Picture This!

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/55-200, 8s shutter, f4.6

Although many people will tell you what a great view there is while riding the Astro Orbiter, I think the best view is of the ride itself, especially at night. This retro looking rocket ship ride is located in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom.

I decided to start with this photo because it is one of my favorites. I just love all the bright colors against the night sky. In fact, I love night shots in general and will probably be posting many in the future. If you haven’t spent much time exploring Disney World after dark, I highly encourage it. They do such an incredible job with lighting. It's just beautiful at night. It can be a little challenging to capture it all on the camera just right, but what a great time I have practicing!

Quick Tip: Whether you are using your camera’s manual functions or you’re using an auto setting, the key to getting nice crisp night shots is to stabilize your camera.

A mini tripod works well at Disney World. It can sit on top of a trash can or bench – both of which are everywhere in the parks. A really cool gadget is a Gorilla Pod which is a small, bendy tripod that can be wrapped around fence posts and railings. You can even set your camera on a wall.

If you don’t have any of these things available, do your best to brace your body against something stationery before you click your shutter. The more stable your camera, the sharper your photo will turn out.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 1/200s shutter, f4.9

Say hi to Donald Duck, star of the new Mexico attraction “Gran Fiesta”. This was taken outside of the Mexico pavilion at Epcot where Donald was doing a meet and greet with park guests. In between posing with children Donald turned and gave me a quick wave. I was so glad I already had my camera focused on him.

Quick Tip: When taking photos of characters, be sure to get some close-up shots. Try to fill the bulk of your frame with the character’s face. Be careful with your zoom though. It’s easy to lose important detail if you get too close.

This picture of Captain Hook would have been much better if I had gotten his hook in the picture. The photo of Donald works because I got some of his sombrero and colorful tunic in the frame to give context to the shot. When in doubt, take your shot at a slightly longer distance. You can always crop it tighter later.

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.Copyright © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/13s shutter, f5.6, 1600 ISO, -0.3 EC

In a previous blog entry, Barrie talked about ways to stabilize your camera when shooting in low light at Walt Disney World. Camera system manufacturers now have another alternative for you. New lenses which compensate for image blur caused by small, involuntary movements (wobbly hands, shooting from a moving vehicle, etc.) called camera shake. Manufacturers have various names for this technology. Canon calls it Image Stabilizer (IS) technology while Nikon's Vibration Reduction (VR) system help give you sharp images with their digital SLR cameras. Other manufacturers and third-party lens makers like Sigma and Tamron have their own versions.

The links I've supplied above will give you the technical details of how these lenses work, I just know that they do. The picture taken during the first scene of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at the Disney-MGM Studios is an example of a Nikon vibration reduction lens at work. This image was captured using available light at a shutter speed of 1/13 second using the Nikon 18-200mm VR zoom lens fully extended to 200mm. The best part is, I was sitting in the third row of the theater and hand holding my camera. One must still take steps to stabilize the camera by holding arms in close to the body, holding one's breath and slowly pressing the shutter, however, these lenses will produce a higher percentage of great images in low light conditions. So, the next time you are told, "No flash photography". Smile knowing your VR or IS lens will allow you to capture the show.

You do know photography can be an expensive hobby, right? These new lenses are no exception, ranging in price from $250 to over a $1,000 depending on the focal length, zoom range and speed of the lens. Nikon claims and I have been successful getting an extra two stops without the need for a tripod. This means while I would normally not use shutter speeds below 1/60th of a second. Using the VR lens, I get excellent results at 1/15th of a second or lower hand holding my camera. These lenses will never replace a tripod but they do give you more flexibility for those times you can't or won't carry one with you.

Cinderella topiary at Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival. Copyright © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/160s, f/11, 200 ISO, -0.3 EC, 18mm Focal Length

In digital photography, exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on to an image sensor. It's really quite simple even though there's a lot of science and engineering behind how your camera does it. I leave that to the engineers and enjoy the fruits of their labors.

In the time ahead, I will be going more in-depth into the photographic terms of exposure and how they effect our photographs. These terms are: Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO (or Sensor Sensitivity) and Exposure Compensation.

Aperture is how wide the lens' iris is opened. Like your eye, a lens has an iris. You can tell how wide it is by the f-stop number. Those funny numbers you see on your lens or through your viewfinder often designated with an f/ in front of them. In the photo of a topiary taken during Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival, the aperture setting is f/11. The lower the number, the wider the aperture is and the more light is transmitted through the lens. Reciprocally, the higher the number, the less light comes through. Aperture controls the zone of focus or depth of field in your images and can be used in very creative ways.

Shutter Speed is how long the camera's shutter stays open to expose it's sensor to the subject being photographed. Most of the time it's just a short fraction of a second. The photo above used a shutter speed of 1/160th of a second. The dimmer the light, the longer the shutter speed is to get a well-exposed picture. Low light and night photography can sometimes take seconds or minutes to capture a scene. For fast action like children playing or theme park rides, you'll want to use fast shutter speeds like 1/500th or faster to capture the action. Playing with various shutter speeds is a lot of fun!

ISO is how sensitive your digital camera's sensor is to light. You want to use the lowest ISO you can to get shootable apertures and shutter speeds. The higher or faster, as it is referred to, ISO number, the more sensitive your sensor is to light. With a lot of light available, the topiary image was taken with an ISO of 200. As day turns into night, I will increase my ISO from 200 to as high as 1600. This does increase what's called noise (they look like little specs) into the images. Unlike film, the noise is not nearly as bad as film grain was and there are software products available, which can clean up most of the noise.

