How to shoot Happily Ever After

[mom2rtk]

I've got the fireworks thing down. I feel pretty good about my technique. But dang, those projections throw me for a loop. I like longer exposure shots, but how do you do that without mangling the projection images on the castle?

I shot Disneyland Forever during DLR's 60th. Fireworks were good. Castle was a mangled mess on most shots. The next night I shot Halloween Screams and adjusted by going with some shorter shutter speeds. But of course, I had fewer bursts in my shots.

What's the "go to" advice here? Just go with the shorter shots? Do I need to ruin the spontaneity of watching for the first time by studying it on YouTube?

If I need to be a Photoshop expert and combine more than one image, I'm out since my editing skills are more exposure related. I'm not good at image manipulation.

So....... suggestions and advice? Have examples you want to share?

We'll probably do the Plaza Garden dessert party so will be in that viewing area. I'll probably shoot from the TTC on another night.

 

[fractal]

There are a number of "scenes" throughout HEA. For each scene the overall castle projection remains the same, but there are "windows" and spots where the action takes place. Unless you have a really long exposure which crosses over from one scene to the other, you will be able to capture the overall theme. Here is an example towards the end. I was using 6 to 12 second exposures.

This is a 6 second exposure...

This is a 10 second exposure.

I can easily make out the characters in the 6 second exposure and even the 10 second one. The overall look of the castle remained the same.

Now the Alladin scene was much more hectic and fast moving. This was another 10 second exposure. You can make out the genie in the middle of the castle and the "neon" alladin sign as well as the explosion off the sides, but didn't capture any Alladin or Jasmine. The overall look of the castle however was captured.

I had the same thoughts before my trip regarding shooting HEA. I had considered shooting shorter exposures (1 second) then longer and merging them, but since I only had one shot at it I decided to play it safe and not have to worry about quickly changing exposures back and forth. Overall I was happy with the results and frankly, the castle projections showed up much better than I imagined.

Goodluck, it's fun and it's great show!

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks @fractal for your input and for your examples. I bet a lot of it varies a lot by sequence and how much the images change. I used to try to stay in the 4-7 second range. I just looked at the ones from Disneyland Forever and they are in the 20-30 second range. It looks like your 6-10 second range might be the sweet spot. It's a tough balance between wanting more bursts and wanting to still see what's on the castle.

I guess a lot of it will be by feel. But trying to balance the timing of bursts, the timing of the projections and still watching and enjoying the show sounds challenging!

Those are some great images! Loving the bursts on that middle shot. Very nicely done.

 

[boBQuincy]

We had the good fortune to get a 3rd floor room at the Polynesian with a great view of Magic Kingdom so we set up a tripod on our balcony, poured some wine, and kept pushing the remote release button. Equipment was a Panasonic GX7 with 45-175 lens, set to 74 mm, f/16, 6 seconds. ISO 200. The lens is not their best and micro 4:3 suffers considerably from diffraction at small apertures but we are happy with the results (cropped images show the castle projections). The wine was Silverado, for the Disney connection.

boB

 

[PythonFan888]

My approach to fireworks changed when HEA added the element of castle projections and lasers to the show. When I shoot HEA, I decide in advance whether to concentrate on (1) maximizing bursts, or (2) focusing on the projections.

For example, when I'm able to get a spot near the castle, I zoom in close and focus on the projections, usually with 5 - 6 second exposures.
58 mm, 5.8 sec

If I decide to focus on the bursts, then I go wider with a longer exposure, at the expense of projection detail:
28mm, 22 sec

There will be instances though where keeping your exposure below 6 seconds will give you a nice balance between bursts and projection detail:
14mm, 5.4 sec

If you're outside the park then your focus will be on the bursts:

 

[KCmike]

Janet are you headed back to WDW this year?

 

[MulingAround]

I am not a photographer and I do not understand the terminology y'all are using.. but with that said, these are beautiful pics!! Whatever you all are doing, it's working!

 

[Roshni_Patel]

Fireworks in the images shared are looking really amazing with a great effect.

 

[mom2rtk]

Janet are you headed back to WDW this year?

