Picture This!

A night photograph of the Sorcerer's Hat.
Nikon D70/Tokina 11-16mm, 8s, f/11, ISO 200, EV +1.0, 16mm focal length, tripod

Many photographers who love to photograph at Walt Disney World have a love-hate relationship with the Sorcerer's Hat at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The Sorcerer's Hat is a great subject to photograph, especially at night, but makes it very hard to get a good shot of the Great Movie Ride without using a wide angle lens. I selected a different photo of the Hat for my Disney Pic of the Week for the Sorcerer's Hat.

Welcome back. I trust you all had a fantastic Summer filled with Disney goodness in one form or another. If you visited Disneyland or Walt Disney World I hope you put some of what you've learned here on the Picture This! blogs into practice and came home with countless awesome photos.

This week I'm just going to quickly recap and link you to what you might have missed while vacationing. My only request is that next year you take me with you.

June
Hollywood Public Works
Enjoy the antics and get tips on how to photograph street performers.

Memory Card Capacity
How many photos fit on a memory card? The answers lie within the blog.

July
Your Photography Questions Answered
Scott, Barrie, and I answered the questions sent in by your fellow readers.

Portrait Definitions
A Power Ranger suits up to educate.

Deals on Disney Desirables
Yard sales and flea market finds.

August
Understanding White Balance II
Control more of your cameras features and become a Jedi*.

Photo Album - Star Wars Weekends
A look back at some of my galactic photos.

Photography Contests
Put your game face on and submit your best shots.

Not All Stabilizers Are Equal
Learn the difference between optical, sensor-shift, and digital stabilizers in point and shoot cameras.

*Jedi training not included.

For this week’s Pic of the Week we’ll be sharing photos of the Sorcerer Mickey Hat. I think we first saw Sorcerer Mickey in Fantasia as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Now you can find depictions of Sorcerer Mickey with his bright blue hat throughout the Disney parks.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 18-200mm VR, 4.1s shutter, f8, ISO 800

I chose to go with the hat in its most conspicuous form, the park icon for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This giant, 122 feet tall, Sorcerer Mickey Hat has been standing at the end of Hollywood Boulevard since September 28, 2001, when Walt Disney World kicked off its 100 Years of Magic Celebration.

This was Challenge #140:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2010 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D300, 11-16mm, 1/15s shutter, f/2.8, ISO 400

The gorgeous globe lives in the lobby of the Yacht and Beach Club.

Maura Simon was the first to send in the correct answer for the challenge! Congratulations to Maura and all the other readers who got the answer right: Paul Cooper, Mary Beth Tarbet, Lee Anastasi, Tom Koval, Donnie, David Manning, Sharon Lee, Jared Orth, Sharon Pierce, Amanda Linde, Kellie Harpel, Kris Nixo, Scott Otis, Mckinley Yeaman, Baines Family, Dylan Weidner, Maureen Handy, Maryann Eckenrode, Sherry Klinefelter, Robin Fitts, James Berry, Kathy Berry, K. Beasley, Kathy Lowe, Elizabeth Scarborough, Jen Cox, Rick Hemsley, Jennifer Tremley, Michelle Mcspadden, Elizabeth Macgregor, Michael Campe, Sharon Dale, Carrie Kenney, Julie Wickware, Bill Mckim, Karen Adamakis, Dawn Bach, Kristen Marshall-gainey, Paul Knott, Scott Lau, Dale Knight, Jessica Gruhlke, Patty Cartry, Paula Massarelli, Seth Walker, Amy Schweizer, Matt Degrandis, Jennifer Harmon, Vanessa Gordon, Rob Blundin, Christopher Barnes, Ellen Petillo, Teri Jo Fuson, Sarah, Jen, Karen Hotchkiss, Ed Aleszczyk, Claire Gregory, Walter Fletcher, Pam Lorenz, Heather Young, Bonnie Smith, Tina Cole, Craig, John Dupre, Christopher Hall, Karen Desantis, Leslie Dameron, Brian Yesutis, Kristen Mccoy, Kristen Carde, Jocelyn Carpenter, Terry Fleming, Steve Pocopanni, Jennifer S., Larissa Huda, Evanna Huda, Suzanne, Jen Schultz, Michael Mann, Allie Reckendorf, Neil Taylor, Mike Kaczanowski, Justin , Jill Davoll, Carri Marotto, Ken Fischler, Bryan Fencl, Shiraz Biggie, Cheryl Costello, Deanna Simmons, Hillary Waldroop, Donna Brandt, Emily Chronas, Mike Flaherty, Elizabeth Hardy, Julia W., Michael Malampy, Maryann Eckenrode, Ryan Benco, Susan Stanley, Wendy Crober, Marina Crober, Emma Ford, Paul Pica, Bob Hicks, Melissa Weiland, Michael Malampy, Clay Anthony, Tim Johansen, Debbie Desimone, Dan Mangini, Nancy Lam, Bryan Gibson, Paul Latella, Laura Pranaitis, Tim Sanchez, Margot Garofalo, Jennifer Bogdan, Kate Fanning, Brian Haas, Jim Couzzourt, Sharon Jones, Douglas Florey, Tim Rachuba, Emily Robinson, Angela Johnson, Sam Pogers, Blake Schmidt, Andrew Baillie, Linda Mac, Vicki Edwards and Laurie Walker. Each of you will be entered in the September winners’ drawing.

