Yia-Yia, Yetis and Epcotonians. A sweltering Summer of '22 adventure!

[KEK1]

Boy did you ace the quiz, incredible night pics, love them!
Your family seems very fun!

 

[fractal]

We continued into the boundless realm of the supernatural.

Let me out! Let me out!

At this point the ride stopped. I turning on my Lume Cube for a pic of Sterg and Toni.

Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat, call in the spirits, wherever they’re at!

The happy haunts have received your sympathetic vibrations and are beginning to materialize. They’re assembling for a swinging wake, and they’ll be expecting me… I’ll see you all a little later.

 

[fractal]

Till death do us part.

When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake,
Spooks come out for a swinging wake.
Happy haunts materialize and begin to vocalize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!

This is one of the toughest shots to get at WDW. Weird angle and very little light while your doombuggy is turning around.

I've seen better but I was happy with this.

 

[fractal]

When you hear the knell of a requiem bell,
Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell.
Restless bones etherealize, rise as spooks of every size!

Ah, there you are! And just in time… there’s a little matter I forgot to mention — beware of hitchhiking ghosts! They have selected you to fill our quota, and they’ll haunt you until you return!

Hurry back! Hurry back! Be sure to bring your death certificate… if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now! We’ve been dying to have you…

Sterg and Toni just loved it! The most they've ever enjoyed Haunted Mansion. Two big wins for me - Pirates and Haunted Mansion went from "eh" to "that was great!"

But was it me or was it because we rode them "at nighhhtttt"?



I was thrilled with my Haunted Mansion photos - among the best I've ever taken!

We left the "aura of foreboding" and spilled into Fantasyland

Sterg and Toni wanted to grab a ride to the stars on another Disney Classic - Space Mountain.

I told them I wanted to go into full photography mode and sent them on their way.

I was still shooting the 50mm lens...

We threatened to go on PhilharMagic numerous times but alas never did.

Still one of my favorites.

I love carousels!

Another 50th Anniversary statue shot.

At this point I was still behind the castle searching for unique shots.

I was by myself, in Magic Kingdom "at night" with my camera - and having a great time!

I started making my way to the hub for the 11pm showing of Enchantment fireworks.

I loved the lighting through out the park - it created a glowing atmosphere and brought out wonderful visual treats.

Time to find a spot for fireworks.

But first some more photos!

Last edited: Yesterday at 10:29 PM

 

[fractal]

I settled into a spot in front of the castle and decided on using the 14mm. The thought occurred to me to go back further and use the 50mm in an attempt to capture the projection on the Main Street buildings but I nixed that; maybe next time.

The next challenge was trying to determine how close to get to the castle. I wanted to be far enough to get all the fireworks in the pic but also didn't want to be too far in front leaving the castle looking too small.

I set up my tripod about 20 or 30 feet in front of the the "partners" statue. If I had to do it all again I would move closer with a 14mm lens but considering I was eyeballing it without seeing a photo with the fireworks I was happy with my spot.

Ignore the settings in the photo above.

I was going to shoot around f/12 and ISO 50. My shutter speed was set to "Bulb" and I was using a remote shutter control. Bulb setting means that the shutter opens when I first press the button and then closes on the second press. In other words, I was controlling the length of exposure on each shot. The advantage of this was I could "time" the shot by opening the shutter when I saw fireworks being shot into the sky and then closing the shutter after all the action was over. The disadvantage was trying not to keep the exposure too long and creating overexposed shots.

I took this video with my Google Pixel 6 of my surroundings before the 11pm (and second) Enchanted show of the night.

During the wait a number of people came up to me to take their photos under the assumption that I worked for Disney. Maybe I will someday, but not on that night.

I also noticed a few couples taking photos of their partner in front of the castle. None of them used a flash and I knew the photos was going to be a dark blob in front of an illuminated background so I offered them the option of having me turn on my lume cube light on them while they took the photo. They all agreed and loved the shots they took with the extra light!

Finally Enchanted started! This is the start of the show shot on my Pixel 6.

UP NEXT - Enchantment Fireworks shots galore, and more night-time castle love.

 

[lauralynn0612]

Your photos are the dream! I especially love those Main Street photos; they would be perfect for some home decor. Your trip is so fun to follow!

 

[snikki]

Your mom is just the cutest!!! What a lovely family dinner. Everyone looks to be having a great time.

 

[fractal]

Awesome HM pics! You could never do that with an iPhone.

Thanks! Not yet anyway.

Boy did you ace the quiz, incredible night pics, love them!
Your family seems very fun!

Thank you @KEK1 !

Your photos are the dream! I especially love those Main Street photos; they would be perfect for some home decor. Your trip is so fun to follow!

Thanks @lauralynn0612 ! Appreciate you following and commenting.

