Nothing makes me feel more like being in a foreign place than having the ceiling being entirely composed of cloth fluttering in the breeze.

Well, I am pretty sure that is what the Disney Imagineers intended when they designed this place. This was an Arabian-style restaurant right in the middle of Disney World, which has to be one of the coolest places in the world for photography. One of the problems there, frankly, is that there is so much to see that it is simply overwhelming. I think, now that I have been there multiple times, you just have to force yourself to drink in the details slowly over time. Wouldn’t being a Disney Imagnieer be just about the coolest job in the world?

My other piece of advice for parents (although, may Disney veterans already know this), plan a nap into the day. There is just no other way to do it with kids. Do the morning and lunch in one place… then maybe one ride on the way back to the hotel for nap time. Get a nice 2-hour nap in, then head out to different park for the evening. It will decrease stress levels by a factor of pi, and, besides, we adults are the ones that really like the naps, right? It’s a vacation, after all.

Actually, maybe I should change that title to: “I think I’d like to always be in Disney World!”

They shoot off fireworks every night in the Magic Kingdom, and I feel bad if I miss it. I’m sure that’s a strange thing to feel bad about… To get everything in, I have to plan the days and nights like a neo-Clark Griswald to ensure the perfect storm of technology meets up with whatever spectacular events are happening that day. For this shot, I had got reservations three months in advance at the California Grill restaurant, which has a nice majestic view of the show as the restaurant empties out onto the roof of the Contemporary Resort.

There is not much of a viewing area up there, and there were a bunch of people around me while I tried to get my tripod in place. I could deal with the crowds and fleshy shouldering, but the one thing that always annoys me is people beside me with little cameras that use their flashes to take photos of something a mile away. Sometimes they see I have a big camera, and they turn to ask for advice. They ask, “Do you think my flash helps?” I am really a totally nice and approachable guy, but since this is one of the very few things that annoy me, I usually just give them a shameful negative nod of the head.

This doesn’t have anything to do with the shot, but I had some great sushi in that restaurant. It was made by a Japanese female sushi chef, and she is one of only three “official” sushi chefs in the world (or so the matri’d told me). The Japanese do not let women be sushi chefs normally, as their hands are too “weak”.

On one special night per week at Disney World, they have this pirates and princesses party. This last year, I took my son, who was totally into Pirates of the Caribbean at the time. He went in full regalia and ran around like a nut… it was great and he had a super time!

The fireworks show is over the top on this night, and they project all kinds of cool stuff on the “Cinderella Castle” (that’s what my daughter calls it as she screams it out every time I have to watch that infernal Tinkerbell DVD).

…and next Thursday night you are all invited to my little photography talk here in Austin. It’s free… I know its being put on by a Mac user group, but PC users are welcome too. I think I will be giving a little tutorial too! You can get a map, times and stuff, at this website.

These light sculptures are incredible to capture. I normally don’t like taking photos of “art”, and I rarely carry my camera around museums any more… I just feel strange taking a photo of something that is already a piece of art. I was explaining this to my mom a few weeks ago, and then she mentioned these shots from Palm Beach, which was a good example of where I go against my own rules. I think the asterisk here is that some pieces of art can be (and should be) captured to help the viewer evoke the same response that I did while I was there. I suppose you can say anything is art… lights, sculpture, architecture, and the like… And I shoot all of those things. Okay this is going too deep down a thread now, so I’ll just close it off by saying I don’t like taking photos of paintings on walls, but this kinda stuff seems fun and cool to me.

This first photo is a new one of this crazy-bizarre wall light. I don’t know what your Rorschach reaction to it might be… The other two photos are from the same restaurant there in The Breakers in Palm Beach. I didn’t eat in this restaurant… the first night I tried this other Italian restaurant that is part of the hotel called Mangia that had these bright yellow heirloom tomatoes with their caprese salad… they were the best tomatoes I had ever eaten… I had to go back the next night again since I couldn’t stand not tasting them again!

Edit: I found out these incredible sculptures are from an Israeli artist named Ayala Serfaty.

After spending a while watching burned out hippies cavalcade on Congress in various states of undress during First Night a few evenings ago, I was reminded of this photo at Disneyworld.  So, I went back to process it and see if it was as idyllic as I remembered.   This is Main Street with the assembled crowds, as everyone awaits the big fireworks show and Disney parade.

Haven’t your memories always been a little better than reality? That’s why reality kind of sucks sometimes (!) and it’s fun to escape into our mind’s eye. This is what I try to achieve through this medium. I also try to achieve it in real life, where it often fails in spectacularly sad ways.

But maybe our memories are better than we give ourselves credit for. Here I was in Disneyworld, as young as ever, and seeing this real place with these real colors and tones. I don’t paint over these photos…all these colors are really there, and they are the same ones that are mapped into your brain for all time. As you all know, I contend that many of us remember in HDR…

Anyway, I am piecing together a new version of my HDR Tutorial to be released some time around 2009. I’m thinking about how the process is evolving and moving forward, and I look forward to sharing it with you all soon!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spent mornings and evenings on the beach by myself. I think it’s quite alright, and I don’t entirely mind it at the time.

For me, it is even more strange, I think. Because I always have my camera with me, I suppose I’m not really alone because you are there too, along with the tens of thousands of others. We’re there at slightly different times, but still there together with the moment frozen. I’m not sure I can be good company to everyone at the same time, but there are always certain people with whom bare toes on the beach would be more than welcome.

I sat down on the curb on Main Street to watch the Disney parade come by. Normally, frankly, I don’t like parades. I am very easily bored, and I need to be extremely visually or mentally stimulated or else I just zone out… But the Disney parade was great… they throw everything at you, and then some. Once these ghostly dancers started moving down the street, I felt like I was in some kind of a dream sequence…

I’ve got a great selection of music ready to go… I rented out the ballroom here at The Breakers for the grand event. Be sure to bring a few of your favorite MP3s on a thumbdrive and we’ll get em into the rotation!