Exposure Compensation or Bias is a way for digital photographers to dial in their exposure. Most digital SLR and some advanced Point & Shoot cameras have an exposure compensation button which allows you to do slight adjustments to your cameras image sensor. Usually in one half to one third intervals, this little button can make the difference between an image with too light or too dark areas into a properly exposed gem. In this blog's photo, I made a slight -1/3 (or -0.3) adjustment to keep from over exposing or "blowing out" the light background behind the topiary.

For an excellent book on this subject, I highly recommend Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure which has been updated for digital photography.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 1/60s shutter, f5.6

I’ve had a wicked sweet tooth lately and I couldn’t resist posting this photo. These yummy looking treats are Cloudberry Horns. You can find them at the Kringla Bakery in Norway at Epcot. Those are Berry Tarts in the foreground. So far I’ve been satisfied to just photograph these pastries but I think I’m losing my will power. On my next trip I’m definitely going to have to see if they taste as good as they look.

Quick Tip: Some things just need to be photographed super close. I think food is one of those things. These pastries wouldn’t look nearly as tempting if you couldn’t see the sugar crystals and the lightness of the filling. Here’s a secret: My original photo was a bit bigger and further away from the goodies. I set my camera to the highest resolution possible. Then after taking the photo, I cropped it to get the look of a macro shot.

Copyright © 2006 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/55-200, 1/250s shutter, f5.1

I remember reading about DiVine on some of the Disney forums and I had no idea what people were talking about. People talked about how beautiful she is and how gracefully she moves. When I finally saw her last December I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was mesmerizing.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, DiVine is a stilt figure who hangs out on the path to Asia in the Animal Kingdom. If you don’t know to look for her you may easily miss her because she blends in quite nicely with the vegetation along the path.

Quick Tip: When photographing the entertainers at Disney World, or anyone for that matter, be sure to focus your camera on their eyes. It sounds pretty simple but I can’t tell you how many pictures I have of people with perfectly focused noses and blurry eyes! To make sure that doesn’t happen to you, lock your focus before taking the photograph.

Here’s how: First, focus your camera directly on the person’s eyes. Then press your shutter halfway down. This will lock the focus on their eyes. With your shutter halfway pressed, move your camera to reframe your photo the way you want it. Now wait for the right moment and then press the shutter the rest of the way down to capture your perfect shot. As long as your subject doesn’t move closer or further away before you fully press your shutter, you should get a nicely focused picture.

Shutter speed is the time for which the shutter is held open during the taking of a photograph to allow light to reach the image sensor in a digital camera. A fast shutter speed will freeze the subject but needs plenty of light. A slower shutter speed needs less light and a more stationary subject or will cause image blur. However, you can use this to your advantage, as this article will show you.

Expedition Everest explorers emerging from the mountain. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/800s, f/7.1, 400 ISO, -0.3 EC, 135mm Focal Length

In the mid-afternoon Florida sun, it is easy for our cameras to select fast shutter speeds. From the observation area of Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest ride, I wanted to freeze the ride vehicle and guests as it came out of the mountain by using a shutter speed of 1/800 of a second. By doing this, you can see their expressions and body language as they see the plunge before them. One guest in the lead car is even video taping! To capture fast action, the faster the shutter speed the better to make the images sharp and clear.

The Beatniks entertaining guests in Disney's Animal Kingdom. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon Coolpix 995, 1/30s, f/7.5, 200 ISO

When I came upon The Beatniks as I walked towards Dinoland in Disney's Animal Kingdom, I saw an opportunity to show not only their colorful costumes but their energy by using a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second. Photographs record still images, however, with the creative use of slower shutter speeds, a photograph can convey movement. The trick is not getting so much movement the subject is unrecognizable. The other trick is being able to keep your camera still while making the photo. I talked about how using stablizing lens technology can help in a previous entry. You can practice at home and test how slow a shutter speed you can use and still get acceptably sharp images. To get really long exposures slower than 1/15 of a second, you will need to either anchor yourself against something like a wall or pole, use a tripod or place your camera on a flat surface. At Walt Disney World, I've found the tops of garbage cans to be particularly useful.

Quick Tip: To take control of your shutter speed, set your camera to Shutter Priority Mode. In this way, you set the shutter speed and the camera calculates the aperture or f/stop for you. Be careful the aperture will give you the results you are looking for.

Spaceship Earth. Copyright © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/10s, f/5.6, 1600 ISO, -1 EC, 135mm Focal Length

Many people have sent in questions about how to get good low-light and night photography pictures at Walt Disney World. The key is to get enough light to your digital camera's sensor to record a well exposed image. You can do this a couple of ways. Use a tripod and increase the shutter speed or increase your camera's sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive the sensor becomes and less light needed to record an image. Instead of using a tripod at ISO 100, you can dial in a higher setting like 400, 800 or 1600 and get a faster shutter speed. Thus, letting you hand hold in low light or in getting fast action shots like themepark rides, children playing or sporting events.

Epcot's Spaceship Earth is a favorite subject of many photographers during the day but, at night, the geodesic sphere takes on a surreal quality. To successfully show this, I increased my ISO setting to 1600. This is the highest my camera, a Nikon D70, can go. There are digital cameras today that go as high as 3200 ISO. I still needed a steady hand, propped elbows on a fence and a vibration reduction lens to shoot at 1/10s. To increase my chances of getting a great photo, I took a series of them with this being the best of the lot.

Shooting at such high ISO settings does bring about an increase in noise. Noise looks like color speckles and is noticed in uniform colors like the black sky in the Spaceship Earth photo. While it is a concern in digital photography, noise is a lot less apparent then with high ISO films. Those would show large grain in the processed prints. There are many software products available to reduce any noise which does creep into our photos.

