Yeti Shrine

The Yeti Shrine to the mythical creature with Expedition EVEREST mountain in the background at Disney’s Animal Kingdom themepark.

Night photo of the Yeti Shrine in Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

I used off-camera flash via Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS) with light, a Nikon SB-600 Speedlight, held at camera left set at -1 power and 14mm spread.  Camera flash set to rear sync flash.  Camera on tripod.

Splash Fountain

The mermaid water fountain from the movie, Splash, in Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

I found the water fountain from the 1984 movie, Splash, while wandering the backlot area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios on a beautiful December afternoon.  Anyone remember the scene this was in?

View 101: Spaceship Earth in HDR

Missed my normal Monday posting.  Hope this makes up for it.  I hear it’s snowing back home.  Warm and sunny down here!

Late night HDR image of Epcot's Spaceship Earth in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

Dream Lights

Cinderella Castle Dream Lights during the Christmas holidays at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

Heading down to Orlando, Florida to enjoy some holiday cheer at the Walt Disney World resort with family and friends.  Will be posting when I can over the next week as I enjoy sights like the Dream Lights on Cinderella Castle. Aren’t they beautiful?

Last year I linked to a post I did for my Disney blog on how to photograph Christmas lights.  This year I blogged about how I did last year at Walt Disney World using those tips.  Thought you would find it a good refresher for the upcoming holiday light displays in your area: Photographing Christmas Lights at Disney II.  If you like, please, post links to your holiday light photography in the comments below.

Modern Art

A painting hanging in the Modern Art gallery of the Everson Museum in Syracuse, New York.

I am the first to admit I do not understand modern art so, when I entered the Everson Museum’s Modern Art gallery, I felt like I was in a scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  I just kind of stared at the art hanging on the walls with my mind unable to make much sense of them.  After considering the painting above, I decided to do as the artist did and photograph it using lots of negative space.  The lighting and shadows help to bring your eyes to the subject of…well, you be the judge.

Now, I further admit I do love a sense of humor.  Here’s a piece of art created by Toby Buonagurio a professor at SUNY Brockport who describes her work this way:

Dime store and flea market detritus, mass media cliches, hot rods, absurd fashion, and cultural stereotypes serve as inspiration for my ceramic combines. My work is serious in intent, but there’s always an underlying message couched in the humorous appearance.

Horse Headed Robot No. 10, 1981, by American artist Toby Buonagurio found in the Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York.

A Disney Perspective

The article that follows was posted on the Picture This! Disney Photoblog this morning.  I wanted to show it all to you and point you to Shrew’s Daily Shutters Challenge post on the subject of Perspective.   Perspective is an important concept for us photographers as we search for our views of the world around us.

Perspective is defined as ” to look through”. For photographers, it means to look at something differently. To find new perspectives. At Walt Disney World, where people take millions of photographs each year, finding new perspectives can seem a daunting task. I look at it as finding “my” perspective and sometimes a little help can open up whole new ways of looking at things.

The photo below of Minnie Mouse’s statuette was pointed out to me by another photographer. I have seen similar photos on flickr, too. But, I had never seen it at dusk with an orange castle softly focused in the background which turned out to be “my” perspective on this subject.

Minnie Mouse admiring Cinderella Castle.

View 96: New York Waterfalls in HDR

New York Waterfalls in HDR Photo Essay.

I did warn you about seeing more HDR images here.  My recent Waterfall Safari gave me an opportunity to create some HDR images I decided to share with you as a Photo Essay.  Click here or the title image above to see it.  I hope you like it.

View 94: Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed at the LaFayette Apple Festival in LaFayette, New York.

When it comes to fall festivals in my area, the biggest is the LaFayette Apple Festival. In two days, 50,000 people attend the festival to enjoy all kinds of apple goodies, carnival rides, craft tents and entertainment. All of this happens under the watchful eye of Johnny Appleseed. Whose legend of planting apple trees makes him a very suitable mascot for the popular festival.

Of Boats and Castles

The village of Alexandria Bay is the gateway to the 1000 Islands from the state of New York. During the busy summer months, A-Bay is filled with thousands of tourists who shop in all the souvenir shops, stay in the many hotels, eat in the restaurants, dance in the nightclubs and most take a tour boat out to see the beautiful 1000 Islands on the St. Lawrence river. For those of you who don’t like a crowded tourist area, before Memorial Day and after Labor Day is much quieter and hotels have reduced rates and weekend specials which often include meals and a boat tour.

Uncle Sam Boat Tours cruiser the Alexandria Belle taking out a group of tourists to the 1000 Islands near Alexandria Bay, New York.

The Uncle Sam Boat Tours has been in operation since 1926 and is the largest of the tour boat companies. I recommend their 2 Nation Tour which takes you down the St. Lawrence Seaway and over the border to cruise under the Canadian span of the 1000 Islands Bridge complex. The best part of each Uncle Sam Boat Tour is an unlimited stop over at Heart Island, the location of the famous Boldt Castle.

Boldt Castle looms above the trees on Heart Island across from Alexandria Bay, New York, as a tour boat heads back to port.

Boldt Castle and it’s outer buildings were left to rot after 1904 when George Boldt stopped all construction after the unexpected death of his wife, Louise. In 1977, the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority (TIBA) purchased the property and has slowly been restoring the estate. Using revenues from tour boat operators and funding from the US and Canada, TIBA has brought back to life the glory of the turn of the century grandiose rhineland style castle.

The restored Reception Room inside Boldt Castle on Heart Island near Alexandria Bay, New York.

The above photo was taken back in 2007 on a previous trip before I started blogging. The others where taken last weekend from Casino Island Park in Alexandria Bay, New York.

View 93: St. Lawrence River Panorama

View from 150 feet above the St. Lawrence River from the US span of the 1000 Islands Bridge in New York state. Click photo to see larger version.

I mentioned I recently attended a workshop on Landscape photography. Besides learning how to do HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, I learned how to create panoramas from multiple photographs by stitching them together via software. Now, that sounds easy but there’s lots to keep in mind when photographing panoramas which I wrote about on my Disney blog (click here).

I did everything you were supposed to do for this panoramic of the St. Lawrence River from the 1000 Islands Bridge except use a tripod. Oh, I had one with me but there is not a lot of room on the bridge’s walkway and the bridge moves so a tripod would not have been of much use. I did pretty good hand holding as the software didn’t have much trouble stitching the photos together with very little cropping needed. You’ll probably be seeing more panoramic images in the future around here. They are fun to do and give a new prospective to my photography.