_______________________________________________________________________

Challenge #141: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Please send in your answer, before the end of the day on Thursday, September 2, by clicking on the blue box below. Please do not post answers using the Feedback Form link at the bottom of this post. Remember to be specific with your answer - just naming a park will not get you into the drawing.

_______________________________________________________________________

Everyone who sends in a correct answer to a Where in the World Challenge this month will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for some special AllEars® goodies and a cool Disney book!

A guest (not Brett Favre) practices his tee shot at ESPN: The Weekend's Ultimate Sports Experience.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/40s, f/13, ISO 200, EV -0.3, 31mm focal length

I attended ESPN: The Weekend back in 2009 and enjoyed walking around and photographing guests participating in the Ultimate Sports Experience set up between the Rock'n Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror. Fans of all ages had a great time including this one practicing his tee shot which is my Disney Pic of the Week for Golf.

Picture This! blogger, Scott, relaxing in a hammock on the Polynesian Resort beach.
Nikon Coolpix 4600, 1/500s, f/4.9, 50 ISO

Scott is taking a summer break from the Picture This! Photoblog. No, he is not at the Polynesian Resort vacationing. Though you can be sure he wishes he was. Remember to check back next week to see what Scott is going to be doing over the Labor Day holiday weekend. He thinks you will like what you see, er, read.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 18-200mm VR, 1/640s shutter, f6.3,

The golf course at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa really adds to the country estate look of the resort.

As digital camera technology evolves, more and more features on point and shoot cameras have become standard. One such mark is stabilization. Originally, nearly every stabilizer was digital.

The camera raises the ISO setting, enabling the camera to shoot faster and requires less light to take the photo. When it does this, it increases what's known as noise. On a photograph, noise looks like a mosh of mostly primary colors that make an image look "dirty" upon inspection.

The higher end cameras came with optical stabilization or CCD-shift stabilization, in which either the lens or the sensor inside the camera moved, respectively, in conjunction with the photographer. These are true stabilizers.

Nowadays you have to be even more on your toes when seeking out the true type of stabilizer within a camera. Every camera manufacturer seems to have different names for their stabilizers and may offer more than one. Here's a perfect example, Nikon's Coolpix L22 boasts a "3-Way VR Image Stabilization System" which sounds great except that it's a digital stabilizer which they call Electronic VR (Vibration Reduction) Image Stabilization criss-crossing with Motion Detection and Best Shot Selector (BSS). It's the cheap version of a stabilizer, overkill and not teaching you anything. In fact, I'd wager that such a setup will actually confuse consumers as to what their camera is doing.

