Photo Friday - different view of the Castle Dream Lights

 

Time for another Photo Friday!

On Tuesday, I talked about ways to successfully photograph the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights.  I intentionally left off one angle I wanted to save for today -- the front shot, but not just any front shot, THE front shot.

Now you may think the photo above is easy to get.  You'd be wrong.  It's hard to tell from the photo above, but I'm just about laying down on the ground to get this angle.  Also, this is a vantage point that's hard to get to because normally it's not accessible due to the various performances going on in the evening.  I managed to get this angle after Wishes on a night when the Magic Kingdom was open fairly late. 

Surprisingly there weren't many people here even though this spot provides some different vantage points for other items, but that's for another Tip Tuesday.

So I hope you enjoy this close-up view of the Castle Dream Lights!

Tip Tuesday: Photographing the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

It's time again for another Tip Tuesday!

We'll we're in the swing of things for the holiday season and there's one thing at Walt Disney World that I absolutely have to see every holiday I'm at WDW - the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights.

I wrote about the castle lighting ceremony in a post last December, so I won't re-hash the information in that tip - be sure to check it out.  What I am talking about today is some good ways to take photos of the Castle Dream Lights.

 

For those of you with point-and-shoot cameras, this shot may work best for you.  First, it's not too dark, so the shutter exposure will still be fairly quick.  Second, you have some good resources to use to steady the camera to avoid motion blur.  For this shot, I was standing along the bridge between Fantasyland and the hub near Cosmic Ray's.  The rail is nice and wide so you can (carefully!!) set your camera on the rail to take a steady shot.  You may want to wait for the sun set so you can capture those pretty evening colors as the light fades.

 

Later in the evening, you can use the same place to get a nice shot with the lights reflecting in the water.

Also remember that there are more angles of the castle than the traditional front angle.  Take this shot for instance:

 

This shot was taken from the East side towards the back of the castle.  What makes this different is the lamp in the foreground and the steep angle enhancing the forced perspective of the castle.  If you have a point-and-shoot camera, this might be a bit tough. Digital SLR cameras will have a better chance of capturing this image without blur.

So there you go -- a few different ideas for how you can get those great shots of the Castle Dream Lights -- and be sure to watch for this week's Photo Friday when I'll post another shot of the Dream Lights from a different perspective.

Photo Friday: By the light of the moon

It's Friday, and you know what that means...

Photo Friday time!!

This shot was taken last summer minutes before Wishes began - a sight I plan to see shortly!

Have a great weekend!

Photo Friday: Reflections of Magic

Welcome to another Photo Friday!

This week, I was looking through some of the photos from the Marathon 2012 and happened to accidentally rotate this picture the wrong way.  I was stunned at what I had accidentally created.

Look carefully.  This image of Cinderella Castle actually is it's reflection as seen from the Liberty Square bridge.  I rotated the image so that the castle is upright instead of upside down as it would normally be seen.

I see this as a reminder that sometimes you have to look at things differently in order to see them at all.

Enjoy!

Tip Tuesday: Seeing the castle lighting

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

As we continue to celebrate the holidays, I wanted to share a few tips about another magical event that takes place nightly at the Cinderella Forecourt Stage in the Magic Kingdom, and that's the lighting of Cinderella Castle. 

If you're never seen the Cinderella Castle "Dreamlights" (as they're called), then you must try to see this in person.  Like the Osborne Lights at Disney Hollywood Studios, photos and/or videos just don't do it justice.  It is truly a spectacle to behold.

Now the lights don't just come one once it gets dark.  This is Disney, which means we have to have some fanfare and a little bit of magic. 

 

Each night around dusk, Mickey, Minnie and the gang come out to enjoy the evening and notice how everything's decorated for the holidays... everything but the castle that is.  After a bit of discussion about how the castle should the decorated, the Fairy Godmother intervenes and asks Cinderella how she would like her castle decorated.  Naturally, Cinderella wants her castle to shine with ice and snow (even in Florida).

Remember what I said about magic?  Well the Fairy Godmother (with a little help from the audience) magically adds shimmering ice to decorate the castle for the holidays.

Disney's Imagineers really outdid themselves on this effort.  When we all heard the Imagineers were thinking of "plussing" up the castle for the holidays, visions of pink birthday cake danced (more like exploded) in our heads.  Instead, the Imagineers took one of the most photographed building in the world and made it even better.  In all, more than 250,000 LED lights adorn the castle.  What's really impressive is that the Imagineers wove the lights into specially dyed fishing nets, so there's no tangling and, with the dyed net, the lights are nearly invisible except when viewed close up.  From the hub, you have a hard time even seeing them.

Ok, so now that I've got you dying to see this wondrous sight... just where's the best place to see it?

You can stand anywhere around the hub and if you're really interested in the stage show, you may want to plan to stand close up.  I personally like being farther back so I can take in the entire vista.  I recommend standing along the railing in front of the Crystal Palace.  You won't have anyone in front of you and it's a great vantage point.  The railing in front of the Plaza Restaurant also is a good spot.

Be sure to find a spot about 15-30 minutes before the show starts! 

See you next week!

Photo Friday: Castle Dreamlights at dusk

Welcome to another Photo Friday!

Now that the holidays are officially here, it's time to start sharing some of my many holiday photos from Walt Disney World.  Where better to start that at Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom.  I absolutely love the Castle Dreamlights that were added in 2007.  This is a shot at dusk when the lights were on before the lighting ceremony.  I especially like this shot because there is enough light to still see the moat, trees and the fading sky, yet the lights are prominent.

I hope you enjoy this first of several holiday photos!