The Disneyland Photo of the Day...

[llamaboy]

There's no doubt about this, but for me, when photographing Disney, two things come into play: 1) the law of diminishing returns, and 2) time.

In most situations, a 3-exposure (or less) set and a 9-exposure set, processed in the same manner, are going to look virtually indistinguishable to the naked eye at reasonable sizes. They may even look indistinguishable to pixel peepers depending upon how much dynamic range is in the scene that was shot. In other words, your return for that extra work is insignificant, at best.

Time concerns both the time it takes to capture the photos and the time it takes to process the photos. More exposures means more shooting time, and if these are night shots, that time really adds up. You may only have an hour or so to take photos each night, and doing 9-exposure brackets effectively cuts the number of unique photos you can take in half. Personally, I'd rather be able to process 10 "98% quality" images than 5 "100% quality" images. More frames in the bracket also means more time spent processing. I hate sitting in front of a computer screen processing photos, so whenever I can, I stick to a single image. If that drops my quality down to 90 or 95%, oh well. I'd rather have a 90% photo that took me 2 minutes to photograph and 2 minutes to post process than a 100% photo that took me 4 minutes to photograph and 30-90 minutes to post process. I really don't think you're wrong (there's not necessarily a right/wrong/one-size-fits-all answer), I'm just explaining my approach. I'm lazy and approach photography from somewhat of a cost/benefit perspective.

100% agree with you. Seriously on all spects of this post. NOBODY is going to tell the difference between 100% and 90% as you described--even if they were to print 30x40 prints!

I have closed the park down many times, and you seriously get and hour to an hour and a half of time to shoot--mayb two hours if you are lucky. Anywho, more shots the better.

I honestly think that more of your single exposure shots have turned out just as good, but honestly most of the time better, than my 9 shot exposures (due to sharpness). Again, talent and an understanding of photography rules this.

Most importantly, I agree that this is art and it is all about preference. Some will like one style while some will like another.

Lastly, I respect you and Mike so much that I don't want to sound judgemental. Seriously, I have looked and learned from your and Mikes posts more than any other on the web or you tube. I love any discussion, or disagreement, more than aything. I think it betters everyone.

I really don't think you're wrong (there's not necessarily a right/wrong/one-size-fits-all answer), I'm just explaining my approach. I'm lazy and approach photography from somewhat of a cost/benefit perspective.[/QUOTE]

[Hot Sauce 1]

Here's a few more taken with the D600. I do believe I had a camera that had some problems. All of my night photos are 2 stops under exposed but the range is so great that I can still get great images without HDR or Exposure Layering.
The first one is obviously just one long exposure of Dumbo.

Fly Dumbo Fly! by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

This one is 3 separate photos stitched into a panorama. I shot it as a bracket but only used a single image for each one. No HDR, No Exposure Layering. I increased the exposure 2 stops in RAW, dropped the highlights, increased the shadows, black levels and contrast and clairty. Then some Nik Color Efx, (Tonal Contrast only). I also applied a noise reduction layer to the sky and then finished it off in Photoscape.
I have to say, I am SERIOUSLY impressed with the quality of the images from this camera. Maybe I would get the same with a full frame Canon and a L Series lens, who knows. I will rent a 5D Mark III in the near future and see what happens.

A Land of Fantasy.... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

I also have to agree with Tom, the time I am spending on these photos is far less than I normally would and I'm really liking that!

[timbre]

Mike,

I don't remember if you have posted this in this thread before. Is there a list of all the software packages that you are using. It seems every now and then you pop up with one that I don't remember seeing before and don't always know why they are being used.

Could you list what you are using and for what parts of the post processing?

thanks

[Hot Sauce 1]

Mike,

I don't remember if you have posted this in this thread before. Is there a list of all the software packages that you are using. It seems every now and then you pop up with one that I don't remember seeing before and don't always know why they are being used.

Could you list what you are using and for what parts of the post processing?

thanks

I probably have before but who knows.
What I think I will do as soon as I get a chance is to take you step by step through my post processing, using each different program.
Granted, it won't be what most people do and is only what I like to do because of my somewhat limited knowledge of each program but I think it will give you a good idea of what I do and why I do it. Then you can use your abilities and software to possibly inocorporate an idea or two as it suits your needs.