Obviously, the less noise the better so, the lower the ISO, the finer the images your camera will produce. Check out your camera's manual to see how you can change the ISO and how high and low the settings are.

Quick Tip: Some digital cameras have an Auto ISO Setting. My Nikon D70 does and it allows me to let the camera pick the best ISO for the available light. This comes in handy as the light changes throughout the day into night or going in and out of buildings and rides at Walt Disney World.

Negative Exposure Compensation of -0.3 EV. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007 Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/125s, f5.6, 200 ISO	Positive Exposure Compensation of +0.3 EV. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007 Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/50s, f5.6, 200 ISO

Exposure Compensation allows you to adjust the exposure measured by the camera's light meter and telling the camera to allow more light in (positive exposure compensation) or less light in (negative exposure compensation). On your digital SLR camera, look for a +/- button to press to adjust exposure compensation. By making it negative, zero or postive in 1/3 (0.3) or 1/2 (0.5) intervals, you "dial" in the exposure for the photograph. As you change the exposure compensation, your camera will change it's shutter speed or aperture. Sometimes, even both, as you alter how the camera's light meter is "seeing" the subject you are pointing at.

In the two photos of the Research Station camp taken on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in Disney's Animal Kingdom, the one on the left has a -0.3 EV (EV is the standard way of indicating exposure compensation) giving a rich color to the green foliage and detail in the rock face. The shutter speed of 1/125s freezes the waterfall. The photo on the right has a +0.3 EV, see how the contrast is heightened and some of the objects near the front of the tent get "blown out", which means the loss of detail, as the shutter speed decreased to 1/50s. Some of the shadowy areas now have details and the waterfall has a whispy look. The rule of thumb is to expose for the highlights, the brightest part of the scene, which is what I did in the photo on the left.

How do you know which exposure is best? You don't really, you pick the one you like the best. For me, I try not to get any blown out areas in my photos. This is not always possible. I hedge my bets by bracketing the exposures. Bracketing is taking one photo each at a negative compensation, a zero compensation and a postive compensation. Most digital cameras today can be set to auto-bracket and take a series of 3 to 5 photographs in a single shutter release.

Quick Tip: Do you know how much exposure compensation range your camera has? My Nikon D70 can go plus(+) or minus(-) up to 5 stops in 1/3 or 1/2 intervals. Don't be afraid to go as high or low as you need to capture the photograph.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/55-200, 0.769s shutter, f4.8

No doubt you recognize the subject of this photo. Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom has got to be the most photographed subject in all of Disney World. In fact, I think I recently read that it is the most photographed subject in the entire world. I don’t know if that’s true or not but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Believe it or not, until my trip last December I didn’t have a single picture of this famous icon. I happened to be lingering in the park a little past closing and noticed that the castle was changing colors every 20 seconds or so. It looked so beautiful and, except for the lone Photopass photographer, there weren’t any other people around. I think I got a photo of nearly every color change. This stark white version ended up being my favorite.

Quick tip: Be careful when framing your photos, especially in the dark. I could just kick myself for cutting off the top spire of the castle in this photo. This was totally operator error on my part but I’ve also had cameras in the past that consistently produced photos that were cropped more tightly than I thought they were when I framed the shot. Now when I take photos I generally try to frame them so that my subject is just a touch further away from the edge than I really want it to be so that I’m not sorry later. It’s much easier to crop out a little extra sky than to try to manufacture something that isn’t there!

Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show explosive finale. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/250s, f/8, 200 ISO, 0 EV, 20mm Focal Length

Don't go away! Histograms are not hard to understand. They are a great tool for us digital photographers to know, at a glance, if the picture we just took is well exposed. No more being disappointed when we see the photos on our large computer screens that looked so good on the camera's little LCD. If you are not sure if your camera is able to show a histogram, check its manual.

Simply put, a histogram is a graph that displays how light is distributed in your picture. The left side of the graph represents the shadows (dark areas), while the highlights (light areas) are on the right. Remember bell curves from your old math or statistical classes? Rarely does a histogram from a photo take on the look of a perfect bell curve but the principal is the same. You do not want to see the curve bunch up to either side or get cut off which is referred to as a clipped histogram. A clipped histogram to either the left (dark) or right (light) side is something to be avoided. In the histogram example shown here, while there is a spike on the dark side, it is not clipped and falls off before the edge. The spike can be seen in the dark upper portions of the image.

By taking a photograph and looking at the histogram my camera shows me, I can tell if I have overexposed (histogram pushed to the right side or cut off) portions or all of the image. From there, I can adjust my exposure using the exposure compensation button. I may need to change the ISO setting if the histogram is showing a very underexposed (everything pushed or cut off on the left side of the graph) to increase the sensor's light sensitivity moving the histogram towards the center.

Take this entry's photo from the Disney-MGM Studios Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. I had to be quick with this shot as the car flu over the ramp faster than I was ready for. Checking the LCD image afterwards, I felt it looked good. Once I saw the well-distributed histogram, I was confident it was good.

As you can tell, the histogram is an excellent way to see if you have the exposure you are looking for quickly and easily.

Further Reading: I highly recommend this article on histograms: Understanding Your Digital Camera's Histogram.

Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/250s, f/8, 400 ISO, -0.3 EV, 80mm Focal Length

This proves how popular Cinderella's Castle really is. Just a few entries after Barrie posted about this most photographed object at Walt Disney World and here I am using this photo. I know many try to capture a unique view of the castle. I wish I could say I was trying to here. It just sort of happened and I will tell you about it soon.

