Uploads from Tom.Bricker, tagged sleepingbeautycastle

Sleeping Beauty Castle - Morning Blue Hour

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:09:15 -0700

Disneyland
Sleeping Beauty Castle
One More Disney Day
Hour 23

This photo is from 2012's "One More Disney Day" 24-hour event on Leap Day at Disneyland. This was hour 23 of the official event. Add to that a couple of hours standing in line before opening to get in the park, then another two hours after this was taken, and it was one long day for me!

As for 2013's event...what a difference a few months make! Moving the event from late February to late May meant overcast skies and not many opportunities for photography. We did have some nice overnight clouds and a full moon, so I'm looking forward to processing my Cars Land photos from those hours.

Thanks for your views, comments, and favorites!

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Disneyland Paris - Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant at Night

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:02:23 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

During our Christmas Disneyland Paris trip, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Sleeping Beauty Castle was lit "normally" prior to the Christmas Lighting Ceremony. This meant that I got two styles of photos of it for the price of one!

Part 2 of our Disneyland Paris Trip Report is now up, and it contains 125 photos!

Thanks for your views, comments, and favorites!

DisneyTouristBlog | TravelCaffeine | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | ISO 5571 - Podcast

Disneyland Paris - Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant Christmas Lighting

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:45:35 -0800

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Disneyland Paris used to have a stage show similar to Cinderella's Wish for its Sleeping Beauty Castle Christmas lighting. Now, since the stage is gone, they "just" have a wicked water and light show. A stage show would have been cool, but this show is probably much better for photography!

I went with a loose crop here to really accentuate those beams of light. I have a photo of the Molly Brown from another night with those beams going crazy in the background. Light beams=awesome.

This is one of 15 new Disneyland Paris Christmas photos I posted today in my Disneyland Paris Christmas Overview & Review on my blog!

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The Backside of Partners

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:20:14 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Anaheim, Orange County, California
Disneyland Resort
Disneyland
Main Street, USA
"Partners" (Walt Disney & Mickey Mouse)

One of those shots that I just snapped as we were passing through the hub. I was pleasantly surprised while reviewing my shots from the trip today and I noticed it. I wish I would have taken more time to get it right, but I still like it!

Looking to purchase a new camera or other photo gear? Check out my buying guide!

The Great Disney Light Hunt

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:45:28 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Florida, United States
Walt Disney World Resort
Magic Kingdom
Frontierland
Splash Mountain

While at Walt Disney World in May, Sarah and I participated in D23's 2-day Great Disney Scavenger Hunt. We were initially a little skeptical of it because of the time commitment, but we figured we'd give it a shot. I'll discuss it in more detail later, but in short, it was a wonderful, albeit exhausting time. After we finished our first day in the Magic Kingdom, I felt like I could barely walk.

Once we turned in our books in the MK, Sarah had to use the restroom, and the line for this looked fairly long, so while she was doing that, I figured I'd just rest and enjoy Main Street for a bit. Then I decided to wander up Main Street to capture some photos. I needed to compensate for the photos I “missed” during the day, after all!

As I was taking photos on Main Street, I saw the light. Specifically, some beautiful sun rays peeking out from behind clouds up by Crystal Palace. So I ventured that way. From there, I saw the rays at the edge of Adventureland. To make a long story short, I found myself outside of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad when I received a call from Sarah, asking where the heck I was, as she had just exited the restrooms near City Hall.

I had just wandered to the opposite end of the park without giving it a second thought. Funny how my body no longer realized it was so tired once the prospect of shooting a great sunset was on the table. It’s really a wonder I never got (permanently) lost as a child.

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'Round And 'Round On Disneyland's Mad Tea Party

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:26:08 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

My wife, Sarah Bricker, aboard Disneyland's Mad Tea Party. While we enjoy this attraction at Walt Disney World, at Disneyland, it's undeniably better due to the open air.

For this shot, I decided to lower the shutter speed, capturing some motion blur as Sarah spun our Teacup. Even though Sarah tried her best to stay stationary, this shot took several tries to perfect, as she was moving her hands to keep the teacup spinning (which was necessary for the motion blur).

Disneyland's Rancho del Zocalo - Near Infrared

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Sat, 07 May 2011 07:19:37 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

After doing a preliminary run-trough of my Disneyland photos, it seems like I left a lot of shots/subjects on the table. This actually isn't disappointing of upsetting, as Disneyland is so rife with photo ops that there was no way to capture them all and enjoy so much of Disneyland all on one trip. There's always next time.

Rancho del Zocalo, a delicious quick service eatery that comes close to Sunshine Seasons in terms of quality, is most definitely not one of the subjects that I under-photographed. I got several daytime, nighttime, and infrared photos of this gem. Easily one of the most photogenic subjects in all of Disneyland, it was very fun to photograph.

Here is one such near infrared photo of Rancho del Zocalo. After removing the reds from this photo (as near infrared photos come out of the camera with a red hue to them), I decided that the black and white didn't look as good as the slight red hue that came straight out of the camera. So here is that shot, with no color adjustments made. Slight adjustments made to contrast and sharpening were the only edits to this shot.

Disneyland - Disney California Adventure - "Home of Deliciousness"

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:26:37 -0800

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Disneyland Resort
Disney California Adventure
Condor Flats

While all of its offerings are pretty straightforward fast food fare, I found something incredible at Taste Pilot's Grill.