Your mom is just the cutest!!! What a lovely family dinner. Everyone looks to be having a great time.

Thank you @snikki ! We did have a great time!

 

[fractal]

Camera securely connected to tripod - check.

Camera strap around my neck in case someone stumble into me - check.

Appropriate settings dialed in - check. (what makes these appropriate? It starts with what I'm trying to accomplish. I want a long exposure - meaning keeping the shutter open for several seconds. This long exposure will capture the path the fireworks make up into the sky and all the explosions that occur within those several seconds. In this case I don't want the lens and camera set for allowing maximum amount of light in. That was the strategy in Haunted Mansion where I need a very short exposure like 1/100 of a second to freeze all the movement. For fireworks, the tripod gives you the stability to keep the exposure open longer and prevent any blur while capturing all the good stuff in the sky. So the aperture was small like f/11 or f/12. Aperture readings are a fraction so the "larger" the number the smaller the aperture or opening in the lens. f/1.2 is a wide opening, f/12 is a small opening. The smaller opening/aperture limits the light allowed into the camera/onto the sensor which allows me to use a shutter speed of 8 to 20 seconds long. In addition, the low ISO setting does the same. In Haunted Mansion my ISO was 6400, for the fireworks it was 50. ISO is like an amplifier. The higher the ISO the more sensitive the sensor is to light, but it also diminishes image quality by introducing "noise". Like a amp on a stereo can make the music louder but not as clear. The three setting; Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO make up what is commonly called the Exposure Triangle and manipulating them to get the proper exposure for the subject at hand is part of the art, challenge and fun of photography!

Let the show begin!

My first shot - this was a 9 second exposure at f/11 that captured the streak across the castle.

Then things started to get more interesting...

 

[fractal]

I was a big fan of Happily Ever After and I loved shooting those fireworks in 2017. Our 2020 trip had no night hours in the parks and hence no fireworks. I was not happy when I heard Disney did away with HEA with this new show but that didn't dampen my excitement to shoot fireworks on Main Street.

I adjusted setting slightly to allow for longer exposures.

Meanwhile, as I was enjoying my camera at the Hub, Sterg and Toni were watching the fireworks on Splash Mountain...

UP NEXT - THE FINALE AND WALKING OUT OF MK

 

[footballmouse]

Great pictures! Loved the HM ones.

 

[Woth2982]

Gorgeous firework photos! I really need to learn how to use my DSLR properly. I love photography but hate technology. The life of a failed Millennial.

 

[fractal]

The fireworks continued. Notice the shadow of the tall man wearing ears to the left of the castle. He was one of the people asking me to throw some light on his wife for a photo before the show. By the way, I set up around 10:15 for the 11:00 show in order to get the spot I wanted.

There goes Tink!

The finale! I think this was the longest exposure of the night at 14 seconds.

I had a smile on my face as I reviewed the photos on my camera's screen. After the show the tall guy with ears came up to me and asked if I could light him and his girlfriend up with my light while taking their photo with their phone.

"Sure, no problem"

After seeing this, three more couples asked the same which I happily obliged.

The lesson here is don't forget or be afraid to use the flash on your phone for photos - just try to get closer to your subject. Do the same during the day when your subject has the sun or lots of light behind them.

 

[fractal]

Great pictures! Loved the HM ones.

Thank you @footballmouse !

Gorgeous firework photos! I really need to learn how to use my DSLR properly. I love photography but hate technology. The life of a failed Millennial.

Appreciate the kind words!

 

[fractal]

Enchantment was over so I folded the legs of my tripod in, but I kept the camera attached as there was another shot I wanted.

Soon after I met up with Sterg and Toni and we headed out.

This CM spotted someone trying to enter the park after close.

On the crowded bus I noticed this boy playing with his toy and I thought the lighting was cool.

Back to the "Tower"

Still not as good as the Yacht Club

Day 2 certainly went better than Day 1. We started early, got better use out of Genie +, and we able to navigate around some nasty weather. I was also feeling much more comfortable with the 14mm and it's challenging focal length. The 50mm was turning out to be a great lens for dark rides and portraits and we all had a blast!

The next day was Animal Kingdom with the entire crew then a hop over to Epcot. Would things go as smooth as Day 2? Of course not.

 

[buzzrelly]

Oh my goodness, Enchantment has never looked so good! Those pics look like they could be on a brochure for WDW!

 

[fractal]

Good morning Walt Disney World!

It was Day 3 of our trip and we were up early to take on Animal Kingdom again, this time with Yia-Yia and Team Marina.

Walking to the bus stop.

