Serious amateur photographer looking for WDW advice

[tinknsnow]

Hi! I've become very interested in night photography this year. I shoot with a Minolta Maxxum 7 (film).

Any suggestions as to where to set up my tripod to get the best photos of the castle and fireworks? We are staying at the Poly this trip so I'm hoping I can sneak away from the family with my equipment early one evening, take the monorail to the MK, and stake out a spot.

What other beautiful nighttime shots have you captured? I was thinking about trying the carousel with a really slow shutter speed. I'd like to hear from any of you who have taken some really fun pics at the MK at night.

Thanks very much!

 

[Dznefreek]

no tripod just a hand held shot. . . .I do not use one.

 

[Dan Murphy]

If dealing with a tripod, probably not on Main Street, which is the best place for Wishes, due to the perspective of castle foreground/fireworks background. Over in the Crystal Palace area is nice, or the area in front of the Plaza Restaurant. The Rose Garden area is also nice. You will lose some of the perspective of the fireworks coming 'from behind' the castle, though you will still see them just fine, probably be able to use a tripod.

Other ideas might be on the bridge, looking from the hub area to Tomorrowland, lots of neat lighting there as you look into Tomorrowland. Up on the train station, in Town Square, looking down into Town Square, or off in the distance toward the castle, are both nice. In Liberty Square, trying to get the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in the same shot is one I always like to get.

How big is your tripod?

 

[Geoff_M]

Here's a thread with a lot of night-time available light tips and examples: Link

 

[tinknsnow]

Dan Murphy: My tripod is a full size that folds down to about two feet. It's not a Bogen-- but it does a nice job. Very sturdy. It's a pretty good one to lug around for a little while.

Geoff: thanks so much for the link. Your photos are really great! The first one of Wishes and the Castle is just what I hope to achieve.

Dznefreek: I enjoyed your carousel shot. I love the look of a very slow shutter speed on those amusement park rides, where people walking by just 'ghost out'.

 

[hopemax]

I just got back from WDW, and I took places in two "new for me places." First, the train station, it was a great place to view Spectromagic. And if you are there early enough to sit next to the railing, you can use it to steady the camera. For Wishes, we watched from the hub area, no tripod. I've found that it helps to time the photo for just after the big burst, because otherwise I just get one big bright spot. The second spot was from the 4th floor balcony at the Contemporary. From that vantage point, most of the fireworks look like they are being shot from behind Space Mountain. You miss some of the castle stuff, like the Christmas tree effect during holiday Wishes, but if you've watched the show several times, seeing the fireworks from behind Space Mountain is pretty cool.

 

[Deedee]

Hi hopemax hope ypu don't mind me asking but what camera do you have, the fireworks are really good

 

[hopemax]

Canon S1 IS. Unfortunately, I don't know how to use it "properly" and mostly just play with it, which is why I've started reading this board. LOL. I'm sure someone who knows how to correctly use it would get even better photos.

 

[rocket9]

Hi,

I've put a bunch of my photo's (mainly nighttime) up on my Disney Desktop's
site at: disney.rocket9.net/ . I had taken a bunch at both WDW and Disneyland, and had been using them for Desktop images, and thought I'd share. They're all up at up to 1920x1200 resolution (which I use), so they're fairly large... (as such I'm rotating what I have every so often so as not to kill all my bandwidth).

Also on there have a bunch of my experience's commenting on taking pictures in the parks. The fireworks shot I have up there now was shot from near Dumbo looking away from the castle over the sub lagoon.

I've gotten night pictures I really like of Dumbo, AstroOrbiters, Teacups that I'll get posted soon.

Bernie

 

[ndelaware]

Outstanding pics Rocket9!!!!!