Tom Sawyer Island (or TSI for short) is billed as a giant-sized playground geared to youngsters. I would like to add it’s a wonderful place for photographers. Many interesting and challenging subjects await you to capture, lots of activities for the kids and unique views of Frontierland and Liberty Square.
Tom Sawyer Island is actually two islands separated by a bridge which holds it’s own surprise for those walking over it. The map below shows all the trails and activities to explore.
Map of Tom Sawyer Island greets guests arriving to explore it’s secrets.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/125s, f/8, 200 ISO, EV 0, 18mm Focal length, Flash used
In this week’s Picture This! photo blog, I am going to show you Harper’s Mill island. Harper’s Mill is a very interesting structure with links to Walt Disney Animation and it’s musical heritage. (Thanks to Jack Spence for uncovering these!)
Sign for Harper’s Mill on Tom Sawyer Island.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/125s, f/5.6, 200 ISO, EV -0.3, 18mm Focal length
Are you scared of dark, enclosed places? Then you might want to skip going into Injun Joe’s Cave though Tom Sawyer tells you he has not been seen lately. For those of you brave enough, there are lots to find from fossils to a lava lighted face. A steady hand is needed when photographing in the cave.
A lighted face found in Injun Joe’s Cave.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/4s, f/3.5, 1600 ISO, EV -0.0, 18mm Focal length
Having survived Injun Joe’s Cave, you come out on the other side of the island. Going right leads you to the barrel bridge which is great fun when open. I was not so lucky as the bridge was closed for repairs so I headed up the hill where I passed this brook running down to the Rivers of America which surrounds Tom Sawyer Island. When photographing moving water, you either want to freeze it like a crashing wave onto rocks or blur it’s movement with a slow shutter speed like for a waterfall.
A Brook on Tom Sawyer Island using a slow shutter speed.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/15s, f/5.6, 200 ISO, EV -0.3, 18mm Focal length
Moving on, I came upon Aunt Polly’s counter service location. Disney only runs Aunt Polly’s during the busiest times of the year and was closed when I was there. There are snacks and drinks via machines, lots of picnic tables to relax on and even some rocking chairs to nap in.
Nap time at Aunt Polly’s on Tom Sawyer Island.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/60s, f/20, 200 ISO, EV -0.3, 44mm Focal length
From Aunt Polly’s you can view Liberty Square’s Haunted Mansion in all it’s spooky glory. Being in such a peaceful place away from the crowds, I was able to enjoy the many details of the Haunted Mansion and it’s theming from the covered queue to the bat shaped wind vanes (doubling as lighting rods) on the roof.
The Haunted Mansion from Aunt Polly’s.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/60s, f/20, 200 ISO, EV -0.3, 18mm Focal length
Leaving Aunt Polly’s I came upon some unfinished work of Tom Sawyer’s. A lovely sentiment but I doubt the owner of the fence was none to thrilled with Tom’s work.
Some unfinished work by Tom and Huck.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/250s, f/8, 200 ISO, EV -0.3, 18mm Focal length
This concludes our tour of the first of two islands which make up Tom Sawyer Island. Next week, we’ll explore a frontier fort, a mine and another unique view of the Magic Kingdom.
Nice post Scott!
I had to point out a funny typo on your post:
“A lovely sediment but I doubt the owner of the fence was none to thrilled with Tom’s work.”
I think you meant “sentiment” not “sediment”. Sediment is what is at the bottom of the river Unless you meant that Tom wanted Becky at the bottom of the river(the rivers of America?). LOL
Keep up the good work. 🙂
Scott replies: Whoops! Thanks for pointing that out, Dan, it’s all fixed now. 🙂
Hi Scott,
Love this blog. I haven’t been over to Tom Sawyer Island since I was a kid.
One question about blurring moving water, or blurring anything moving. Slowing the shutter speed in order to get a blur effect also means that the shutter is taking in a lot more light, so daytime photos are very bright. How do you compensate for the extra light when slowing the shutter speed?
Scott repliies: Hi, Dee! That’s an excellent question and one I will have to do a whole blog on someday. The short answer is to “step down” the lens as much as possible (high f-stop numbers like f/16, f/22 or even f/32) and use the lowest possible ISO (100 or 200 depending on camera brand). This lets in the least amount of light and increases the time the shutter is open.
Now, in bright mid-day sun, this might not be enough. You could add neutral density filters which cut down the amount of light even more. Landscape and waterfall photographers use these filters.
In my photo, I was in heavy shade so I didn’t have to use a small aperture (f-stop of only 5.6) as the low ISO was enough to slow down the shutter speed and still be able to hand hold the camera. If I was using a tripod, I would used f/16 and a 1/2 second shutter speed for an even more pronounced blurring effect.
BTW, this is fun to do for moving rides, too!