Ttc photos

[Pooh_Girl]

Ok, so we are looking at trying to watch Wishes from the TTC at the boat dock in a few weeks but does anyone know if the music is piped through the area? And you don't have to have a ticket to access this area, do you? One last question: here is an example of DH's attempt at a shot there last year but can anyone suggest how to make it better? It was with the Pentax K100D and the Tamron 70-300 lens.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

Pretty sure Poly Beach pipes in the music, not sure if it is over at the TTC. We were wondering the same thing ourselves

 

[ukcatfan]

I am not an expert on this, but I would think that the beach at the Poly would be better and should have the music (not positive though). There is nothing against the rules to visit a hotel. We often do the monorail hotels tour. They are happy to let people do this because most end up buying something. The rules are to prevent outsiders from using hotel exclusive amenities such as the pools, tennis courts, etc. There is a path to the Poly from the TTC if you do not want to use the monorail.

 

[mom2rtk]

Ok, so we are looking at trying to watch Wishes from the TTC at the boat dock in a few weeks but does anyone know if the music is piped through the area? And you don't have to have a ticket to access this area, do you? One last question: here is an example of DH's attempt at a shot there last year but can anyone suggest how to make it better? It was with the Pentax K100D and the Tamron 70-300 lens.

Did he use a tripod?

 

[RBennett]

DH here. First, let me answer the question closest to my post. I did use a tripod when I shot that last year and it still came out like that. I took SEVERAL (10-15) trying to get what I was looking for and it didn't happen. The only thing I can think of is MAYBE my camera was focusing on the wrong spot and being so dark I can't tell what it was focusing on?

As for shooting at the Poly, I remember trying that either in November or October of 2008 and I didn't care for it. It was really noisy with kids running around and I was scared that they were going to hit my tripod. Also, they had that electrical parade on the water go right in front of the castle and it was horrible! They do pipe the music through on the beach there, but I'm just not a big fan of it. We'll see though. I was just looking on my website to see if I had a shot from when we were at the Poly and it doesn't look like I even put one on there, so that tells you something. I know, I have a long way to go with my photography skills if I can't pull off a good shot on the beach of the Poly.

 

[mom2rtk]

Did you use a remote shutter release cable or a self timer? Even on a tripod, pushing the button will cause a little movement.

 

[aeryn]

The TTC does pipe in the music as well and there's no ticket required to be in this area, but if you don't have an Annual Pass or are not staying on property you'll need to pay for parking. You could just go to the Poly Beach tho' and have as good a shot.

 

[RBennett]

Did you use a remote shutter release cable or a self timer? Even on a tripod, pushing the button will cause a little movement.

I used my remote shutter.

 

[RBennett]

The TTC does pipe in the music as well and there's no ticket required to be in this area, but if you don't have an Annual Pass or are not staying on property you'll need to pay for parking. You could just go to the Poly Beach tho' and have as good a shot.

What I was thinking is, since my in-laws will be with us and they have never been we're going to take the day resort hopping/shopping. We will start with just a little time at Downtown Disney and have lunch. Then after lunch, show them Port Orleans/Riverside, Wilderness Lodge, the Grand, Poly, and Contemporary for dinner. As soon as dinner is over, I think we will hop on the monorail over to the TTC. So if I can park at the Contemporary for dinner, then I won't have to pay for parking.

 

[disneyboy2003]

One last question: here is an example of DH's attempt at a shot there last year but can anyone suggest how to make it better? It was with the Pentax K100D and the Tamron 70-300 lens.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not quite sure I see what's wrong with the picture. There's a blurry part near the entrance, but that's just a monorail passing by. The train station might look a little blurry, but it's hard to tell from such a small photo. Cinderella's Castle looks decently sharp, but again, it's hard to tell from the small photo.

If you're looking for critiques or suggestions, can you post a larger version, or a link to a larger version?

(Never mind, I looked at your SmugMug account and found the photo: http://rbennettphotography.smugmug....rry-Christmas/IMGP0138/781209578_HFGPU-X3.jpg)

Yes, it looks like there was a focus problem. A couple simple things to check for (simple, but very easy to overlook):

• since you're using a tripod, you can turn OFF the image stabilization. Otherwise, it might inadvertently introduce image-shaking during the exposure.
• if you were expecting to use autofocus, check that your lens was NOT accidentally set to manual focus
• select a single focus point (ex. the center focus point), instead of letting the camera "randomly" select an autofocus point.
• make sure the focus point is pointed RIGHT ON subject. In low-light photography, place the focus point on a bright area / bright light of the subject. In this case, place the focus point directly on Cinderella's Castle, where there's a lot of bright/dark contrast.
• since you're already using a tripod & remote shutter, make sure you use the mirror lock-up feature to further minimize any shakes when the mirror flips up during the long exposure.

