jardin de lumière

jardin de lumière

June 4, 2012. jardin de lumière. EPCOT. Walt Disney World. Near Orlando, FL.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 4 seconds. f/8. ISO 100. LR 2.

Unflinching

Unflinching 

June 2, 2012. Unflinching.

A banister stares straight ahead at Disney's EPCOT Italy Pavilion near Orlando, Florida.

My first entry into the Google+ #bokehtuesday hashtag.

 Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/125. f/2.8. ISO 100. LR 2.

It's Not Easy Being Green

It's Not Easy Being Green 

June 2, 2012. "It's Not Easy Being Green." Giant Kermit the Frog statue at Disney's Hollywood Studios near Orlando, Florida.

A Monday reminder in some difficult times of Kermit's greatest words of wisdom, as sung by the incomparable Sophie Milman:

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/2000. f/2.8. ISO 100. LR 2.

Teacups

Teacups 

June 3, 2012. Teacups.

One second nighttime exposure of a father and son watching the Mad Tea Party ride at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom near Orlando, Florida.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1 second. f/9. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Temptation (Pinocchio)

Temptation (Pinocchio) 

June 8, 2012. Temptation (Pinocchio). Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, near Orlando, Florida.


Jiminy Cricket: [to Pinocchio] Remember what I said about temptations?
[points to Honest John] ... That's him!
Pinocchio: Oh, no, Jiminy. That's Mr. Honest John.

A Google+ #MonochromeMonday post featuring the intersection of cartoon fantasy and reality that has defined Orlando since 1971.


Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Minnie

Minnie

June 1, 2012. Minnie. Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista (near Orlando), Florida.

In a world saturated with primary colors and pastels, a monochrome Minnie Mouse ties the rest of her kingdom back to its 1928 roots.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/2.8. ISO 400. LR 2.

9

9

June 3, 2012. "9."

Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. Waiting for car 9.

In my fourth decade of going here, I still find that I hope for a red car.

Red cars are the fastest.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/60. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Mirror Mirror - Color

Mirror Mirror - Color

June 1, 2012. Mirror Mirror - Color. Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista (near Orlando) Florida.

Color version of yesterday's Monochrome Monday post of Cinderella's Castle, taken from the bridge at Frontierland.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/4. f/2.8. ISO 400. LR 2.

Mirror Mirror - Monochrome

Mirror Mirror - Monochrome

June 1, 2012. Mirror Mirror - Monochrome. Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Lake Buena Vista (near Orlando) Florida.

For #MonochromeMonday on Google+, a shot of Cinderella's Castle reflected in the waters from the Frontierland bridge, shot at 1/4 second handheld, using the bridge to help stabilize the shot.

Check back tomorrow to see the color version!

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/4. f/2.8. ISO 400. LR 2.

Crisco Fan

Crisco Fan

April 29, 2012. Crisco Fan. Celebration, