? for all the serious photographers....

[wcw57]

I like to take photos....some are better than others...

I see there are MANY people over in the photo thread who process their shots....but that's not what I am asking about here...

when u travel (assuming u are not only hyper-active on DCL) does your family complain about having to wait for you or "for cryin' out loud, lets go..." type stuff...

do you lug tripods around with you?

or do you detach from the family and shoot photos while they persue other activities?

I am always torn between watching the action through a viewfinder/screen and actually "experiencing" the event like everyone else....

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I like to take photos....some are better than others...

I see there are MANY people over in the photo thread who process their shots....but that's not what I am asking about here...

when u travel (assuming u are not only hyper-active on DCL) does your family complain about having to wait for you or "for cryin' out loud, lets go..." type stuff... No. I just use a little point & shoot, so I'm messing with settings/getting things framed just right/etc.

do you lug tripods around with you? No

or do you detach from the family and shoot photos while they persue other activities? It depends. Sometimes just walking along I'll stop for a second to shoot something and hubby keeps walking. He typically doesn't get that far ahead of me.

I am always torn between watching the action through a viewfinder/screen and actually "experiencing" the event like everyone else....

I recently read an article that states that people who view their vacations through a viewfinder primarily have fewer memories of the actual trip. But they do have pictures!

 

[TheRichFam]

In full disclosure, for a long time I had "life through a lens" syndrome.

Had.

I found out the hard way that being present in the perfect moment was far more important that exposing the perfect image, framing the perfect shot, getting the perfect depth of field, "let me try again with one aperture smaller ..."

I think the family will appreciate it more if you just snap and chimp on the fly but be present in the moment rather than enjoying their trip intermittently while they waited for you to set up your shot. I know mine sure do.

I know this is a huge struggle at WDW, DL and on DCL ships. (Epcot at Christmas. That's all I'm gonna say ) Diz goes to such great lengths to make everything they do so beautiful, that it almost seems like their properties demand guys like us who know how to shoot take the time to get it right! But at the end of the day, I learned that it's my kids' trip, too, and waiting for the next train to come through Frontierland one more time so you can get a shot of the smoke wafting up just perfectly with a deep depth of field so you can see Splash Mountain in the background may not be as important as actually RIDING Splash Mountain.

 

[tobikaye]

This is my first cruise. My current plan is to take my DSLR with 2 lenses and a maybe a tripod. We are driving so I will have a bit more space.

I plan to only use the DSLR occasionally, probably early in the morning before most people are up or when taking my sister specifically to a character greeting. I may or may not take it off ship at Nassau. I plan to take my DSLR off for a bit at CC. I will probably just carry either my phone or point and shoot camera for the occasional photo need that pops up.

 

[Pens Fan]

We will be traveling on our next cruise with two Canon 5D full frame DSLR's, multiple lenses, and a Sony NEX 6B (for our son). Yes, we have the photo bug.

I get that the whole don't waste your vacation memories behind the lens thing seems to be a popular mantra these days, but for us the art of photography is part of the adventure. It's why we try to visit new and interesting places with varied landscapes. It's why we have little or no interest in repeating an itinerary. So yes, for us we take the time to stop and snap the shutter. For others it might not be a priority, and that's great. To each his own.

As for inconveniencing your traveling companions, to me it's just common courtesy. Our son had always respected that we are gong to take time for this. In turn, when he was younger, we respected that his attention span was that of typical young boy, and did our best to accommodate that. Now, at 16, he has shown a growing interest and has his own camera. We all enjoy comparing notes and photos when we get home.

After his school trip to Europe last summer we heard the majorty of his stories while we were downloading his pictures. Before that we knew he had fun, but through the photos his stories just poured out.

Everyone is different. You have to decide what works for you.

 

[cgolf]

I like to take photos....some are better than others...

I see there are MANY people over in the photo thread who process their shots....but that's not what I am asking about here...

when u travel (assuming u are not only hyper-active on DCL) does your family complain about having to wait for you or "for cryin' out loud, lets go..." type stuff...

do you lug tripods around with you?

or do you detach from the family and shoot photos while they persue other activities?

I am always torn between watching the action through a viewfinder/screen and actually "experiencing" the event like everyone else....