A big part of my park routine was getting through security. I was sent for a (camera) bag check at every entrance. Yia-yia was equally as challenged if not more so as the ECVs, wheelchairs and strollers had to go through the same metal detector. Let me say that again - all the ECVs, wheelchairs and strollers through the same metal detector. It's amazing no one was killed or maimed during our stay much less all out fights breaking out at these funnels of chaos. Thankful her grandchildren helped Yia-Yia navigate through the process which included they driving the ECV through while my Mom could simply walk. We also took turns driving the ECV onto the bus, parking it in the ECV slot on the bus and driving it off the bus for her. When I did this I gained a new appreciation on just how temperamental and difficult it is to drive these things!

The line for bag check was long so with Yia-yia through I told everyone else to keep moving and I would catch up.

I was finally through security check!

Just like our 2017 trip, Courtney was doing a bang-up job of booking our Lightning Lanes on Genie +. With a later date for Pandora; our first rendezvous point was Kilimanjaro Safari entrance.

I hustled there to catch up...

Only to discover I was the first one there! After a short wait for the rest of the crew we got in the short stand-bye line.

Lots of smiles as we were all joking and laughing about stupid stuff.

Yia-Yia was having difficulty managing all the sharp turns in the line. At one point she cut it too close and went up the bottom of a post that sent the ECV tilting on one side while still moving forward. She started to tumble out of her seat. Luckily I was right behind her and was able to catch her just in time before she fell to the ground! I did suffer another foot being run over (like in 2017) but no serious damage. Yia-Yia in her ECV was staring to become an issue!

For the Safari I brought along a vintage lens I purchased a few months back. A Minolta AutoFocus 70-210 f/4 lens to be exact. With my rented adaptor I was able to mount it on my camera and utilize the Auto Focus motor with ease.
The original version of this lens was affectionately called the "beer can" because of its shape looking like a "pounder" beer can and had a very good reputation for image quality. All that carried over to the newest version, but that was still 25 years ago and I was interested how this older lens would compare with modern lenses. Last time I was on KS I used my 85mm and 105mm lens with great results.

original MD beercan...

photo of "my" A-mount beercan"...

Throughout the trip, Toni did a great job documenting things with her camera.

The gang's all here and ready for adventure!

Off we went and I started shooting. It was very nice NOT having the plexiglass barriers in the truck as they were in 2020.

Entering the Harambe Wildlife Reserve.

Alright, time to see what this "legendary" lens got!

UP NEXT - Shooting the beer can, Flight of Passage, Interesting lunch and more Yeti!

 

[buzzrelly]

Yia-Yia was having difficulty managing all the sharp turns in the line. At one point she cut it too close and went up the bottom of a post that sent the ECV tilting on one side while still moving forward. She started to tumble out of her seat. Luckily I was right behind her and was able to catch her just in time before she fell to the ground!

Yikes. My mom struggled a bit with hers too. She hit many rails in The Little Mermaid line...I think there was a different entrance she should have used!

Throughout the trip, Toni did a great job documenting things with her camera.

So cute

 

[1Grumpy9]

Speaking of "real cameras" I was actively looking for someone else like me that was lugging around a dedicated mirrorless camera or DSLR. Day 1 I saw exactly zero other people. Day 2 just one and for the rest of the trip only 2 others. This is in stark contrast to when i bought my first mirrorless camera for our 2011 trip. It seemed that at least every other "group" had at least one person with a "real" camera.

I know what you are saying about people not carrying around DSLR or Mirrorless cameras anymore. I noticed it a lot on my last trip in December. I still carried mine around because I like the pictures I can get with that compared to my phone. I will say my phone did really well for the fireworks at MK so I don't know if I would buy a dedicated lens for fireworks any more. I am more of a traditionalist when it comes to taking pictures at WDW...I want my "real" camera.

 

[fractal]

So how did my 'ol Minolta zoom lens do?

It was ok - and to be fair I was comparing it to modern prime lenses (prime lenses have one focal length like 85mm or 105mm while zooms have ranges like 70mm to 210mm. Primes are generally sharper.) but it did show me
without question that lenses have come a long way in the last 25 years. The Minolta was not nearly as sharp and suffered from more flare and aberrations than the new comers. I guess there's a reason the beercan cost me $50 and the 105mm f/1.4 was over $1,000.

First time I remember seeing this guy...

Just chilling.

The giraffes were very active. In fact almost all the animals seem to be energized - maybe it was the morning sun?

In fact one came by to say hello!

The driver said they were playing but it sure like they were fighting. Regardless, I got a shot of this pair of elephants.

Toni got a more interesting video of the horse/elephant play...

I thought this guy was going to charge!

This pair was the exception to the active crowd but at least they were out.

Our tour was over.

Off to the next adventure!

Stand clear!

We took the "back way" to Pandora and I was still using the beercan.

Made it!