Portofino blues
Blue hour at the Portofino Resort in Orlando, FL...
No, not THAT Portofino. :-)
Sadly, this was not shot in Italy in the beautiful coastal town of Portofino - I've never been there (yet - there must always be a yet!). I captured this one at the Portofino Resort in Orlando FL, which looks really nice but I can't confirm how accurate it is in terms of portraying the original. But I can confirm that it's a great place to take photos! :-)
Faux Paris
Twilight descends upon the French Pavilion at EPCOT, and I am firing away, pretending that I am really in Paris..
EPCOT is a great park for a world tour sampler!
While I am not a big theme park sort of person, I really enjoy visiting EPCOT. The World Showcase there is a lot of fun for me, primarily because it's sort of like taking a really quick world tour. It almost scratches my wanderlust itch, since it feels like you are in a lot of different countries in a short amount of time.
The last time we visited, I made sure to be in the France area at dusk. I think they do a great job of making it feel like Paris. The architecture is just right and with the right light you can almost feel like you are in Paris. Almost. But it's a lot closer to get to than the real one!
A big bunch of EPCOT photos
We recently visited the EPCOT them park in Orlando, FL and I had a great time taking a BUNCH of photos there. Here are 15 photographs that illustrate the beauty of this park. It's like a miniature world tour in one day!
Hey, it's all about EPCOT today!
Spaceship Earth at the entrance to EPCOT in Orlando, FL
Who wants to go on a world tour? :-)
Have you been to EPCOT? You know, the theme park at Disney in Orlando, FL? If not, I think it's worth a visit. In fact, it's my favorite park just about anywhere. In particular, I am fond of the World Showcase. It's a portion of the park that simulates the locale and cuisine of 11 different countries from around the world. Considering my penchant for travel, it's no surprise I love it there. It feels like a big, crazy around the world trip, but you do it in one day!
I first went to EPCOT many years ago, and have always enjoyed my visits there. I've been to Orlando on business several times, and even then I try to wrangle a little free time to visit the park and go on a mini world tour. It's fun.
The large tori gate in the Japanese section of EPCOT, during sunset.
AFter sunset there at the tori gate, I turned around and got this shot of the main building in the Japanese Pavilion.
So when we were in Florida about a month ago, we took one day and spent it at EPCOT. While it's quite fun to wander around there and get a taste of the culture of each country, for me it's a great photo expedition with a lot of varied subject matter. And believe me, I fired a LOT of shots that day!
While the entire park is fun and photogenic, I have some preferences, which I have previously shared on this list here on the blog, entitled Top Photo Spots at EPCOT. After typing up this post, I went ahead and added several new photos to that list, since I now have them. :-)
We started out under a bright Florida sky (it is the Sunshine State, after all), but luckily the clouds that were present earlier in the day stuck around, and by sunset I was sort of getting excited. While I am happy to photograph any sunset, I always prefer to have some clouds in it, as I find it adds more drama and interest to the photo. Plus, you never know if something spectacular might happen.
EPCOT is built around a huge lagoon, so I am always looking for shots across the water - this one being a distant view of Spaceship Earth.
Another bright afternoon shot, but this one at the Chinese Pavilion at EPCOT. I love the architecture in the park.
As it turned out, the sunset got really interesting while I was in the France Pavilion, and so I stuck around there all the way through blue hour. I love the shots I came away with too, especially that vertical one of the fountains with the Eiffel Tower replica in the distance. That's one of my recent favorites.
And truthfully, the entire French area is probably my favorite. It's really beautiful - like everything else in France - and to my eye they have done a really good job making it "feel" like France. Down to the music playing, the architecture, the food and more, it just actually seems like you are in France.
So yeah, I spent quite a while taking photos there!
My favorite shot, of the fountains in the France Pavilion.
This was a quick snap from the England portion of the park.
The popular Les Chefs de France restaurant in the France Pavilion at EPCOT, just after sunset.
The only challenge (for me, at least) with shooting at EPCOT is the crowds. It's obviously a popular park and thus it gets pretty full of tourists, just about any hour of day. While you can occasionally wait it out, it's hard and very unpredictable. So I tend to shoot and move on, though I got lucky in a few of these and was able to get them (nearly) empty.
Anyway, if you find yourself in Orlando and haven't been to EPCOT yet, I highly recommend it. It makes for a fun and photogenic day!
Sunset with the France Pavilion in the distance.
Another sunset shot from France, taken a few minutes later than the last one.
This was taken in the Canada section. I was drawn in by all the lines and colors.