I do lug the tripod with me especially for low light shots while pulling into ports. I actually have some beautiful sunrise/sunset shots too. I don't take the tripod on excursions with me, but as a family we usually come home with over 1000 pictures, many are mine. Hawaii cruise was insane, I think I had over 2000 pictures on my own

It pays off though, especially with landscapes, maybe 1 out of 10 shots will be perfect, so I would rather go through lots of pictures later and have that one great shot than miss it. Some of my cruise pic winners are out on instagram, can provide username if anyone is interested

The only complaints I get our that I don't have enough people shots The family enjoys looking back to remember the trip

cgolf

 

[ZephyrHawk]

when u travel (assuming u are not only hyper-active on DCL) does your family complain about having to wait for you or "for cryin' out loud, lets go..." type stuff...No, but my travel family has thus far consisted solely of my husband, so there's not a lot of people to complain.

do you lug tripods around with you? I have, but not at Disney. Actually, I usually make DH lug them. I'm not sure he's forgiven me for having him carry it while hiking in Yellowstone, but I was carrying the 400x lens, so I think it was fair.

or do you detach from the family and shoot photos while they persue other activities? No.

I am always torn between watching the action through a viewfinder/screen and actually "experiencing" the event like everyone else - Well, I don't photograph "action" too much. I like animals and scenery. I don't feel I miss any experiences. My family benefits from all the memories sparked by the vacation photos I hang all over the house. DH appreciates my effort, and if DD were ever to grow up to complain I'd calmly explain that she may dictate what we do on vacation when she pays for herself.

 

[asunutgirl]

I take my DSLR and two lenses with me - my regular lens and my telephoto. I don't carry a tripod. I prefer to shoot people so I don't spend a lot of time with landscapes on the cruise. And frankly, I shoot on auto a lot when I'm on vacation. (gasp!)

I usually take an hour or two aboard ship by myself taking photos but generally I'm shooting my family doing stuff. For CC, I usually take my point and shoot in my water housing so we can get photos of us playing in the water.

 

[DahliaRW]

I try to strike a balance. I have on lens that is pretty good in most situations, so I bring just that lens on most vacations (instead of a whole bag of them). I have a bag that holds the camera body with that lens attached, a hood, and some filters. I don't lug a tripod, I just don't like carrying extra stuff! I generally will ask the kids to pose for some photos, but I try to make it not excessive and try to pick the ones I'd want the most.

To me, it's a balance. You don't want your whole vacation to come from behind the lens, but you also want the pictures for memories.

 

[jetskigrl]

Sometimes I have to stop and make myself put the camera down. I found that out especially on our Alaska cruise. We were whale watching and our guide got us right in the middle of about 15 whales. I kept taking picture after picture and finally just put the camera away so that I could really experience the amazing animals that were so close to us. Once the shutter stopped clicking and I stopped moving from one side of the boat to another, I could hear them come up and the sound they made when they cleared their blowhole. Just incredible!

 

[ubish00]

I tend to travel with my DSLR and one lens, an underwater camera and a small point and shoot. This way I am covered no matter the situation. On my Disney cruises I am travelling solo with a toddler so don't use the DSLR much. The point and shoot sure comes in handy. I usually end up with 2000 - 3000 pictures every trip I take.

 

[jrabbit]

I gave up the the "big" cameras with the multiple big and huge lenses a LONG time ago (before film totally "disappeared")

I'm more than happy with my Lumix TS4 camera - underwater, freeze / drop resistant. Takes good enough pictures - excpt for in low light situations.

 

[woody73]

. . . when u travel (assuming u are not only hyper-active on DCL) does your family complain about having to wait for you or "for cryin' out loud, lets go..." type stuff...

I'm a fairly serious photographer, having photographed professionally back in the days of film. So I have a good sense for getting the shot and moving on. My DW has never complained when I stop to take a photo. Rather, she encourages me, since she likes to make photo books of our travels.

. . . do you lug tripods around with you?

With current camera ISO capabilities, I rarely carry a tripod. But it depends on the destination. I've taken a tripod to South Africa twice. I'm planning to take a tripod on upcoming trips to the Galapagos, Antarctic, and for the Northern Lights. I'll also take a monopod to the Galapagos and Antarctica.

Last month on the Magic (WBTA), I saw someone with a camera on a tripod for a sail out. I went to say hello, and we chatted a bit. I'm sure his sail out photos came out better than mine.

. . . or do you detach from the family and shoot photos while they persue other activities?

I never let the photos get in the way of spending time together. That said, I occasionally sneak out of the cabin early to take sunrise photos while my DW is still asleep.

. . . I am always torn between watching the action through a viewfinder/screen and actually "experiencing" the event like everyone else.