Since I wanted my entries to be titled using the Epcot word of "innoventions", I want to share with you a very innovative software product I found. In my travels to many photography websites and forums, I saw other people putting lovely and informative virtual borders around their photographs. My inquires found most used various versions of Adobe Photoshop or Elements to do so. I searched for a less expensive (read: free) alternative. I finally found a product called BorderMaker by programmer Thijs Orbitz from the Netherlands. It fit my needs perfectly.

BorderMaker is very easy to use. The website has some screenshots with very little documentation but it only took me 10 minutes to get the results you see above. Before installing BorderMaker, you have to make sure you have the latest version of the Java Runtime Environment. Don't worry, it's not complicated. Once that is done, you can download and install BorderMaker with ease.

With BorderMaker, you can easily create custom border templates you can save for reuse or to batch process a set of pictures. It can auto-select border and text colors depending on a photograph's color range. Other handy features let you convert a photo to other formats, show Exif data, apply sharpening, add watermarks and even resize the processed image. In the example below, I let BorderMaker choose the border and text color initially. I changed the bottom two lines of text to red. I found the Indy font online and stretched the bottom border to accommodate all the text. The software made this very easy to do.

Another BorderMaker Example. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007

Now, how did I get the image of Cinderella's Castle? About 20 minutes after sunset this past May, I got on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (most old timers still call this the WEDway People Mover) for a leisurely ride around Tommorrowland. As I came upon the first turn past Stitch's Great Escape, I noticed Cinderella's Castle silhouetted against the pre-twilight sky and took a picture. The first one didn't come out to well as my ISO setting was at 200 so the shutter speed was too slow. I got a very blurred image. I quickly bumped up the ISO to 400 and took a couple of practice shots before entering Space Mountain. From those shots I was ready. Upon coming back out above the Tommorowland Terrace Noodle Station, I went to work. Zooming in a bit, I took a series of shots with this one coming out the best. Some photos call for a title, this one was easy: "Castle at Dusk". I think the virtural border gives the added attention this photograph deserves.

Copyright © 2003 Barrie Brewer, Nikon E3100

One of the things Disney does best is put on a spectacular fireworks show. This photo, although not one of my best, has always been one of my favorites. It’s a photo of the Illuminations fireworks show at Epcot, taken from the upstairs deck outside of Teppanyaki restaurant. I took this with a point and shoot camera on the automatic/normal setting. I used the deck railing to steady the shot. At the time, I had no idea how to take good photos of fireworks. Basically I just clicked away, hoping something might come out. This was my one lucky shot out of about twenty.

One of the questions asked most often on photography forums is “How can I take great fireworks shots?” This summer I learned that it’s actually not that hard if you follow a few simple guidelines.

1. Pick a good location to shoot from. Choose a spot that is upwind from where the fireworks will be set off so that the smoke blows away from you and out of your photograph. Remember that the fireworks will explode high in the sky, so be sure to look up when choosing your spot. Make sure that your view will not be blocked by trees, buildings or giant torches – although thoughtfully incorporating some things (like the torii gate above or a child on dad’s shoulders) will create a nice composition.

2. Use a tripod. It’s the only way to be sure you will get a sharp picture. Even better, combine the tripod with a remote shutter release.

3. Turn your flash off. The only thing it's going to light is the back of the head of the person in front of you - not exactly the effect you're going for!

4. Use the right settings. If you have a point and shoot with a fireworks setting on your camera, use that. If not, set your camera to landscape. If you can manually set your camera, the following settings are a good place to start: ISO 100, 2-3 second shutter, aperture f8-f16.

5. Take lots of photos. After the first few, take a look to make sure you’re getting what you want. Now enjoy the show!

I used these guidelines to take photos of the fireworks on the 4th of July this year. I was so pleased with the results. Finally, I have fireworks shots that I'm proud of. I can’t wait for my next trip to Disney World to photograph Wishes and Illuminations.

When taking a picture, one of the first elements I think about is whether to use a Landscape (horizontal) or Portrait (vertical) orientation. A lot depends on the subject as people and tall objects like towers or castles look better to me as a portrait. While four legged animals and sweeping vistas look better as a landscape. The second element I consider is what do I want to use the photograph for. Do I want to make a large print and hang it in the living room? Or, as in the case of the crow's nest and sail outside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in the Magic Kingdom, will I use it as wallpaper on my computer screen.

Pirates of the Caribbean. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/250s, f/11, 200 ISO, -0.3 EV, 38mm Focal Length

I know it's popular to want to share your photography, especialy Walt Disney World photos, with other people as computer wallpaper. Just don't get stuck in taking pictures only for computer screens. When first studying photography and later when doing wedding photography, I read over and over that by turning my camera 90 degrees and shooting my subjects in a vertical orientation, it would make my photos stand out. With that in mind, I often take both a landscape and a portrait version of a photograph.

Pirates of the Caribbean Crow's Nest. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-70DX, 1/160s, f/6.3, 200 ISO, +0.3 EV, 60mm Focal Length

Don't forget to shoot vertical! You'll be glad you did. So, drink up, me 'earties, yo ho!

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 0.333s shutter, f4.2

Accidents happen! Here's one that was a nice surprise when I got home. I was practicing taking night photos of the Mad Tea Party ride and had way more than I actually wanted, but I didn’t want to take the time to delete any of the extras while I was in the park. When I got home I was glad I kept them all because I discovered this sweet couple when I was looking at the full size shots on my computer. I love how the all of the teacups are a total blur except theirs. It’s almost as if they were the only ones there. I’m sure they thought they were!