They set up this area in France to look like you are walking along the Seine in Paris.
Another view from the Japanese Pavilion - this one of their koi pond.
A closeup of the koi pond.
One last view of the tori gate in Japan.
Finally getting the shot at Portofino
If you find yourself in Orlando, FL be sure and swing by the beautiful Portofino Bay Resort at Universal Studios for a photograph or two. I caught a nice sunset there recently and today I share a collection of photos from that outing. It's a gorgeous place and really looks like Italy!
No, not that Portofino. That will have to be later. ;-)
Cloudy, dramatic skies over Portofino Bay Resort in Orlando, FL
My wife, daughter and I piled in the car recently and took a road trip over to Orlando, FL. We went specifically to celebrate my daughter's birthday and explore the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. If you haven't been yet, just go. The whole experience is awesome and I loved the park. If you have kids (and especially if they are fans of HP), they will eat it up.
And yes, I tried butterbeer - and it's delicious!
Anyways, one thing I made a point of doing while there was slipping off to the Portofino Resort nearby and grabbing some shots of the hotel. While it's not exactly like being in Italy, it's a beautiful spot and well worth a visit (at least for some photos - I didn't have time to go inside and explore or dine). I have seen countless photos from here over the years, and despite being in Orlando several times, I've never had a chance to shoot it - until now.
Portofino Bay Resort in Orlando, FL - such a great representation of Italy!
So late one cloudy afternoon, I hopped on the water taxi from Universal and 5 minutes later I was standing here in front of Portofino, setting up my camera on my tripod and getting ready to fire away. It had rained on and off all day, so I knew I had to quickly fire away just in case it started up again. Though I must admit, the threatening skies were the main reason I went that day. I love the drama of cloudy skies in my photos. I feel it's much more interesting than plain old blue skies.
Thankfully the rain held off the entire time I was here shooting, and I even caught some great light and clouds in the process. It ended up being one of my favorite outings during the week we were here, mostly due to the beautiful stuff I was pointing my camera at (and that I had it all to myself with hardly any tourists in sight!)!
In a couple of these shots, you can see I made some alterations to the generally overcast and gray/blue skies that I had while there. In those cases I used split toning in Lightroom, which is my new favorite thing to do. You can read all about split toning here if you are interested in hearing more about it. In short, it's a very powerful and yet simple way to change up your shots. I love it!
Enjoy the photos and let me know if you have any questions!
Sunset light over the marina at Portofino Bay Resort in Orlando, FL
EPCOT's Chinese temple
First of all, I just want to say THANK YOU to those who continue to visit my site frequently, I really appreciate that. Also, thanks for those of you who leave comments here or on Facebook, as well as the Likes and Shares. I am still enjoying Santa Fe with the family (which you would know if you subscribe to my public updates on FB here - and you could see some iPhone shots there too!), and will be coming home soon with a load of great new pics to share.
Daily Photo: EPCOT's Chinese temple
I love EPCOT, which you surely know if you have visited here much in the past. It's such a great concentration of different cultures that it feels like a quick world tour. Yes, I know it's staged, but having been to many of the places represented there (Germany, Canada, Italy for example) I feel like they do a great job of making you feel like you are really there. I haven't been to China yet, but I bet this is a good representation of it. Well, except for that trash bin. :)
Campanile reflections
Shooting at EPCOT is just plain fun. It's like a million mini-vacations rolled into one. One minute you are shooting in Japan, then you are in Italy looking at this beautiful scene. Throw in some nice color in the sky at sunset, and it makes for a pretty exciting time with the camera!
The Italian wine bar at EPCOT
Oh, EPCOT. I do enjoy this place. In fact it came up today in a conversation with some friends. By the way, hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. We had a great day today with family and friends - had some good food, ate some candy, hid some eggs, ate some more candy, watched a little Masters golf (great finish) and might have had a little more candy when no one else was looking. But let's keep that quiet, shall we?
Ok, back to EPCOT. It's quite a place, whether you bring a camera or not (but of course you should). I love all the different snippets of culture that they have recreated there - it gives you sort of a mini-whirlwind tour of some great spots. Which reminds me that I am getting ready for a whirlwind tours of sorts as well, real soon. More on that later. You'll have to come back to read about it - and see the photos of course!
Hope you enjoy the photo, and thanks for stopping by!