Nikon offers their Optical VR Image Stabilization in the Coolpix S5100 model as part of a 4-Way VR Image Stabilization System which can also mesh Motion Detection and BSS while adding ISO 3200.

Fujifilm's JZ500 model lists Dual Image Stabilization as a feature. These are a combination of boosting the ISO and CCD (charge-coupled device) shift image stabilization. The CCD is your camera's sensor and so it's moving along with the camera as you take the photo. It's not as good as an optical stabilizer but far better than just a digital stabilizer.

While you're researching cameras in stores or online be sure to seek out what type of stabilizer the camera has and remember that you ideally want an optical stabilizer.

Avoid these terms: Anti-blur, picture stabilization, digital stabilization, electronic stabilzation, and anti-shake.

If you get caught up in the jargon ask a sales person, call the consumer support line or send me a note.

Golf. It's a sport. People drive around in golf carts and wear plaid pants, polo shirts and shoes with metal sticks coming out the bottom. You're not allowed to talk when it's someone's turn or they might accidentally hit you in the head or have many affairs with women to whom they're not married and then hold a press conference. Golfers yell "Fore!" not to be confused with "For!" or "Four!". Caddys are people who carry around a large bag containing golf clubs with which a golfer swings at a ball sitting on a divet and hopes that it'll land in a hole in the ground, far off in the distance after traveling through a maze of rocks, bouncing off a windmill, through a freakish clown's mouth and inevitably into the hands of a beer-guzzling gopher.

Scott, Barrie, and I bring you golf as our Disney Pic of the Week. Obviously they chose me to start us off because of my vast knowledge of the subject. I hope I was able to enlighten you.

Mickey Mouse and Pluto in a statue tribute to the fine sport at Winter Summerland Miniature Golf.

Hi everyone – I’m back! Challenge #139 was a tough one. It had four parts, one for each week that I was on vacation. In order to make it into the prize drawing, you had to get all four parts correct. Anyone who did so was rewarded with two entries in the drawing this week.

A.)

B.)

C.)

D.)

And here are the answers:

A.)

Copyright © 2010 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D300, 18-200mm VR, 1/160s shutter, f/8, ISO 200

The pool at Coronado Springs is beautiful, especially when the water is falling down the side of the pyramid.

B.)

Copyright © 2010 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D300, 11-16mm, 1/60s shutter, f/2.8, ISO 800

Innoventions West at Epcot is where you’ll find this fire engine. It’s part of the “Where’s the Fire?” fire prevention exhibit.

C.)

Copyright © 2010 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D300, 11-16mm, 1/10s shutter, f/2.8, ISO 200

I’ll be sad to see Toontown in the Magic Kingdom go. These are Mickey’s plans for remodeling his kitchen.

D.)

Copyright © 2010 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D300, 11-16mm, 1/320s shutter, f/8, ISO 200

You see advertising kiosks like this all over Paris. This one can be found in France in Epcot’s World Showcase.

Lee Anastasi was the first to send in all four correct answers for the challenge! Congratulations Lee! Your name was entered three times. Only two other readers got all the answers right: James Berry and Kathy Berry. I’m betting there was some teamwork happening there! Each of you were entered twice in the August winners’ drawing. Speaking of that drawing, this is the week when a reader is randomly selected for the prize package. This month’s big winner is Paul Cooper! Congratulations Paul, you are the lucky recipient of a fabulous Disney book and some really cool AllEars schwag!

_______________________________________________________________________

Challenge #140: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Please send in your answer, before the end of the day on Thursday, August 26, by clicking on the blue box below. Please do not post answers using the Feedback Form link at the bottom of this post. Remember to be specific with your answer - just naming a park will not get you into the drawing.

_______________________________________________________________________

Everyone who sends in a correct answer to a Where in the World Challenge this month will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for some special AllEars® goodies and a cool Disney book!