Quick Tip: Don’t delete your photos until you get a chance to see them in large format. Sometimes there may be a hidden gem that you’ll be glad you saved.

Not all light is pure white and will have a certain color temperature. Engineers express this in degrees Kelvin which you might have used in your high school physics or chemistry classes. Our eyes see color temperature as color casts like blue, green or red. Have you ever taken a picture and have it look bluish or greenish when you see it just fine? That is because your camera's White Balance setting sees color temperatures. Our brain "knows" what color you are looking at so it adjusts for color temperatures that are not too extreme. Digital cameras are getting better automatically adjusting white balance with each new model but they are not there yet.

What do we do to get the right color? Digital camera designers and engineers have given us several ways to adjust the white balance and even fine tune it. Depending on your camera, look up white balance settings in the manual. You should see similiar settngs as these with a brief description: Auto or AWB, Incandescent (sometimes referred to as Tungsten or Indoor), Daylight or Sunny, Cloudy, Flash, Shade and Fluorescent. On the camera itself, these different settings are represented by icons. You may want to copy this information and carry it with you for reference. Those icons can get confusing. On most digital SLRs, you can also fine tune these settings further. On my Nikon D70, I can adjust plus or minus up to 3. For example, I often use Auto -3, which gives me very vivid colors, especially reds and yellows. It can sometimes give me too much red as evidenced below in my photo of Ariel during the Voyage of the Little Mermaid stage show at the Disney-MGM Studios. Not only is her hair a flaming red so is her skin!

Ariel with bad white balance setting. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/15s, f/5.6, 640 ISO, -1 EV, 150mm Focal Length

Another photographer, Mark Barbieri, shows us how to set the white balance correctly. Notice Ariel's skin color is what we see during the show and how I expect the Disney Imagineers wanted us to see her. I'd like to thank Mark for allowng me to use this photograph.

Ariel with good white balance setting. © Mark Barbieri

As always, you should practice using each of the white balance settings. For instance, the Shade white balance setting will warm up colors in a scene as shade looks bluish to a camera. That doesn't mean you have to use it in shade, it will warm up a sunset just as nicely. Investigate how others are using their white balance settings on the camera you own. Photography forums have lots of information on creative uses of white balance.

Further Reading: How to Set White Balance

This was Challenge #5:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/55-200, 0.006s shutter, f6.3

This challenge was a real stumper. Pretty much everyone guessed that it was part of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. That's not a bad guess given that it is a pile of canonballs, but it’s actually located off to the side of the Liberty Square Riverboat launch. What I find curious is that it is aimed directly at the people on Tom Sawyer Island. Watch out next time you’re there!

Now, I’m sure there’s someone out there who knows where this next challenge is located…
_______________________________________________________________________

Challenge #6: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer by clicking on the comments link below this post.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200, 1/1000s shutter, f4.8

If you listen to our friends over at the WDW Today podcast, they’ll tell you that an hour or two is more than enough time to spend in the Animal Kingdom. They are exaggerating of course, but their point is that there just isn’t that much to “do” there. If it’s attractions you’re most interested in, then I’d have to agree. The only ones I make sure I never miss are Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris and the Festival of the Lion King.

As a photographer though, I have to disagree. I think Animal Kingdom may be my new favorite park for taking pictures. I think Disney did a fabulous job on the theming in this park. The detail is incredible. At every turn there is something interesting to capture on camera. It’s also a very beautiful park. The landscaping is gorgeous and there’s water everywhere. Oh, and don’t forget the animals. Two hours may be enough time for the attractions, but I could easily fill two days with taking photos at Animal Kingdom.

Quick Tip: I spend a lot of time looking at other people’s photos. It’s a great way to learn about what kind of photos catch my interest. Once when looking at some Disney photos I came across a photo of the Yeti Shrine with Expedition Everest in the background. It wasn’t obvious, but as I studied it I noticed the shrine seemed to have a similar shape to the mountain. In that photo I couldn’t be sure so, on my next trip I made a point to check it out. Indeed, as you can see, if you stand in just the right spot you can line up the shrine and the mountain. That was a fun discovery.

The Crown and Crest store in Epcot's United Kingdom pavilion. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/15s, f/3.5, 450 ISO, +1 EV, 18mm Focal Length

While "researching" family crests and name histories in the United Kingdom's Crown and Crest store in Epcot, I suddenly remembered the old Walt Disney themepark fan's adage, "Look Up!". I was rewarded with the view you see above of multicolored flags depicting family crests from Ol'England hanging from the wooden rafters.

Did you know most pictures are taken about five to six feet off the ground or eye level of most people? While I was standing for this photograph, many times after taking an initial photograph, I pause and think how I can make it better. Would a different angle help? What if I move closer? Or farther away? Would getting down on my knees or belly give the picture more impact? How about from above? Is it possible to come back at another time of day when the sun is low or at night?

Now, I do know it is very hard to do this at Walt Disney World with the crowds, kids in tow or rushing to get to a scheduled show or dining reservation. However, I encourage you to practice this exercise with subjects around your home, neighborhood or anywhere you have your camera with you. Thankfully, Disney Imagineers make it easy and all you need to do is look up...

Flags blowing in the wind above the Maharajah Jungle Trek in Animal Kingdom. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/250s, f/8, 200 ISO, -0.3 EV, 75mm Focal Length

Google's free photo editing software, Picasa, is a simple to use way to enhance, clean up or fix your digital photographs. I have been impressed with what I have learned in the few days I have used Picasa. It has given me a way to fix some high contrast images I took during this year's International Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot.

