German for "Courtyard with Foutain", I thought that would make a fitting title for today's photo. I had a lot of fun night shooting through World Showcase, though as always, I can never walk away with enough night photos. The Germany pavilion was one I really wanted to get to and get several keepers from. I'm mostly German in heritage and took four years of the language in high school. How well I retained any of it is a different story. :) Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
POTD - Lobby From The Lobby
I wanted to try something a little bit different with this one. Too many times, and I'm just as bad as the next person, we tend to take and retake the same photos from the same angles. I'm assuming it's so we can get that "perfect" shot from that spot or something. I always try to do something different, because if I don't I won't ever know the possibilities. I love everything about this resort, including how cozy this resort feels. I think that is helped by all the logs and rails being in very close proximity to the front of the frame here. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Saturday, March 22, 2014
POTD - Inside Orchid Layers
Edged up to a leaf that was right below this beautiful frilled orchid, I got as close as I could whilst still hand holding a solid frame. This is the result after a bit of diligence and several shots. I never really tried flower photos in this sort of macro before. I think there is a time and place where it really works well, I hope this is one of those times. :) Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Friday, March 21, 2014
POTD - Juicy Fruit ...er... Flower
Another shot I got from my early morning macro run through of the MOBOT Orchid Show. These yellow orchids looked like they were oozing liquid. Of course it was just their morning drink pooling on the petals, but it made for some really fun shooting. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
POTD - Soft And Sharp
First off, I have to ask something. Most of you get this whole photography thing and appreciate things to a little higher degree than most people so this should be easy. I have this manager at work that says she doesn't get why people take photos of plants and flowers. She says it's because they're just plants. I told her to hold her breath and see how long she lasts without them. LoL. Anyway, point is, I am a huge fan of this type of work, and while I don't intend to change for anyone, I still feel I want to ask, do you all like the flower and plant life photos I put up? I only ask because if there's is more of something else you'd like to see let me know, so I can get my photostream more balanced.
Now that's done, let's get on to today's shot. I took Olympus' M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro out on my E-M1 yesterday to one of the final days of the orchid show at MOBOT. All I can say about that lens is wow! Easily the sharpest and easiest to work with macro lens that I've ever had the opportunity to shoot. I got to the gardens right when they opened, so it was right after they watered many of these beautiful blooms.
I will be sharing several from this series, so please let me know what you all think. Any suggestions or comments that you want to leave will always be welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
POTD - Spooked!!
This is quite easily one of, if not my favorite shot from the Boo To You Parade at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in the Magic Kingdom. Not the sharpest or cleanest shot ever, due to the older gear I had been using on that trip, but I love the expression. I really lucked out with him stepping just into the light at I was shooting away.
This was my very first crack at this parade, I think it's probably the best parade by the way. So any constructive suggestions whether it be in the shooting or processing of shots from this parade I'd be more than happy to hear them! Enjoy!
Monday, March 17, 2014
POTD - Rust And Refreshment
You all will never hear me saying anything but good things about the detail found at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Most of you already know that I'm sure. This is something that I had always just walked by on all of our past trips. Since it was just Jenea and I on this trip, I seemed to see a little more detail rather than running by it because we are with a big group of family members. :) Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Sunday, March 16, 2014
POTD - Morning Dew Bathing
I will have to say, after having shot with one at MOBOT a couple of weeks ago, the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 prime lens has to be one of the sharpest lenses to date for the micro four thirds system. A tack sharp lens with the most beautiful bokeh with all that compression. With a 150mm equivalent, it is a bit challenging to use, especially for a wide shooter like myself. The more I shoot though, the more I find that I'm usually at one side of the spectrum or the other, with little middle ground. I seem to shoot well at really wide, and surprisingly, really tight angles. Just shows my growth over the years I suppose, at least that's the hope! :) Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Friday, March 14, 2014
POTD - Retail Detail
This shot was taken inside the Yong Feng Shangdian Department Store inside the China pavilion in World Showcase at Epcot. When we got home from our trip, I noticed that I had started taking shots like this randomly inside different places of detail like this. I've also noticed that some of these have been some of my favorite photos from that trip. I will definitely need to break out the prime lenses more often for detail hunter inside at Disney. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 13, 2014
POTD - Ruins On The Walls
I see so few photos from Animal Kingdom which has always really surprised me. I never have enough time in DAK personally. Of course, I do know that this park gets unusually warm due to the lush vegetation and areas of the parks where crowds tend to bottleneck.