Prior to World of Color, Sarah wanted some food from Cucamonga Mexican Grill, but nothing there looked all that appetizing to me. I had my eyes on the prize: the Aviator’s Chicken Sandwich with the Full Throttle Fries and a large Coke that I had seen earlier at Taste Pilot's. I am salivating right now just thinking about it. I think if I were to have a “last meal,” this honestly might be the meal I would pick. As always, I loaded the up with toppings from the Fixins’ Bar, and headed out towards the Pacific Wharf (which seemed much farther away when carrying a tray of food) where Sarah was sitting. It might "only" be fast food, but it really hit the spot that evening.

All things considered, I think this building is pretty cool. My shots of it sort of stink, as we were rushed out on our only night of shooting. Oh well, I'll try again next time!

If you're looking for an iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch app featuring wallpapers of Disney during the Holidays, check out WDW Holiday Pics!

Fishing From the Pier

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 06:56:07 -0800

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Disneyland Resort
Disney California Adventure
Paradise Pier

In retrospect, I wish I would have used my UWA this evening (I didn't have time to switch lenses as security was "tailing" me). This seems a little forced with the fisheye. My goal for the Christmas trip is to use the fisheye a lot less, and get back to my roots with the UWA.

If you're looking for an iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch app featuring wallpapers of Disney during the Holidays, check out WDW Holiday Pics!

Partners in Crime

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:42:22 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Disneyland Resort
Disneyland
Main Street, USA
Partners Statue, Sleeping Beauty Castle, & Magical! Fireworks

Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse orchestrate a symphony of explosions above Sleeping Beauty's house.

If I set off this many bottle rockets over Sarah's house, I would be in serious trouble. When Walt and the Main Mouse do it, they're applauded and showered in "Oohs and Ahhs." I don't get it.

Looking to take better night photos with your Point & Shoot camera? Check out my Photography 101(B) - Night Shots blog post on TouringPlans!

Also, I've started a couple of new Flickr groups. The first, Disney Photography, I started because I've noticed there are few groups broadly covering all things Disney. Most groups seem to focus on specific Parks, Resorts, or types of photography and thus don't have broad appeal. Since we all like to submit our photos to a few groups, I figured this would be a good one to start. The other, Disney Christmas, I started for a similar reason. There are only a couple Holiday groups, and I know most people like to submit their images to ~5 or so groups each. To start, neither group will have any posting limits. Thereafter, I'm going to put a 5 per day limit on each group so they're not innundated with family shots. Don't get me wrong, I like family shots as much as the next guy, but when I'm combing through groups looking for inspirational shots, I hate wading through 15 pages of the same person's shot because they decided to upload every image they took on their recent vacation.

Anyway, I encourage those interested to join and add images to both groups!

Is This Adventureland Palm Actually Stretching, Or Is It Your Imagination?

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:34:21 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

The Tiki Room in Disneyland is awesome. Much better than Under New Management, which I do enjoy. It was difficult to photograph this building at night due to it being set back, and screwy lighting, but I liked the look of this curved palm with the fisheye. It didn't look nearly as good with the UWA, but I'm still not sure about the fish look here. Might be a bit too contrived.

Our Disneyland Trip Report is live! Please check it out!

Grizzly Peak Recreation Area

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 08:19:41 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

I just couldn't resist shooting this while waiting in line for World of Color. The shot ended up being super-soft and has some other issues, but I still sort of like it.

If you're looking for an iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch app featuring wallpapers of Disney during the Holidays, check out WDW Holiday Pics!

Strolling Paradise Pier

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:42:47 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Our Disneyland Trip Report is live! Please check it out!

Our T1 Disneyland attraction

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:41:11 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Our Disneyland Trip Report is live! Please check it out!

Opening Day at Disneyland

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:13:22 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Fun Fact: Matt Pasant was actually 78 years young at heart when Disneyland opened in 1955. You do the math.

Nothing complex here, but I liked the subject matter and the little starbursts on the Cinema's lights (top). This is another shot where I chose to blow the lights in post processing to achieve the look. I think I am "over" the idea of preventing blown highlights.

I've posted some wedding photos in our "Disneymoon" trip report. Check them out if you're interested on the last page here

Space Mountain Starport

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:07:47 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Disneyland Resort
Disneyland
Tomorrowland
Space Mountain

Even though I prefer Walt Disney World's Space Mountain (probably the only person on earth who feels this way besides Sarah and Joe), I will concede that this load/unload area is much cooler than WDW's.

Tree of Epic-ness

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 16:00:18 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Although we didn't tour this tree, it did look pretty awesome. I'm not please with the half-trashcan in the front of the frame, and the colors seem a little mellow for my tastes, but I still like the shot.

Check Out My TouringPlans Blog Post on Fall-tography Tips!

Welcome to the Haunted Mansion!

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:06:00 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

TouringPlans Blog Fall-tography tips!

"C" is for...

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:00:43 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

Disneyland 55th Window

nobody@flickr.com (Tom.Bricker) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 08:12:36 -0700

Tom.Bricker posted a photo:

I have no idea why, but I like this shot. Maybe it reminds me of walking past these windows at night on the way out of the park? I really have no clue.