As most of you are aware, the midday Florida sun is very bright. When I came upon the Donald Duck and Pluto pirate topiaries at the entrance to World Showcase coming from Future World, it was around three in the afternoon. My first attempts had Donald and Pluto well exposed but the bright sky and clouds were blown out. The clouds looking more like unnatural white bloobs due to overexposure. Using the exposure compensation button on my camera, I adjusted it down to -1.3 EV before the sky and clouds became correctly exposed. Unfortunetaly, due to the extreme difference or contrast in the brightness of the sky and the topiaries, Donald and Pluto were now underexposed. In digital photography, it's best to expose for the brightest parts of the scene which is what I did in the photo you see below.

Donald Duck and Pluto topiaries before editing. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/160s, f/13, 200 ISO, -1.3 EV, 18mm Focal Length

I'm sure you can see why I might toss this image into the trash bin. However, I had downloaded Picasa and had been learning it's capabilities. Maybe I can fix it! With a gleam in my eye, I launched Picasa and went about the task of throwing some added light on to Donald and Pluto.

Picasa has two elements to it. First is the Library which catalogs all your images on your Window's based PC (as of this writing, Picasa does not have a Mac OSX or Linux version available). You scroll through all your images on the right side of the Library's window. On the left you can set up virtual folders and see the aging of other photos by folder. You can watch slideshows, email, print and upload to Picasa Web Albums from the Library.

Double clicking on an image brings it into the Picasa Editor. On the left side, you see Picasa's tools with three tab views entitled Basic Fixes, Tuning and Effects. For my pirate topiary photo, I started out by adding some Fill Light in the Basic Fixes tab, moving the slider to the right until the detail in both Donald and Pluto could be seen clearly. This kept most of the detail in the sky and clouds without blowing them out. For this image, I didn't need any of the Tuning tools and skipped right to the Effects tab. In adding fill light, some of the color of the flowers at Donald's feet got a bit washed out or dull looking. I used the Saturation tool on the Effects tab to bring the color back. Don't overdo this effect unless you want a really cartoonish look to your photo. I applied just a bit here. As you'll read in most photo editing books, I applied sharpening as the last step in the photo editng process. Here again, you don't want to give it too much or the photo looks unreal. I clicked on the Sharpened tool just once.

Donald Duck and Pluto topiaries after editing in Picasa. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007

All done! What do you think? For a free photo editor, Picasa did an excellent job. Oh, and another thing, when I saved the edited version, Picasa saved my original in a separate folder. Picasa is far from PhotoShop but you can't beat the price for such an easy and useful photo editing tool.

Further Reading: I have only shown you a bit of what Picasa can do. Google's Online Tour of Picasa goes into much more detail than I have room for here.

This was Challenge #7:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 1/500s shutter, f5.7

And the winner is… Marie Bertini! Marie was the first to correctly identify this photo as the Zendrum played by the Village Beatniks in Animal Kingdom. You can usually find them rocking out near the Flame Tree BBQ on Discovery Island.
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Challenge #8: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer by clicking on the comments link below this post.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 1/250s shutter, f5.7

Most of us take a lot of snapshots when we are on vacation – quick photos of our traveling companions standing in front of their favorite attractions. We’re happy when we catch them with their eyes open or a smile on their face. Then we get home and realize that all of our photos look pretty much the same: there’s Barb and the kids in front of the castle… there’s Barb and the kids in front of Morocco… that’s the kids with Barb in front of Star Tours… oh, there’s me and the kids in front of Expedition Everest… hmmm, what’s that… I can’t quite tell, but it must be Barb and the kids!

Have you ever looked at some people’s vacation photos and felt like you could just walk right into the picture, almost as if you were there yourself? How is it that some pictures are so fun and interesting to look at? Some people seem to have a real knack for taking great photos. Well, you don’t have to be a professional photographer or have any fancy equipment to take photos that stand out from the typical tourist shots. People who take good photos just know how to compose them in a way that makes them interesting for others to view. There are people for whom this comes naturally, but for most of us it’s a simple matter of knowing a few composition techniques.

Over the next few weeks I’ll show you how, with very little effort, you can take photos that look like they were taken by a pro. You won't necessarily want to use these tips on every photo you take. After all, those fuzzy, crooked pix of droopy-eyed relatives in front of Tower of Terror make us smile! But it is fun to experiment and it doesn’t hurt to have a few tricks up your sleeve to mix things up a bit.

Quick Tip: Although there are many techniques for composing a photo, there is no right or wrong way to do it. Don’t get too caught up in trying to follow the rules of composition. The photo above was taken at the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot last May. I didn’t use any particular technique to take it. All I did to compose this shot was move around, looking through my viewfinder until I liked what I saw. I wanted to capture the contrast between the circles created by the flower pots and the stripes created by the light in the water. When I got those two things lined up in a way that was pleasing to my eye, I snapped the photo.

Chistmas Mickey & Minnie. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/80-200D, 1/25s, f/4.5, 400 ISO, +0.3 EV, 80mm Focal Length

There are many ways to use our photos. Enlarge and frame them for our homes or give photographic gift items like magnets, t-shirts or buttons. With the advent of digital photography and the Internet, you can create online digital albums and slideshows complete with music. Many people think ahead and take unique family photographs and create holiday cards to send to family and friends.

This year, I wanted to use one of my photos taken last year during Mousefest in Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square. The figurine of Mickey holding misletoe over Minnie as she is closing in to give him a kiss was a delightful one I couldn't resist. I used available light in the shoppe and got close with the 80-200 zoom lens on my camera. Your feet is your best zoom lens. This allowed me to use the widest aperture and shortest focal length of the lens to get the most light onto the camera's sensor and blurring the busy background of people passing by the shop window.

