canon and the Tokina 2.8 11-16 and I wish I did have the 2.8 aperature but I decided to go with the 10-22 because I'm not that good at wide angle shooting and I wanted the 22mm end of it to fall back upon when I couldn't make the wide angle work. I know that people that are good with the UWA lens almost always use it at it's widest, but I'm a work in progress.

For the dark rides, I used the Sigma 30mm 1.4. On my last trip, I had the Canon 50 mm 1.4 but I replaced it with the 30mm and am very happy with it. I swear that my 50mm was front focusing but I had it tested and they said it was just me not using the lens correctly. I think that since the 30 mm is slightly wider, the focal plane is a little bigger and I'm not missing it like I was with the 50mm. Also, on a crop sensor, I like the 30mm better because it's more of a normal lens and, I don't feel the need to take it off my camera as soon as I get out of the dark ride. Maybe when I develop some more skills, I'll try the 50mm again but for now, I'm happy with the 30mm.

I'm hardly a dark rides expert but two things I did differently this trip. This is probably cheating but I set the camera to burst and then took a few shots quickly as I manually focused. Let's just say, for the handful of shots I got, there were hundreds of throw aways. Also, I trialed Nix software's noise reduction plug-in, Dfine. I had only used Camera RAW's noise reduction previously and the plug in made a huge difference.

Hope that helps I'm hardly an expert but I love to talk photography

Thanks for the information. The Sigma 30 is definitely on my radar screen. I primarily used my 28-70 on the last trip. While I was pleased with the results, when I saw your wide angle, it opened my eyes. I thought your shots were great. I work with some very good pros and they keep telling me that noone ever sees their bad shots, so everyone thinks they never take any. They are laughing heartedly when they tell me this! Thanks again for the info and posting your pics. Great work.

 

[Docarino]

I work with some very good pros and they keep telling me that noone ever sees their bad shots, so everyone thinks they never take any.

Oh, that's rule #1! Don't show all your pictures!

 

[Imagineer5]

Thanks again for the explanation for your fireworks shots. I'll have to play with that shutter speed thing. Definitely making the effort to bring the tripod will be key, which i plan to do for both Wishes and Illuminations (maybe fantasmic too if it's allowed...). I do not have steady hands haha. i'll have to update you to show how i did (hopefully i get SOME good shots, seriously getting a good Wishes shot is on my Bucket List).