We did not expect to be anywhere near this busy at work and are getting our butts kicked on a daily basis. It seems that the busier we get, the more our suppliers or companies we deal with make mistakes that not only cost us money but a lot of time. Hopefully soon!

[timbre]

I probably have before but who knows.
What I think I will do as soon as I get a chance is to take you step by step through my post processing, using each different program.
Granted, it won't be what most people do and is only what I like to do because of my somewhat limited knowledge of each program but I think it will give you a good idea of what I do and why I do it. Then you can use your abilities and software to possibly inocorporate an idea or two as it suits your needs.

We did not expect to be anywhere near this busy at work and are getting our butts kicked on a daily basis. It seems that the busier we get, the more our suppliers or companies we deal with make mistakes that not only cost us money but a lot of time. Hopefully soon!

I have been experiencing the same thing at my work. Where we should be completely dead at this point of the year we are the busiest that we have been almost all year. And of course the customer isn't making it any easier on us.

What's really ironic was that I came on here this morning specifically to edit my post. I was reading Scott Kelby's book on Photoshop CS6 (light night reading) and it dawned on me that seeing others workflow would be an incredible way to learn. To see how people like you and others like Tom go about creating the impressive pictures that are posted on here would be amazing.

[mpabis525]

Just a few questions as I et used to the new DSLR.

When you guys go to the park, do you bring all your lenses and gear or do you plan out a specific course of action and only bring the required gear?

Second, is there any way to shoot sunrise photos from outside the park but still get some of the notable attractions in the shot? Growing up in Orange County, I know that weather, fog, etc make it an unknown.

Lastly, is it possible to shoot from the Ferris wheel at DCA and get good pics of the views? If so, what settings do you need?

Thanks as always.

Mike

[alphabassetgrrl]

I tend to bring my 18-55 zoom and call it good. Sometimes I'll bring a 50mm/f1.4 if I plan to shoot dark rides. Of all days I've shot the park, one day I actually used all three lenses I brought (18-55mm, 55-200mm, and 50mm/f1.4). I was surprised; normally I don't change lenses even if I bring them.

Sunrise: I don't know.

I have shot from the big wheel in DCA, putting the lens close to the bars on the car and trying to get them blur out. I find it difficult, since the park is so big, to get any sort of focus to the shot but that's a personal issue for me.

Happy snapping!

[chris001]

Shoot back from the cage, focus on a point outside and the shots will generally come out ok:

[Hot Sauce 1]

Just a few questions as I et used to the new DSLR.

When you guys go to the park, do you bring all your lenses and gear or do you plan out a specific course of action and only bring the required gear?

Second, is there any way to shoot sunrise photos from outside the park but still get some of the notable attractions in the shot? Growing up in Orange County, I know that weather, fog, etc make it an unknown.

Lastly, is it possible to shoot from the Ferris wheel at DCA and get good pics of the views? If so, what settings do you need?

Thanks as always.

Mike

Sunrise can be a difficult one simply because of where it comes up. If you were standing in Tomorrowland facing East, it comes up in the area between the subs and Innoventions. From outside the park, there really isn't anything of interest that you could put in the foreground that would be an interesting foreground element from that viewpoint.

Lenses: I rarely bring all of my lenses and different gear. I usually plan out what shots I want to take before I go and only bring what I need for those shots. I only bring my 50 mm F/1.4 if I plan on shooting dark rides. (even though it can be great for other things like flowers and small details)

I am usually travelling with my 8-16 wide angle lens and the 28-135. Depending upon what I am shooting, I will bring the 18-55 kit lens (FIREWORKS) and my 55-250 zoom lens, which is an awesome lens for shooting people and shows like Aladdin.

For shooting from the Fun Wheel, you have to get the lens close to the cage, make sure the opening is in the center of the lens, choose the center focus point and zoom a bit to eliminate the bars. If you use a center focus point, have that on your subject and zoom, it will make them disappear. If you are using a huge lens like a 72mm wide piece of glass, that gets harder.

[Hot Sauce 1]

I know I sound like a broken record apologizing for not having any new tutorials in a while. Believe me, I am more frustrated about it than you can imagine. I really don't like the fact that I don't have very much control over my own life or time right now.