Many photo software packages today have ways to create and order prints, cards, postcards and other items. I used Apple's iPhoto to place the photo on the front of the Christmas card. I liked this layout with the angled image, old English font for the text and simple blue border. Inside is a place for more text and pictures. From there it was a simple click to order the quantity I wanted.

Copyright © 2006 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/55-200, 0.8s shutter, f4.8

I think I’ve mentioned this before - night photos are my favorite, especially from Disney World. This is Germany from the World Showcase in Epcot. I think Epcot is the most beautiful place after dark. I always try to make sure I am as far from the exit as possible at closing time!

Quick Tip: I recently heard someone say that they know their camera so well that they are able to use every function in the dark. I’m working on it but I’m a long way from being able to do that! In the meantime, I carry a small LED flashlight in my camera bag to help me see the controls on my camera at night.

I’ve been through three different flashlights and finally found one that works for me. The first two had buttons on the side of the flashlight that kept turning on by themselves. The one I have now has a button on the end, similar to a click type pen. It takes a bit of effort to press it on so I don’t have to worry about it illuminating the inside of my camera bag.

Tower of Terror collage. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon Coolpix 995, 1/360s, f/7.5, 100 ISO, 0 EV

I love creating new artistic works from my photographs. This one I am particularly proud of as it came together over a couple of years. I first took the picture of the Disney-MGM Studio's Tower of Terror during a trip back in 2004. I liked the clouds overhead. On a return trip a year later, I was in an hour wait queue to ride the Tower of Terror. Since I had my trusty Nikon Coolpix 995 with me, I passed the time by taking pictures of things I came upon in the queue. Disney Imagineers do a wonderful job of detail and I wanted to capture some of it.

Fast forward a couple of months and I came upon a speciality photo software package called LumaPix FotoFusion which made it very easy to create photo collages. If you are a scrapbooker, you may also want to take a look at this software. FotoFusion has frames in all shapes and sizes. There are backgrounds to choose from or you can use your own graphics or photos as was the case with mine here. It makes it easy to get started creating a collage by selecting the photos you want to use and pressing the Auto Collage button. If you don't like the first layout it comes out with, press it again. Once you see something you like, you can take over for the final arrangment of the images, change sizes of the images, put different frames and borders on them, add text in any font your computer has and use special effects like shadowing and blurs.

Taking my Tower of Terror image from 2004 as the background and grabbing a few from my queue photos in 2005, I started putting together my collage. It's a lot of fun moving the images around, selecting frames, colors and effects, even rotating them. After I got done, I wanted something more. The font wasn't creepy enough. It didn't take me long to find a Twilight Zone font on the Internet which gave an authentic look to the final product.

Photo collages are a great way to create new images from photos you had no idea what to do with.

This was Challenge #9:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/55-200, 10/5000s shutter, f5.6

This Hidden Mickey is on one of the totem poles outside of Canada in the World Showcase area of Epcot. Do you see it? Jacquelyn Law did and she was first to let me know. Congratulations Jacquelyn, you're this week's winner!

For more Hidden Mickey fun be sure to check out Steve Barrett’s blog here on AllEarsNet.
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Challenge #10: Where in the world is this?

Do you know where this is? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer by clicking on the comments link below this post.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 1/5s shutter, f4.8

Using objects in the foreground of your shot to frame your subject is a good way to focus attention where you want it and add depth to your photo. While in the Magic Kingdom, I used the arched doorway of Cinderella's castle to frame the passageway and the carrousel behind the castle.

A frame can help give context to your photo. A desert view framed by a rock formation really gives you a sense of place. A frame leads the viewer’s eye into the photo and may even encourage the viewer to look at it longer. You are limited only by your imagination when choosing a framing element. Here are some framing ideas to get you started.

• Architectural elements such as archways, doorways, windows, a hole in a wall, bridges and tunnels make great framing elements.

• Natural elements like rock formations, a gap in dense foliage or between trees, the overhanging branches of a tree, and even people can be used to frame your subject. For example, you can shoot over people’s shoulders or between their heads. There are plenty of opportunities for this at Disney World! You can even use shadows to frame your subject.

• The absence of objects, for instance a bare wall, can frame your subject by isolating it. This is what photographers do when they use a backdrop. Another way to isolate your subject is to use a very shallow depth of field to blur the background, creating a frame that will surround your subject.

• Patterns are often used as framing devices. Imagine the shelves in the World of Disney filled with stuffed Pooh bears. Now imagine one pink Piglet in the center of all that orange. That’s a frame.

Your frame can go completely around your subject or it might just be on one or two edges of your shot. It can be close to the edge of your photo or protrude pretty far into it, even taking up most of the space in it. The key is to keep in mind is that you are trying to focus the viewer’s attention on your subject. You don’t want your frame to overshadow the subject but in the same instance, you don’t want a wimpy frame that just ends up being a distraction. A good practice is to ask yourself if the frame will add to the photo or take away from it before you click your shutter. Experiment and see what you like.

This was Challenge #10:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 1/20s shutter, f4

I just love all the creative signs at Disney World. This one is located on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in the Africa section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. In addition to gorillas, you’ll find birds, fish, monkeys, duikers and hippos on this trail near Kilimanjaro Safaris.

I think the signs are as much fun to look at as the animals. Karen Dresser-Smith from Salem, Massachusetts must think so too – she’s this week’s challenge winner!

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Challenge #11: Where in the world is this?

Do you know where this is? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer by clicking on the comments link below this post.