I will say this to all of you, do a second half of the day at Animal Kingdom after your really hot morning. Towards the end of the trip, we went back to DAK just to walk around, and to have dinner. On top of some good detail shooting around the Expedition Everest area and a great meal at Yak and Yeti, we were treated to one of the best sunsets I've ever seen inside a Disney park.
Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
POTD - Reflecting Inside The Cave
"By and by somebody shouted, Who's ready for the cave?"
-Mark Twain
As promised to some folks that I was talking with on Twitter, here is a non Disney photo. We went to Mark Twain Cave a couple of weekends ago just for something to do. Hannibal Missouri is only about a two hour drive from St. Louis, so away we went. I found out a lot about this cave and how it was the popular hang out spot for the town and the children of the town. Among those children and well into his adult life, Mark Twain was enchanted by the cave. So much so, the cave depicted in the book Tom Sawyer is based from this cave.
My favorite shot from the whole tour has got to be this one. There was a little fence blocking anyone from actually getting into the water. This was great for me because I could steady there to take an HDR bracket. It's fun to find where the cave stops and the water and reflection begin. :) Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
POTD - Water Feature Depth
One thing that Disney's Coronado Springs does not have a shortage of is fountains and water features. On top of the brilliant landscaping throughout this resort, the touches of these water features is very quaint and very nice. I have a feeling that this resort is going to be a stop for us each and every trip from here on out. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
POTD - Detail In The Dark
I can now see why everyone has to take this shot! I know I still have a long way to go with night time photo processing, but I was pretty happy with the detail that came out in this one. This has always been one of those views that no one could resist, and I, like many else, will continue to shoot photos in this spot because of it's beauty and detail. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
POTD - Imperial Guardian Lion
Taken right outside of the exit to Reflections of China in the China pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase. I see these lion statues a lot, and not just at Disney either, so I did a little research. These were placed, usually in pairs, in front of places of great importance to stand guard and protect whatever may lie inside. After editing this shot, I really wanted to get back to WDW to try more like this shot. A wider angle, standing in really close, and shooting an HDR bracket. With the Nikon 35mm f/1.4, this worked out quite well. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
POTD - Train Station Symmetry
Today's shot is from our last day in the parks on our last trip. After having breakfast with the Photomagic group, then walking around some of the resorts with our friend Ben, wdwben, we split off and headed into the Magic Kingdom one last time. This was more to get a couple of souvenirs for our niece and nephews, and for me to get some photos. I had to wait here in this spot for a couple of minutes before is was clear of guests so I could get this one. My only gripe with this is that I needed another chair! LoL. If that's the one thing I don't like here, I'm doing ok. Of course, we could've had blue sky that day, but that would be getting picky, :) Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Monday, March 3, 2014
POTD - Monorail Monday - Cloudy Sunrise Stretch
As we were arriving at the Polynesian for our group breakfast at Kona for Photomagic I was graced by a monorail just as we walked up. Lucky for me I had my wide angle attached to my camera, and utilizing my ultra wide angle I was able to get Monorail Red pulling into the station, and it looked like sunrise was following. Really, it was just coming through the thick clouds, which seemed to plague us this whole trip. It's not like I won't be back down at some point, so that sort of stuff doesn't bother me so much. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Saturday, March 1, 2014
POTD - Happy Bokeh Mardi Gras!
I'm really glad that I saved this shot for posting later. It makes a perfect shot to share for Mardi Gras! Now I know it's not technically until Tuesday, but today is when St. Louis throws the second largest Mardi Gras Celebration in the country. I of course get to work all day and don't get to enjoy any of it, but I can still share this happy gator with you all.
These gators, as I've said before, are easily my favorite part of Port Orleans French Quarter and a perfect subject for practicing bokeh panoramas. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!
Happy Mardi Gras!
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