MNSHP 10-12 Photos

[NadieMasK2]

You are very talented! I must point out that a good camera does not necessarily make a good picture. It's about timing, composition, and artisitic vision. Great job!

My problem is timing. If anyone wants to see the back side of ANY parade characters I'm your girl LOL :lol:

 

[a2grafix]

Have to say you have a great eye for picture taking, seeing something that we don't normally see, and sometimes pictures of the most famous icons Disney has -- you find that extra special something to bring it all alive.

Thanks for your effort and please, when you do go back, take some more of the parks.

You are the man. Keep it up!

 

[LouDisney]

Beautiful pictures!

 

[diddy_mouse]

I gotta agree with everyone else, those are some fantastic shots! Great eye!! I hope to improve my picture taking abilities on our next trip. Cain't wait to go to the MNSSHP again!

 

[Main Street USA]

ha no wonder it makes good photos, it costs an average of 1200 dollars. 10.2 MP!

It may cost 1200 bucks, but it isn't the camera that takes good pictures. In the wrong hands that camera is as useless as a rock.

A $200 digital camera can take pictures of that quality in the correct hands. It's not about the camera, it's about who's holding it. Can a $1200 camera do more than a 200 dollar digital? Yes. But the pics he took (and they're beautiful, so don't think I'm putting down your work) can be done with the nearly basic digital.

 

[gregburg]

It may cost 1200 bucks, but it isn't the camera that takes good pictures. In the wrong hands that camera is as useless as a rock.

A $200 digital camera can take pictures of that quality in the correct hands. It's not about the camera, it's about who's holding it. Can a $1200 camera do more than a 200 dollar digital? Yes. But the pics he took (and they're beautiful, so don't think I'm putting down your work) can be done with the nearly basic digital.

Thanks. The D200 makes it a little easier, but the key is the experience of setting up the camera and the shots. I also shoot with a Canon S50 Digital Point and Shoot that takes great pictures as well (I'll dig some out and post later). For most of the pictures I put the camera in manual mode or into aperture priority. Over the years I've played with aperture/shutter/ISO settings that I like to make the night shots look good.

A good combination for the fireworks shots was around F1.4 to F2.0, then 1/60th of a second at 640-1000 ISO. By keeping the aperture wide open I was able to get a good image of the castle. This can cause the fireworks to be over exposed in some cases though. During the show, I increased put the camera into aperture priority mode and set the compensation down to -1.7. This resulted in making the castle turn dark so you could just see the fireworks behind it.

One of the real keys to all of the shots though was the lens I used, not so much the camera body. I was using a fixed 50mm lens that had a maximum F stop of 1.4. This lens let's a tremendous amount of the light into the camera, which is why the castle looks good. This is a very common inexpensive lens ($200) that can make some awesome shots. Anyone who has an SLR (Digital, Canon, Nikon, Minolta, etc...) should have one of these lenses.

Other tips:

• Make sure that your flash is set to off. It won't have any effect on the castle or the fireworks, and will just cause your camera to use exposure settings that result in a dark picture.
• Put your camera into manual focus mode. This will decrease the amount of time it takes from when you push the button until it takes the picture. You'll have a better chance of getting the shot that you want.
• If you can, try to set the exposure settings manually to the lowest F stop number you can, along with a shutter speed around 1/60th of a second. Also increase the ISO setting if possible.
• Before the fireworks show starts try getting some shots of just the castle to check to see if you are getting a good image of the castle and adjust the settings as needed. Keep in mind that it should look a little dark. Some cameras will try to make it look like daytime.
• Hold the camera as still as possible. 1/60th of a second is not to fast, so if your camera is moving the shot may look a little blurry later.

I'll be going through my photo's from our August trip over the next few days and I'll post some of ones that stand out later this week. I'll put a notice up under "General Discussion" once they are up.

Disney World is one of my favorite places to take pictures. There are lots of awesome settings to shoot (the Castle, gardens, Epcot, animals at AK, etc...). I came back with over 2500 shots from this past August!

-Greg

 

[NadieMasK2]

Greg, do you use a tripod for the night time and fireworks shots?