Just a one day stop in the MK after a family beach vacation this summer. Looking forward to visiting a few things they don't have in DL.

 

[mom2rtk]

My approach to fireworks changed when HEA added the element of castle projections and lasers to the show. When I shoot HEA, I decide in advance whether to concentrate on (1) maximizing bursts, or (2) focusing on the projections.

For example, when I'm able to get a spot near the castle, I zoom in close and focus on the projections, usually with 5 - 6 second exposures.
58 mm, 5.8 sec

If I decide to focus on the bursts, then I go wider with a longer exposure, at the expense of projection detail:
28mm, 22 sec

There will be instances though where keeping your exposure below 6 seconds will give you a nice balance between bursts and projection detail:
14mm, 5.4 sec

If you're outside the park then your focus will be on the bursts:

Very nice shots! What was your shutter speed on that last shot from the TTC?

I'm thinking I'll end up around 6 seconds and hope for the best when I'm in the park. But I'll want to go longer outside the park.

Did you use a ND filter?

 

[KCmike]

Just a one day stop in the MK after a family beach vacation this summer. Looking forward to visiting a few things they don't have in DL.

I keep thinking I want to go back but I think I will wait for the Tron Light Cycles. Hope you guys have a blast. What attraction are you looking forward to the most?

 

[mom2rtk]

I keep thinking I want to go back but I think I will wait for the Tron Light Cycles. Hope you guys have a blast. What attraction are you looking forward to the most?

The People Mover?

Mostly just focusing on things we can't do in DLR.

It sounds like you're in no big hurry to get back.

 

[PythonFan888]

Very nice shots! What was your shutter speed on that last shot from the TTC?

I'm thinking I'll end up around 6 seconds and hope for the best when I'm in the park. But I'll want to go longer outside the park.

Did you use a ND filter?

Thanks Janet! The EXIF says 10 seconds at f/11, ISO 100. I did have a 3 stop ND filter on.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks Janet! The EXIF says 10 seconds at f/11, ISO 100. I did have a 3 stop ND filter on.

Thanks Allen! If I can come out with anything even remotely close, I'd be happy.

Do you use the ND filter on all your fireworks shots? I have one (3 stop) but don't feel like I've mastered it. I'm guessing if I want to go for the projections and try to keep the shots shorter, I probably won't want to use it.

 

[PythonFan888]

Thanks Allen! If I can come out with anything even remotely close, I'd be happy.

Do you use the ND filter on all your fireworks shots? I have one (3 stop) but don't feel like I've mastered it. I'm guessing if I want to go for the projections and try to keep the shots shorter, I probably won't want to use it.

I didn't use the ND filter for the "up close" shots where I concentrated on the projections.

Good luck! Looking forward to your images.

 

[KCmike]

The People Mover?

Mostly just focusing on things we can't do in DLR.

It sounds like you're in no big hurry to get back.

The Pandora attractions just don't sound exciting to me at all and I really liked the movie. I saw a beta film on the new Star Wars ride and while it's still in the first stages it looks like Star Tours 2. Why does everything have to be fake screens? I would love for WDW to redo their Pirates to the one like Disney Tokyo has. Have you ever seen video on it? Truly incredible and cutting edge. My favorite ride from the recent years is still Radiator Racers in Carsland.

It's funny because we looked at doing a short 4 day stay at WDW and priced Port Orleans Riverside for the stay and they are now charging in the neighborhood of $340 a night. We use to stay for $179 a night and that didn't seem that long ago. They are pricing me out of visiting them. Have you seen the prices for Grand California and DL Hotel as well? OUTRAGEOUS. I'm lucky that at Disneyland that we can still stay within a 4-5 min walk to the park for under $200 and the rooms are equal to Riverside. With all that being said I am looking forward to Tron at MK and the new Mickey and Minnie ride at Disney Studios.

We are hitting a few of the Utah Parks at the end of May (fingers crossed, Outer Banks in July, and then if some of my photography side gigs come through we will hit Disneyland/Joshua Tree NP, and the West Coast again for Halloween. I'm re-reading your info on Utah right now. Did you have any problems with dust out there?