An (@f/1.4) Day at Disneyland
The spirit, the charm, the beauty of Disneyland is not found in its rides. Indiana Jones Adventure, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion are all nothing in isolation. The magic of Disneyland is found in its quiet moments, its meticulous details layered on over the course of some 60 years, its people who work hard to make it a special place for guests. The attractions may be construed as the meat of the experience, but if so, it takes brilliant chefs, careful seasoning, and delicious side dishes to turn that raw meat into a wonderful meal. Perhaps that’s a flowery metaphor, but I think it fits.
In a day spent at Disneyland, it’s so easy to breeze past what truly evokes a sense of magic about the place as we race from attraction to attraction. Yesterday, I headed to the park with a goal of slowing down, and breaking out of a photographic-funk I’ve been in. Over the past couple of months or so, I felt like I had lost a bit of my fire, simply going through the motions when I did take out my camera. Wanting to regain my intensity and creative spark, I set out with just my Nikon D600 and Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens (no other lenses; no tripod–nothing else) and gave myself an assignment to capture something creative and interesting, with the ‘threat’ hanging over my head that I’d be doing a blog post today with 10 photos no matter what…so I had better come back with at least 10 shots that didn’t suck.
Going in, I had no idea what I was going to shoot, but after a couple of shots I decided to up the ante by focusing on those little details rather than E-Tickets, and also leaving my aperture at f/1.4 the entire time. I think the end result is a photo essay that differs in tone, style, and substance from my normal photography. Its a set of photos with which I’m pretty happy, if only because I think it ultimately did break me from that funk, and has me eager to head back and try some other new ideas.
With that, I’ll shut up and let the photos speak for themselves from my f/1.4 ‘Day at Disneyland’ yesterday…
Goodnight from my @f/1.4 Day in Disneyland!
Overall, I am very satisfied with the day and the collection of photos in aggregate. There are some misfires and some executional mistakes, to be sure, but I feel like I did pretty well with the challenge I gave myself, and also captured some of what makes Disneyland a truly special place. Hope you enjoyed the photo essay!
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Your Thoughts…
What do you think of these photos? Any favorites? Any that you don’t think ‘work’? Does this set convey the beauty and romanticism of Disneyland? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Tom,
Inspiring photos. My niece works at D-Land, going to send her a link to this page.
Cannot wait for upcoming 24 hour day at Magic Kingdom, going to be trying some new techniques.
These photos are stunning!! I am going to Disneyland Friday and Monday and hope to take some photos half as good as these. I love the Minnie one 🙂
The angles and the ‘hidden spots’ you captured match so closely with my experience with Disneyland. Many people can’t understand my love for the place because I am not an extreme character or ride fan. I love just being there and your photos capture why. Thank you!
Tom:
I am new to photography. I find your site a great place to pick up tips. I wanted to know in the pics where there are no people in the background, are you using a shutter speed that “blurs out” the people, or are you in the park after hours with no one around?
Thanks for all your help.
Matt
A combination of the two.
I’m headed to the magic kingdom today! I have my sigma 30mm 1.4 and my nikon d5100. Get ready for a Magic Kingdom “rebuttal” post from me soon =). I’ve upped the ante by brining a 12 month old with me =).
Taking a 12 month old with you is *not* upping the ante. That’s like shooting fish in a barrel. If I had a child to use as a prop, these photos would be like 1000% better. 😉
Well- that’s true. Except for when he projectile vomited on its a small world. Pro tip- Disney quick service water is not great for baby formula. Otherwise he made a great prop =)
TMI dude, TMI. 😉
Beautiful shots! I might have teared up a bit scrolling through… you really capture the casual elegance of Disney.
I love the blog! I started reading it about 6 months ago. And love being able to go back and see what all you two have done in the parks!! Very nice pictures.
Love these! Very artistic and emotional. These glimpses seem to touch the viewer more than grand views. Thank you.
Wow! Just wow. Beautiful. And sleepy little goat. I don’t think I’ll be able to see a goat anymore without thinking of Tom 🙂
Well done, Tom – I think the set shows that it was a good choice to push yourself. And of course there’s a happy little goat in there 🙂
You have me wistfully thinking about Disneyland.
This collection gave me chills! You really did capture the intimacy of the Disney experience! That Tiana photo is particularly breathtaking. I hope the girl in the costume reads your blog so she can see how stunning she looks in that photo!
Nice results. I love the submarine shot especially. This captures my favorite feeling in the park, that somehow this magical place is here just for me to discover…
I appreciate your small allusions to how being near DL has affected your experience of the parks. I have a goal of working as a CM (nurse) for a year at some point nearer to my retirement, or at the very least spending a year living near DLR and visiting OFTEN. And I’ve wondered how my experience would change with frequent exposure.
Hi Tom, thanks so much for sharing these beautiful shots with us. I do hope that photo of the cast member with the balloons finds its way to her, you captured such a lovely moment.
Fantastic photos! I received a Nikon D7000 for my birthday last year, and when my family and I were in Disneyland in December 2014, I played around with the camera’s features and had a lot of fun. I checked your blog before I left to get inspiration! You are a great photographer, and I hope that I can one day capture images of Disneyland in a more artistic way. Thanks for posting your photos from your D600, they are amazing!
Wow! Those pictures are amazing! SO BEAUTIFUL!!
I cannot stop staring at these photos. They are TOO beautiful, if there is such a thing 🙂
I like the idea and results a lot. As a local I go thru some of those same periods of What the heck am I going to shoot today??? I think I will try your approach but with an 85mm… which is one of my absolute favorites. Thanks for the neat idea.
Great post. I used the same body/lens combo during our last trip (love that lens.) Did you use an ND filter? If not, did the 1/4000 max SS hinder any of your other shots?
Yes, it did. On several of these, I had to do some highlight recovery in post. Others were unusable because I didn’t have an ND filter with me.
Some really nice composition in this lot. I’ll echo earlier posters that I like the two with the Mark Twain. I’d disagree with you about the lamp post with Tiana – it almost looks like she’s leaning on it looking out at the river boat. I think it adds to the picture rather than detracts.
Very creative and clever compositions here Tom. This is probably my favorite part of photography is trying to find a “new” look at something I’ve seen before. The Mark Twain image is superb. I’m trying to recall how tall the statues are around the hub. Was it hard to focus on the over the top Pinocchio one?
Mike