Taking special pictures

[Wendy_Bird]

I am preparing for my treck back to Cali and I am also getting very excited to go to disneyland... howver I have reached a very critical point in my preparedness... i do not own a camera (digital or other wise) here is my question... what do I get?... a) normal film camera b) multiple disposable cameras or c) a digital camera NOTE: I will not have a computer to down load uimages to whenever I go to Cali.

My other question is how can I take good pictures of the firworks?

[Druggas]

Get any camera you can afford! Pictures do NOT do justice to the fireworks. You will see what I mean when you see the firework show. It is spectacular!

[Wendy_Bird]

I know they wont do it justice... but it would be nice to have something... plus I really like to take night photos too

[Druggas]

Ok, then be prepared to shoot 360 degrees. Also, better get a good place to stand, and if you are short, good luck. People are pretty rude during the show.

[Wendy_Bird]

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3626634&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A133277%3A163991

that is the camerca that i was thinking of getting... does it look okay... I know nothing about cameras...

[Mickey's Friend]

It looks like a pretty good camera. However since I have gotten a digital camera I like to take pictures much more often. As a note: digital cameras will allow you to delete any picture that you do not want. They also allow you the chance of not developing every single picture.

[Wotan]

I've found with digital cameras, they sometimes have a lag between the time you hit the shutter and the time it actually takes the shot; sometimes as much as a half second on some models. And in the dark, some will always autoflash, which can create problems.

Film cameras work great (and I've been shooting Disney fireworks for years and years now); but my best results are alway with a tripod, a remote shutter release, and at least 1000 ASA film or higher. That's a fairly big investment for most folks.

You might want to just try a nice digital, and also get one of the disposals with ASA 800--and just experiement around some. Above all, have fun! Share your shots with us!

[Lady Peg]

I prefer the film mode...digital doesn't have the depth of field we have all come to take for granted! It isn't until you look at the digital photos that you realize there IS a difference...

One other thought...when you purchase your camera, take a roll or two of "practice" photos so you can become accustomed to it before your trip. When you get your results, if you're not happy with any of the photos, take them to the photo counter and ask questions! Yes, it takes a little time...but the time spent will be well worth the fabulous photos you will get during your trip!

Two other thoughts...if you DO go with a film camera, (and you are flying) put the film in a see-thru zip lock and do not let it go thru the x-ray scanner at the airport. Until that film is developed, it is vulnerable to those x-rays...and while most of them do work correctly, there are the times when the callibration is off and film can be irreversably zapped.

Take extra batteries, too.

Hope this helps!

[Wendy_Bird]

Thnak you so much... i just bought the camera and is says that if I dont like it I can always return it... and if that happends I can deal with only having disposable for this trip to Cali... thank you for all of the help... much appericiated...

[Momzilla59]

1.You will have a hard time getting those firework shots without a tripod. If you have any kind of wobble in your hands you'll have colorful streaks and jiggles!
2.Don't forget to buy your film somewhere else - film at the park is prohibitively expensive!
3.Get the best of both worlds and have your film developed digitally on a cd as well. It costs more but for me it was worth it for Special rolls of film.
4.Lastly, general rule of thumb is the faster the film the better it is for taking night or action shots. I get pretty good all around results with 400 asa film.

Have a great trip - hope you get Lots of pictures for us to see!

[Wendy_Bird]

i will take all sorts of pictures... I hope to get more pictures of me with Wendy and Peter Pan to put as my avatar... but I wont be able to post them Until I get back in the end of June... it makes me sad that I wont be able to post for a whole 2 weeks more than likely...

[Leigh-Ann]

its hard to get good pics of the fireworks but it can be done sometimes ..

don't use a flash and don't move

[Momzilla59]

Very nice pic, Leigh-Ann! Most of my firework shots look like something from Fantasia -with a whole lotta shakin goin on!
Wendy - very important - don't forget to shoot AND develop a test roll of film before you go to the park! If there's something wrong with the camera, you don't want to find out AFTER you've wasted a whole lot of film - not to mention pictures!

[Wendy_Bird]

very good idea... I think that I can come up with a rolls worth of film to take pictures of... and then run over to sams club and get it developed while I am at work next week... this whould be fun... i am going to see if my b/f wont take some pretty pictures of me...

[daddyb]

Good shots of the fireworks CAN be taken, but as said earlier, they will not do this fireworks show justice. They WILL serve as a reminder of how good this show is!

I'd suggest going to WalMart or even finding a discount store like Big Lots and purchasing a small, tabletop tripod, if you do not already have one. This should not be more than a $20 investment, tax included. I'm assuming that your new camera has a tripod mount on the bottom of it (a hole for the screw to go into).

Find a good spot in front of the castle near a trash can, and try setting your tripod on that. Hopefully you will not have a problem with the person sitting in front of the trashcan standing up. If that fails, perhaps being able to lean against a pole or something sturdy while you take the night shots.

Make sure that your camera can accept whatever high speed film you purchase. Sam's Club and Costco will get you good deals on the film (800 speed, anyway), as well as the developing. You probably already know that you can have the film scanned onto CD at most any film developing location, this may be a good deal for you if you end up wanting to post many of your shots onto the internet.

Feel free to take a look at my latest weekly photo update for some shots of the fireworks... and the parade, and generally around the park over at www.visionsfantastic.com.

• • • 

[Wendy_Bird]

hey... what kind of camera were you using?... probably something really expensive huh??... well man... I wish that I could take pictures of the park that looked like that... HEY... maybe you could meet up with me when I go and give me a few pointers on some things to do with my new camera and how to make the most of it...

[daddyb]

Yeah, it's not a cheap camera... not pro quality or anything, but it was a serious investment for me (and my wallet). By the way, it is digital. Shutter lag, start up time, purple fringing and depth of field problems (all common complaints about various digital cameras) are almost non existant. The old axiom "You get what you pay for" holds very true.

I'm always interested in meeting folks at the park, Wendy Bird! I'm there most every Wednesday evening but can be there at other times as well as long as I get clearance from Mrs. DaddyB.

[Wendy_Bird]

I will be there on June 7th for the evening probably sometime after 3:30... I was hopeing to get there in time for the POD... we shall see... but yeah that would be great... I know that on Mouse Planet there was a guy who was going to do a whole series about taking good pictures with nothing more than a kodak disopable camera... and his pictures were really good... but I really know nothing about cameras at all...

my only problem with a digital camera is whenever I would be using it I would have a place to download all of the pictures too...

[Mr.DooDah]

What awesome pictures ya have there, another example of why I love Visions Fantastic so much!

:bow:

[PanTheMan]

What can you afford? As with most things better camera's cost money. Then there are TONS of books or classes that will teach you the tricks of great photography!