 

[nsu_demon_05]

awesome pictures...i don't wanna sound tacky but can i ask you want kind of camera you used? i am going to back to disney yet again for spring break and im going to Europe in June and i was wanting a new camera before i go to both places....and your pictures are amazing...esp. the fireworks! :king:

 

[gregburg]

I did not use a tripod for these shots.

I used a Nikon D200 with a fixed 50mm F1.4 lens. Generally I set the shutter speed around a 60th of a second with the f-stop around 1.4 to 2.0. I also cranked up the ISO to around 1000.

The D200 does a pretty good job at the higher ISO.

The 50mm lens let's a lot of light in. Also since it is a 50mm lens, you can get away with a little bit of shake.

-Greg

 

[Teenchy]

Wow, great pics, thanks so much from all of us stuck at home unable to visit during Halloween.

 

[UKHelen]

These photos are fantastic - thanks for sharing. I am leaving tomorrow (at last) for WDW and am going to MNSSHP on 30th Oct so I fell like I've had a great sneak preview!!!! I.ve also been inspired to try lots of different shots with my first ever own digital camera!

Thanks again.

 

[LuLaSue]

Thanks for sharing. Your pictures are awesome. I will be at MNSSHP on October 30th and I am now even MORE excited. If thats possibe!

 

[Wishmaster]

Great pictures, especially the fireworks.

 

[NadieMasK2]

These photos are fantastic - thanks for sharing. I am leaving tomorrow (at last) for WDW and am going to MNSSHP on 30th Oct so I fell like I've had a great sneak preview!!!! I.ve also been inspired to try lots of different shots with my first ever own digital camera!

Thanks again.

Hey Helen we will be there at POR at the same time! I leave tomorrow, arrive Sunday evening, MNSSHP on Tuesday the 24th. :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[jeffb]

Greg - Absolutely great shots. Thanks for sharing.

I second what Greg says about the fast lens being important. Nikon also makes a 50mm 1.8 lens that costs $100 which I can not reccomend enough for any Nikon SLR or DSLR user, particularly if you do not have the 1.4 lens Greg mentions.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

On page, three, the first bunch and a few in the last bunch of pictures has some green "orbs" in the sky. (Its not on any of the fireworks pictures). Are they lens flares, or what? I have the Nikon D-50, and I was recently taking pictures of the full moon over the water, and after awhile, there was that same green orb in the pictures.

(an example: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2264508030077976460wWeTGm)

And yes, the pictures are great! Anymore from the party? I'd love to see them!

 

[Main Street USA]

On page, three, the first bunch and a few in the last bunch of pictures has some green "orbs" in the sky. (Its not on any of the fireworks pictures). Are they lens flares, or what? I have the Nikon D-50, and I was recently taking pictures of the full moon over the water, and after awhile, there was that same green orb in the pictures.

(an example: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2264508030077976460wWeTGm)

And yes, the pictures are great! Anymore from the party? I'd love to see them!

Yeah, it's the same sort of flare you get with the sun, only not as dramatic, of course. When the moon is that bright, like it is in your example shot, it's a pretty normal thing.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

So is it from leaving the lens open so long? Will it damage my lens in the future?
Thanks!

 

[gregburg]

I'm not sure what you mean by leaving the lens open. The lens won't be damaged by light from the fireworks. I wouldn't point it at the sun though .

In general on cameras the lens aperture is open all the way while focusing and composing the shot. This allows more light to come into the focusing screen or the imaging sensor. Only when you actually take the picture will the aperture close down. Some cameras allow you to preview the depth of field which is controlled by the aperture. The higher the aperture number, the smaller the opening in the lens and the greater the depth of field, but less light comes into the sensor. A greater depth of field means that the focusing area increases. In other words stuff in front of and behind the subject you are taking a picture of will come into focus. If you look at the pictures that I took of the rose, you will note how the castle is more in focus for one of the shots.

50mm F/5.6 1/125sec ISO-100

50mm F/14 1/125sec ISO-500

As for the "flaring" in some of the shots, I believe this is due to having such a large aperture (F/1.4) and the subject being bright.

-Greg

 

[SewIn2Disney]

I understand about aperture/f stops/etc I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to damage the lens in any way by pointing it at a concentrated bright subject for a length of time (I had it on bulb mode, and left it for at least 5 minutes.) I would never point it at the sun!