Just a few general ideas for the future. As you mentioned earlier, I think it was a focus problem. Hope that helps.

 

[mom2rtk]

Also, instead of setting up the camera and shooting 10 or 15 in a row, take a few, focus on something different, then go back to the castle and focus again. If it was focused on the wrong thing, hitting the button a bunch of times in a row will only make the same mistake a bunch of times.

 

[Todd_H]

I shot Wishes from that area of the TTC back in November. It was a little crowded and I had to fight for a place (amazing that even outside the park you have to fight for a good viewing spot). For shooting Wishes, I found the 70-200 was a little too long (to get the entire burst, 70mm might be as long as you need). I suggest going with a more wide angle lens in portrait orientation and then crop it. Those bursts above the castle are HUGE!

This was around 150mm

 

[Golf4food]

You know, TTC has different meaning depending on which board you are on around here.

On the Theme Parks board and here it is the Transportation and Ticket Center.

On the Community Board it generally means Trying To Conceive.

I saw the thread title and though, "We can't post photos of that around here..."

 

[jupster75]

You know, TTC has different meaning depending on which board you are on around here.

On the Theme Parks board and here it is the Transportation and Ticket Center.

On the Community Board it generally means Trying To Conceive.

I saw the thread title and though, "We can't post photos of that around here..."

I am glad I wasn't the only one thinking that.

 

[Altair]

The castle isn't quite as soft as the buildings, so this could also be a depth of field issue, a wide open long lens means very shallow DOF. Manual focus if you AF has trouble.

 

[Pooh_Girl]

THAT'S what we were wanting!!! He thought that by zooming in closer to the castle/train station he could get something that sharp, just closer. Not so much. That is AMAZING clarity, color, EVERYTHING!!!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The castle isn't quite as soft as the buildings, so this could also be a depth of field issue, a wide open long lens means very shallow DOF. Manual focus if you AF has trouble.

I agree. Your aperture was set at f/5.6 - try it at f/11 to give you better depth of field.

 

[disneyboy2003]

The castle isn't quite as soft as the buildings, so this could also be a depth of field issue, a wide open long lens means very shallow DOF. Manual focus if you AF has trouble.

I agree. Your aperture was set at f/5.6 - try it at f/11 to give you better depth of field.

Hmmm...I'm not quite sure about these statements. In general, yes, a large aperture (small f-number) will give you a shallower depth of field. And, in general, a smaller aperture (larger f-number) will give you a longer depth of field. However, I think this general statement applies only to subjects that are closer to the camera.

If the subject is far far far away, you can get away with using a larger aperture (such as f/5.6) and still have a large depth of field / depth of focus.

Being the nerd I am, I went on Google Earth and measured the distance from the Polynesian Resort to the front entrance of Magic Kingdom. It's 3700 feet. The distance from Polynesian to Cinderella's Castle is about 4500+ feet.

I used an online Depth of Field calculator (link) and plugged in the following numbers, based on the EXIF settings for your photo:

• focal length 300mm
• f-stop 5.6
• subject distance 4000 ft, and
• Pentax camera

If I'm interpreting the results correctly, everything from the middle of the Seven Seas Lagoon (1500 ft from the camera) onto infinity should have been in focus, even at f/5.6! So the Main Street USA train station and Cinderella's Castle should have both been in focus.

If he had chosen an aperture of f/11, then everything from 1/3 into the Seven Seas Lagoon (984 ft from the camera) onto infinity should have been in focus.

Of course, all these calculations assume that the camera correctly focused on the subject at around 4000 feet.

Anyway, I don't have an easy answer about what happened. However, even at f/5.6, you should have had enough depth of field to have both the train station and the Castle in focus.


BTW, Todd_H, that's a stunning photo!

 

[disneyboy2003]

Actually, on closer inspection of your photo (http://rbennettphotography.smugmug....erry-Christmas/IMGP0138/781209578_HFGPU-O.jpg), if you look at some of the yellow lightbulbs on the Main Street USA train station, you'll see that they do not appear to be pinpoint / circular points of light.

Instead, they appear to be "checkmarks", like √. I wonder if motion blur during the 1/2-second exposure could have contributed to the blurry details of your photo.

Even though you may have done everything in your power to steady your camera on a tripod & used a remote shutter thing, it might be that the lens at 300mm is very very sensitive to the slightest movement, even from a rush of wind or the shutter mirror going up.

Just a thought.