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!
Ritz-Carlton, Naples
Yes, staying at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel really is pretty awesome. I had the good fortune of attending a customer event which happened to be hosted at one of the Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Naples, FL. Yes, I said one of them. There are actually two in Naples - isn't that wild? Anyways, it was hosted at the one on the beach, and I was housed at this one which is a couple of miles away on a beautiful golf course. No, I never hit the links but I did squeeze in a little photo time around the property. And I didn't mind being at this one, since it was newer and in my opinion actually a bit nicer. Anyways, I had a few spare minutes one afternoon, and got out with the camera. This is a view from behind the property, standing on the edge of the golf course, and looking back at the hotel across the lake, which I am sure is home to many an errant Titleist. And by the way, be sure and ask the price for the breakfast buffet before you order - it's $25!!
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!
A Parisian scene at EPCOT
Wow, I had an amazing photowalk in London last night!! I will write it up later when I have more time, but we saw an incredible sunset with awesome clouds just behind Big Ben & Parliament, a tunnel full of graffiti, famous bridges with my name on them, the London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral, and even a fox running through the streets. No, that is not a typo. A real fox walked in front of us. In London. Surreal. Special thanks to my new friends Mike Murphy and John Esslinger for being such wonderful hosts!
EPCOT is one of those places where you just really can't put down your camera, because it seems at every turn there is something interesting to shoot. As an example, I was walking across the bridge that leads from the UK to France (funny how close that is!) and happened to look over the bridge railing. I saw this scene, set up to look like some Frenchman had a little spot next to the Seine. Click.
The Chinese Temple at EPCOT
Ok, another shot from EPCOT. Sorry, but I just can’t help myself. When I return from a trip with fresh material, it consumes me. I just want to share. The problem of course is that with all my travel, I still have a TON of “new stuff” to get to. And, I have another trip coming soon, really soon. Where do you find the time, huh?
Well, this is the Chinese area of EPCOT in Orlando, FL. I haven’t been to China yet, so I cannot confirm or deny its accuracy, but it sure is interesting to photograph. I took shots of this temple (is that what you call it??) from several different angles, but wanted to start by sharing this one. The colors are intense and it is a beautiful structure. Oh, and yes, I had to wait for a bit to get clear shots without people in it! You know what they say - the waiting is the hardest part...(I know that song is now stuck in your head!).
A calm sunset at EPCOT
EPCOT is just plain fun to me. I really enjoy the whole World Showcase thing. I know some folks think it’s a staged reality - and it is - but that’s Disney. It’s still fun, there are a boatload of interesting things to photograph, and the actual workers being from the various countries adds a nice touch. Although it’s imported, staged and compressed, it still gives you a feeling of a slight cultural experience. Anyways, I was in Orlando last week and arrived in time to head over to EPCOT after hours. I was hoping for some miraculous sunset, but it never materialized - and that’s ok. As they teach in Kindergarten - you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit. So, I went crazy with the camera until way after the fireworks show, walking away with 500+ photos. It was great! More to come!
A fountain in Tampa
I caught this shot (is caught even the right word?) in downtown Tampa a while back on my quick trip through there. Sunset was approaching and I wanted to be somewhere downtown. I was hoping for a reflection of the skyline in the water, but I could never find a good spot for it, and I guess I ain’t smart enough to use Google Earth before I arrive to figure these things out. It’s funny - or sad, really - that I used to travel to Tampa at least twice a month, but this was years before I got into photography, so despite being familiar with the town, I wasn’t “photography-familiar” with it. I really had no idea where to go and shoot. How many wasted opportunities I wonder? Oh well, live in the present and all that. I am making up for it now though! Anyways, I found this open park area with these fountains, and with the light quickly departing I set up and rolled off lots of different shots.
Ybor City scene
Ybor City is a historic district just a stone's throw from downtown Tampa. It was founded by cigar manufacturers and populated with thousands of Cuban immigrants. Nowadays, it still maintains its historic charm and has become populated with bars, restaurants and stores as well as all the historic cigar shops. It's a very interesting place to walk around with a camera. I spent a couple of hours strolling through the neighborhood and found this scene at one of the many outdoor patio bars. And yes, Guinness is good for you!
Tampa baggage claim
On my trip to Tampa, FL a while back, I happened to stay in the hotel which was connected to the airport. At first I thought that would be a drag, however it gave me the opportunity to shoot in the airport at night when everyone was gone, which was cool. This is baggage claim. Not much else I can say about that!
Last light in Tampa
Sunset just rocks, even when you don’t get to shoot it. The light is just so awesome. Take this shot, for instance. I was walking around in downtown Tampa, FL and just could not find a good vantage point for the city and the sunset together. I used to travel to Tampa all the time, but that was over 10 years ago and I wasn’t carrying a camera with me back then, so I didn’t know the good spots. I came across these fountains - and I like shooting fountains - so I set up and caught the last bit of light as the sun disappeared. I just thought the colors and light were fabulous.
This is a single exposure image that I ran through HDR Efex Pro, and then made some minor adjustments in Viveza, which is also an amazing product!
Going up
Well, this was a great weekend for me from a photography point of view, and I didn’t even take any pictures. It was great for 2 reasons: my Aperture 3 upgrade arrived, and so did my NIK Software Complete Collection (including HDR Efex Pro!). In other words, I got a lot of new software toys. I have been using Aperture 2 for a couple of years now, and finally just upgraded to v3 which is awesome! The capabilities of this product continue to impress me, and there are a lot of great presets included which are fun and functional! I haven’t had much time to play with the NIK Software collection yet, but I have run a couple of single frame photos through HDR Efex Pro (such as this one) and I am very impressed! What a cool product! As a result of now having these products, I can see that I will not be using Photomatix much any more (HDR Efex Pro is that good!) and who needs Photoshop anymore (Aperture 3 is that good!)?
This is one of those shots that is a result of just messing around with the camera. I was in Tampa, FL last week for a couple of days, and though I took some shots, I was not finding anything that really inspired me. I was back at my hotel, which was conveniently attached to the airport, so I just wandered over there one evening hoping to find it empty. Bingo! I find most touristy places are great to shoot really early, while the tourists are sleeping, but most airports are best to shoot late because no one sticks around any longer than they have to! I basically had the airport to myself, which was kind of interesting. I just started trying different camera tricks with the escalator, and finally settled on this one, which involved having my camera on the tripod, sitting on an escalator step, and going up. It wasn’t a particularly long exposure - about 2 seconds - but it was enough to blur out the sides while I rode it up and back to my room. It’s always fun to experiment!
Japanese arch at EPCOT
This is the Japanese arch in EPCOT, at DisneyWorld in Orlando, FL. I just love this place. EPCOT is so fun and the world showcase gives you a taste of so many countries in a short amount of time. The only problem is that it feeds my wanderlust, but that is ok because it also educates us on different places and cultures. Sunset was approaching and it left a nice warm light all around.