Here's a few more photos from my testing of the Nikon D600. While I wasn't all that happy with the functionality and design of the camera, I have to admit that the picture quality is superb. There have been a few sales on it lately that have been really, really tempting. I'm going to try out a 5D Mark III pretty soon, so we'll see if that one compares to the Nikon.

I can't remember if I posted this one already.

Winter Finery... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

I know I posted the single exposure version of this one but I liked the overall image so much that I went back and processed it as a HDR. It might just be my favorite Disneyland Photo ever.

A Land of Fantasy HDR Edit... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

This is also a pano made up of single exposure images. No HDR, no exposure layering. It shows how good the dynamic range of the Nikon D600 is.

Rounding the Bend... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

Another single exposure. WOW!

3 Peaks... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

Same thing here.

Hot and Cold... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

[alphabassetgrrl]

I saw the D600's for sale at CostCo today. You got some really great shots with it!

[mpabis525]

Sunrise can be a difficult one simply because of where it comes up. If you were standing in Tomorrowland facing East, it comes up in the area between the subs and Innoventions. From outside the park, there really isn't anything of interest that you could put in the foreground that would be an interesting foreground element from that viewpoint.

Lenses: I rarely bring all of my lenses and different gear. I usually plan out what shots I want to take before I go and only bring what I need for those shots. I only bring my 50 mm F/1.4 if I plan on shooting dark rides. (even though it can be great for other things like flowers and small details)

I am usually travelling with my 8-16 wide angle lens and the 28-135. Depending upon what I am shooting, I will bring the 18-55 kit lens (FIREWORKS) and my 55-250 zoom lens, which is an awesome lens for shooting people and shows like Aladdin.

For shooting from the Fun Wheel, you have to get the lens close to the cage, make sure the opening is in the center of the lens, choose the center focus point and zoom a bit to eliminate the bars. If you use a center focus point, have that on your subject and zoom, it will make them disappear. If you are using a huge lens like a 72mm wide piece of glass, that gets harder.

Hot Sauce,

Thanks for the tips. I appreciate the input.

Mike

[Bobd20011]

Hot Sauce,

I am sure that work is still keeping you crazy busy, but I just wanted to let you know that your fans are patiently waiting for more wonderful tips from you. Your photos are fantastic and I always enjoy reading your thread.

Happy New Year!

-BobD

[Hot Sauce 1]

Hot Sauce,

I am sure that work is still keeping you crazy busy, but I just wanted to let you know that your fans are patiently waiting for more wonderful tips from you. Your photos are fantastic and I always enjoy reading your thread.

Happy New Year!

-BobD

Thanks Bob! I appreciate that.
Under normal circumstances, work would usually die down after December 22nd, since it was now too late to ship Christmas orders. For some odd reason we stayed busy right up til the 28th, shipping pallets of sauce out that day. (Odd)

Then January and February are our two slowest months of the year. I was planning on doing a whole bunch of new tutorials starting on January 2nd. The next day we received the largest purchase order we've ever had in our 20 year history. I'm both happy and stunned by it. It's definitely a nice way to start out a new year, especially since 2012 was by far our best year ever.

Someone had asked that I do a tutorial showing my normal workflow of post processing. That will be up next but before I do that one I will do one on the new Adaptive Wide Angle Filter in Photoshop CS6. The reason I'm doing that one first is because it is part of my work flow but needs a lesson on itself first. Otherwise the work flow one would be way, way too long.

I'm hoping to have one of them up in the next few days.

Here's a few pretties in the mean time.

Midnight in Paris... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr


One Last Christmas... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr


Surplus Spirit... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

This is one of my fav's.

A Night Out on the Town... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr


Holdays of days gone by... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr


The Dive, The Splash, The Relief... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr


Dumbo of Terror... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

Mike

[mpabis525]

Hot Sauce,

I think we will all gladly, patiently wait for the amazing stuff you have taught us. Your work pays the bills and that has to come first. I think I will have to take a few bottles of sauce from you soon when I finish up my last one.

On a photography related side note, I have a question for you or anyone else about exposure compensation with a DSLR in RAW formats. Since you can adjust the exposure afterward in RAW, is there a technical reason to adjust the exposure prior to taking the picture?

I am sure there is but was curious if it is a case where if you start at a lower exposure you have more room to brighten up afterward.

Mike