Running applications on the Internet has come a long way since portals like Yahoo and Google introduced Online Email. Now you can run spreadsheets and wordprocessors as well as figure out when you can call for your Advanced Dining Reservations at Walt Disney World.

Just recently, a new online photo editor was offically launched called Picnik which lets you do many general edits to your photos as well as add special effects, shapes, text and frames. Picnik has two versions. A Basic version which is free to use and a Premium version for $24.95 annually. Picnik currently interfaces with some of the more popular photo sharing websites such as Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, Photobucket, Webshots and even Facebook. You'll find links on the Photo Tab of Picnik for more information on how to use photos from those sites.

Before Editing. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007	After Editing. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/80s, f/11, 400 ISO, -0.3 EV

I wanted to see just how good such an application might be so I created a free Picnik account and got started. Since this is an Internet application, it doesn't matter whether you are using a Windows, Linux or Mac operating system. As long as your browser supports Picnik, you'll be fine. I had no trouble using Picnik in Internet Explorer or Safari. If you don't use any of the services Picnik interfaces with, you can do what I do and upload a photo directly from your computer. You can only work on one photo at a time.

For our example, I choose a photo I took of Disney-MGM Studio's Beauty and the Beast Stage Show where I had the wrong white balance setting causing a very reddish cast to the actor's faces. Picnik has tabs across the top for Home, Photos, Edit, Create and Save & Share (see screen shot below). The Edit tab is where you start to improve your images. You can Rotate, Crop, Resize, and even fix Red-Eye. You'll find adjustment tools for Exposure, Color and Sharpen on this tab, too.

To fix my image, I started with the Exposure tool. To enter any of the tools, just click on the corresponding button. In Exposure you can add or subtract exposure and contrast using sliders. An Advaced tool is also available which shows a Histogram and adds sliders for Highlights and Shadows. In this case, I added a little exposure to lighten up the photograph. This is a good place to note that all your editing is done on the entire image. You don't have a way to selectively edit like you would in Photoshop and other simliar PC based photo editing applications.

Picnik Application (click for larger image)

The major fix I needed for this example was for color. Under the Color tab, you have Auto Color, Neutral Picker and sliders for Saturation and Color Temperature. Knowing the white balance was my main concern, I slid the color temperature slider to the left which adjusts the color cast towards the blue end of the spectrum. I had to slide it a long ways and ended up at a -65. It looked good but not quite good enough. I hit the Reset button to start over. This time I used the Auto Color button and while it looked a bit washed out at a setting of -84, the skin tones were much better. All the tools in Picnik have a Reset button. In that if you find what you are doing gets a bit odd looking, it's easy to start over. Clicking the OK button, retains the edits. I added a little sharpening in the Sharpen tool, too.

Now the fun begins. While I liked the photo, it needed "something". I entered the Create tab of the Picnik application and started trying various effects. After adjusting the color temperature earlier, I noted the photo looked a bit washed out. Using the Boost tool, I added some color back in adjusting the slider to 5 percent. This brought back a little redness to the faces but it looked more natural. I found I liked the look of adding a Matte around the subjects. You can control the size, strength and color of the matte effect. I emphasized the golden color of Belle's dress and the Prince's suit trim this way. Next, I went to the Shapes tool and added the heart shape. I changed the heart's location, size, color and fading before adding the text in the Text tool.

Once I was satisfied with everything, I went to the Save & Share tab and saved the new image back to my computer's hard drive. Be careful here. Picnik will use the same name for the edited version. Picnik might think about adding some sort of extension in a future update.

I was very impressed with how far Picnik has come in the last three months when I first discovered it. The developers keep adding new tools, controls, effects, shapes and fonts all the time. Being an Internet application, you can access it from any computer in the world. Might come in handy for doing edits from a hotel room in Walt Disney World for all you bloggers and webmasters out there. I suggest giving Picnik a try the next time you need to do some photo editing and see if it might work for you.

This was Challenge #11:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 1/400s shutter, f5.3

You’ll see the logo for Hollywood Public Works all over Disney’s MGM Studios (soon to be changed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios). This goofy guy is one of the Streetmosphere actors who entertain guests along Disney’s streets of Hollywood. Although many people correctly guessed that this photo came from MGM Studios, Amanda Campbell was the first person to reference the Streetmosphere performers. Congratulations Amanda, you’re this week’s winner!

Check out this link for an interesting article on the History of Streetmosphere.
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Challenge #12: Where in the world is this?

Do you know where this is? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer by clicking on the comments link below this post.

The Rule of Thirds is a compositional rule in photography and other visual arts. The rule states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. The four points formed by the intersections of these lines can be used to align features in the photograph. This aligning of a photograph's subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the photo than simply centering the subject would. However, like the Pirate's Code, the Rule of Thirds is more like a guideline than an actual rule.

Below is a photograph of Off Kilter's Bassist, Mark Weldon, where I am showing you how the Rule of Thirds applies. (Note, it's not exact as I hand drew in the lines but it's close enough for our purposes.) Notice in three of the four intersections there are strong subjects close by: Mark's tilted head in the upper left and both his hands in the lower two.

Rule of Thirds.

Many people feel the application of the Rule of Thirds turns everyday snapshots into professional looking photographs. I know as I edit my photos, the ones which follow this rule stands out above ones that don't. Especially, when taking pictures of people. For instance, we've all taken pictures of a person or group of people in front of the Magic Kingdom's entrance with the train station and flowers in the exact center of the Mickey symbol. I am guilty of this. Next time, try composing the people in one of the lower intersection points. I think you'll find the p