Paris in Florida
Oh how I enjoy my visits to EPCOT. It's fun to cram 20 countries and cultures into a few hours, but it does get tiring. The good thing is that when you get tired, you can go find a quiet little spot in a corner, soak up a little more culture, and relax. I had done just that over in the French section of EPCOT and was gearing up for some more photos when this scene caught my eye. It really looks Parisian to me - they do a fine job there of recreating the feel of certain places.
Goodnight, Spaceship
This is Spaceship Earth, which is sorta the centerpiece of EPCOT at DisneyWorld in Orlando, FL. It sits on the edge of this lagoon, and has all these cool lights, so it's a great spot to get some shots there at night after you have (hopefully) HDR'd all over the rest of EPCOT (which I consider an HDR heaven). I had just witnessed (and photographed) the laser light show which happens over the lagoon, and was walking to the exit when I saw this scene, and thought, "well, maybe one more shot". This is a basic long exposure, no HDR this time. But more coming next week!
The Torii Gate at EPCOT
I love EPCOT. In addition to offering up so many wonderful photo opportunities, it's a great cultural experience. It's not like being there, but it sure is a good substitute when you are longing for some internationalism kinda stuff. I have always wanted to visit Japan and someday hope to photograph that beautiful country. For now though, I am totally fine firing off shots like this, pretending I am there.
One other place I have always wanted to visit is Ireland, and that is happening as I type this. I got into Dublin over the weekend and have TONS of shots to process and stories to share with everyone, so look for that coming soon! I also have some iPhone shots I will be sharing on my iPhoneography blog, in case you want to see them. More soon!
Orlando morning
Orlando is a nice town, though I guess most travelers never see it, opting instead to stay on or near the Disney properties and associated theme parks. Those are fun too by the way. Anyways, one morning while there I headed out to catch the sunrise, and went into downtown Orlando to a little place called Lake Eola. It's a decent-sized lake, but I really like the fact that the downtown skyline is there so you can get some killer reflections.
I just want to thank everyone for stopping by this week and also thank those who left comments. I have been in San Fran all week for work, and the Wi-Fi at the hotel is horribly slow, so it has been incredibly hard to keep up with things. Despite those online challenges, I will say that I was able to get out a few times with the D700 and new lenses (especially the killer 14-24!!!) and fire off lots of brackets here. This town just has a lot to aim at!! Look for new San Francisco shots coming soon!
EPCOT's Paris scene
I really enjoy visiting EPCOT at Disney in Orlando, FL - and it's a great place to take photos. I think they do a pretty solid job of making all the various countries appear pretty realistic. Take this scene from the France section. I'm certainly not an expert in Parisian things, but when I was there years back, I recall walking along the Seine and seeing little booths like this set up with people selling books, postcards, paintings and other art works. It's cool to see it replicated at EPCOT and it adds a degree of reality to what's basically a big staged scene. I'd rather be in Paris, but this is much closer and does give you a nice feel for the place.
Sunrise in Orlando
Just a quick post today - this is sunrise in Orlando, FL taken on the shores of Lake Eola. I was in Orlando recently, and though the majority of my time was spent photographing all the interesting stuff in EPCOT, I did venture over to Orlando's downtown one morning to catch the sunrise. My local Austin buddy Pete Talke suggested I give this place a try - and I am glad I did! Unfortunately I got lost and wound up arriving here a little later than I wanted, but hey that happens sometimes! Still glad I got some shots in though, and I was still early enough to have it all to myself!
EPCOT's Morocco Pavilion
Guest Post Today on Phogropathy
Recently I was contacted by John Davenport, who runs a photo blog called Phogropathy, and he asked me to contribute a guest post for this week. Of course I agreed and so please head on over there to read my little post (ok, it’s a little lengthy but I got carried away!), sprinkled with some of my musings as well as images from my travels. I hope I don’t bore you. Anyways, John is a great guy and loves to share his daily images there on his blog - check them out! He is on a vacation in Florida this week, and having just returned from there recently myself, we traded emails about EPCOT and how great a spot it is to shoot. So, in honor of that I wanted to post an EPCOT shot today...and I hope he gets some cool shots there! Have fun John!
So...here’s another shot from my recent visit to EPCOT at Disney in Orlando, FL. The World Showcase there is a great spot for taking all kinds of interesting shots. I literally wandered there for several hours, snapping all sorts of things. My previous visit there was about 2 years ago, just as I was developing my photographic skills, and as a result most of my shots were just not too good. In other words, I was happy to return there and get all the shots I didn’t get last time! This is the Morocco Pavilion, and though I have never been to Morocco, they seem to do a good job of giving the experience of being there!