I seldom let the photography get in the way of experiencing the moment. I'm very selective and typically know when I've captured the shot I'm after. Perhaps that goes back to the days of shooting film, when every shot counted!

Woody

 

[cisobe]

I've been heavily into photography for nearly a decade now. My wife and I are into photography (her more for documenting the things we do, an me doing that as well as portraiture, landscaped, architecture, etc). With that said, on our past trips to Europe, and across the US, we end up taking a lot of photos, spending a good chunk of our time just walking around taking pictures.

We had our son almost 3 years ago, and just had our daughter a month ago. Ever since having children, our focus on photography has changed, tons more pictures of the family, and documenting our time together. I've been putting the camera down a little more to spend time with the family, and actually be in pictures with my kids.

I took my 5D3, 24-105mm, 50mm, and 85mm as well as my 580ex and tripod on our first cruise on the Wonder for a 7 day Western Caribbean. At first I took my 5d3 with 24-105 and 580ex with us to dinner, shows, and walking around the ship just in case we ran into so characters. This didn't last long as it was quite cumbersome, and made it difficult to enjoy our activities. I ended going super light and just carried my 5D3 and 50. It was good enough for character meets, candids with the family. On excursions I took my 5D3 and 24-105 and it was versatile enough for basic travel photography, but the excursions we went on were really short, so no real time to just walk around and shoot.

For our next cruise next year, I picked up a 35 f2 is as I found I wanted a little wider in most situations.

I brought the tripod hoping for some good night shots on the ship, but I never got around to shooting. I felt guilty leaving my wife in the room with our son. The next cruise will be even worse as I would need to leave her with our son and daughter. I also thought I would be able to get some family pics with the tripod and remote, but again, we were always on the move, and never found time to do it.

but as i mentioned earlier, my focus in photography has changed over the years. I enjoy portraiture and capturing memorable moments with my family, or of my kids experiencing things.

 

[xlxo]

do you lug tripods around with you?

Some thoughts...

• carbon fiber is your friend. Have your heard about Basalt?
• consider travel tripods which have additional leg segments
• in addition to low light, tripods are a must for video's. An old friend is somehow able to packs a "slider" with his tripod.
• having a rental car is handy instead of using public transit

Remember to share you images with your family.... many will be envy you compared to their iPhone images.

My must have for travel...

• good SB9%0 flash for low light conditions. External Quantum or SD-8a for quicker flash recycling
• 18-200 or 18-300mm for flexibility
• lots of media cards and lots of rechargeable AA Eneloops
• vertical grip for AA adapter
• camera back pack to hold all that booty
• GPS data logger so I know where my images were taken
• camcorder?

 

[su_A_ve]

Come from a family of photographers, but never picked up the photo bug. However, I do love to take pictures of sunsets. Other than that, it's just family pictures.

So for the parks, my best pictures are with my DSLR, however for DCL, Shutters has done for us an excellent job so I end up not taking that many pictures than I would at the parks.

 

[Renysmom]

Just took my sixth cruise and for the first time I left my dSLR at home and just brought my Point and Shoot (Sony RX10).

Best vacation ever, with lots of memories in my vacation shots. They show our trip as it was. Not sure I will ever take the dSLR again.

 

[rhinodadz]

As others have mentioned, it's about balance. I'll go off on my own to shoot while the rest of the family may be doing something I have little interest in. But they are very supportive of my shooting and don't mind when I stop to get the shot while we're out together. On the ship I usually just walk around with an 18-135 on the camera which gets 90% of what I want. I do also bring a telephoto and wide angle.

I usually bring a tripod, though mostly use it only for the fireworks on pirate night (some examples here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk1VPhSy ).

 

[xlxo]

Btw.... there are excursions identified for photographers. However some non-photographers sign up thinking there are better viewing opportunities.

 

[Cleocat]

I love taking pictures while on vaca at Disney. But like some of you I feel guilty leaving the wife alone sometimes. So last couple of trips I've left the camera in the room except for party nights or long park days. But anyway we went on our 1st Disney Cruise last month. I start my job early like 4:30 to 5 am. So the first morning I woke up at 3:30 am. I had the whole ship to myself got to really know the boat and came up with some good pics. as well. It worked out well cause I didn't need to take my camera while out with the wife scouting the ship.
I'd really like to use my DLSR to the max but just don't have the time to really get into the major technical stuff. Mostly matching fstops and aperatures etc etc, Honestly I get somewhat confused sometimes with trying to set up for that one perfect pic.