Dreamy Sunrise Over Cinderella Castle

Before we traveled to Walt Disney World the week between Christmas and New Year’s, which is notoriously the busiest week of the year, a lot of people asked us whether we were crazy. Yes, of course we are, but that had nothing to do with our decision to visit during that week. The decision to bear those brutal crowds was made easy for us thanks to the extended operating hours and impressive New Year’s Eve fireworks shows. And although we’re not fans of large crowds (I’m betting not many of you have “large crowds” listed as a Facebook interest, though!), we can deal with them if necessary. We’ve done the attractions enough that not being able to experience all of our favorites wasn’t a big deal.

Our decision to visit during that infamous week was vindicated on the very first morning, when I arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 6:25 am for its 7 am opening. When I was allowed into the park, I was in awe at seeing the lights on Main Street against the pre-sunrise blue hour sky. A bit later, I was overjoyed as the sun peaked up over the horizon, and I dashed around like a madman trying to capture it. This sunrise, alone, justified bearing those crowds.

My frenetic shooting that morning is not at all evident in this photo. This sunrise photo was gorgeous straight out of the camera, but I decided the perfect processing fit for this tranquil and placid scene would be a soft glow to really give the photo an ethereal feel. A sunrise photo of Cinderella Castle would be pretty unique on its own, but I think this processing works here to give a dream-like quality to an already dreamy scene.

Technical details: shot with a Nikon D7000 with a Rokinon 8mm Fisheye Lens. See our guide for more photography equipment recommendations.

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8 Responses to “Dreamy Sunrise Over Cinderella Castle”
  1. Spencer September 11, 2012
  2. Angela September 10, 2012
  3. Tracy September 8, 2012
    • Tom Bricker September 10, 2012
  4. Sheilla September 5, 2012
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  6. Sharon September 5, 2012
    • Tom Bricker September 5, 2012

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