Striving to take a better photo than I did last week.
May 16, 2013
Aviation, Florida, iPhone Leave a comment
Most people never have a chance to ride in a large balloon, but if you ever visit Downtown Disney, they have large balloon that can take you up to 400 feet for a great view of the area.
The Characters in Flight ride takes about ten minutes, but will offer thrills that will last far beyond that day. This iPhone image was taken just as it was returning to its berth on a dock adjacent to the complex.
May 10, 2013
Aviation, Florida, Museum Leave a comment
You can’t beat a museum for variety, whether it’s art, science or something more specific like a car or aviation museum. The National Naval Aviation Museum at the Naval Air Station (NAS) in Pensacola, Florida is no exception. Dating back from the beginnings of flight, to some of the most modern aircraft, they have it all.
The modern Grumman F-14D Tomcat against the nostalgic Que Sera Sera, are just some of the variety you will find in their collection.
May 9, 2013
Florida, Nature, Sky 1 Comment
As part of my on-going attempt of looking at the closer details, I found this iris by the lake at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. My first several shots were the old habit. Set up the tripod and grab the sunrise, the big picture first. After I get that out of my system, I reminded myself that I need to find something smaller to isolate on, or at least include it in the scene. While it’s not an extreme close-up, I think it does add to the appeal.
May 7, 2013
Florida, iPhone Leave a comment
It’s hard not to play tourist when you are in the midst of thousands of other tourists. If you go to a theme park like Disney, it’s hard not to take the same photos that thousands of other people have taken. I would have liked to had time to walk around and compose the creative and unusual images that no one else might have taken. But hey, it’s Disney. The rides are calling your name and there are so many things to see and do, in such little time. We were at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for only one afternoon, so time was extremely limited. And I didn’t want to be slowed down with a large camera and lens, so the camera of the day was the iPhone.
The Sorcerer’s Hat, the Studios’ main icon is a giant showpiece based on the hat worn by Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer’s apprentice in “Fantasia. This was taken with my iPhone as we were closing the park down, so most people were gone. The iPhone doesn’t do a great job in low light, but a little noise reduction processing and it doesn’t look too bad.
April 25, 2013
I love hammocks, though I’ve rarely laid in one. I once received one as a present from my wife and as much as I loved it, I always felt I was lazy for resting on it and there was something else I should be doing.
This lonely hammock was at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, just waiting for someone to come along. I would have given it a test drive, but I had more pictures to take, then get breakfast, go to a conference…. well, you get the idea.
April 20, 2013
Florida, iPhone Leave a comment
The Legos Store at Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida has more Legos than probably any other place, except maybe for the Lego factory. In the back is a curved wall that has hundreds of round holes containing individual Lego blocks of all shades of colors. You can mix and match any combination you want, or just pick up a hand to replace a few missing from your collections.
This is a panoramic image from my iPhone. It took a few practice takes to keep things level, without anyone walking through the image. It’s a fun tool and gives a cool view. The curved wall was actually curved slightly inward, though the image looks as if it’s outward. The full size image is actually 10800 x 2385 px, since it stitches several images together.
April 19, 2013
Sunrises are harder to shoot than sunsets. You have to wake up early and travel to your destination in the dark. Did I mention that you have to get up early?
One my recent trip to Orlando, I stayed at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Boy, is that place big, but very beautiful. On the night I arrived, I set my alarm clock early enough to be outside before the sun was up. The next morning, I dressed quickly and went outside. But after a few minutes of trying to wake up, I realized it was going to be dark for a while longer. I had failed to take into account the time change traveling to the east coast!
So, it was back to bed for another hour.
April 17, 2013
Florida, iPhone Leave a comment
I haven’t been to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida since I was just out of college. Needless to say, it’s been a few years, because Epcot hadn’t been open long. So it was a big surprise to see how much Disney had expanded when I recently attended a conference at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.
One evening, we went to Downtown Disney for dinner and a little site-seeing. I didn’t even know there was a Downtown Disney! In the middle of this complex, I was surprised to see a giant balloon that was giving rides in a large gondola. “Characters in Flight” rises to 400 feet in a helium balloon, carrying 30 guests at a time. The tethered ride takes about 10 minutes, with 5 at the very top. From the view at the top, you can see all four of Disney’s parks. This view was taken with my iPhone as we walked around after dinner.
April 13, 2013
Aviation, Florida, Museum Leave a comment
When you first enter the National Naval Aviation Museum, you approach a larger than life tribute to Naval Aviators. Captain Robert L. Rasmussen, USN (Ret.) and Director of the Museum conceived the design to salute five significant stages in its history, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm. Each airman is sculpted in flight equipment of their period.
Suspended above the aviators is the A-1 Triad, the Navy’s first aircraft and one of the earliest hydroaeroplanes.
March 25, 2013
Aviation, Florida, Museum 2 Comments
The Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds are a symbol of our military’s capability and can-do attitude. The Pensacola Naval Air Station is the home of the Blue Angels. At the National Naval Aviation Museum, you can learn more about the “Blue’s” and view previous versions of these great aircraft, as this one in Hanger Bay One.
Find out more about the P2V-1 Neptune, aka the Truculent Turtle hanging from behind here.
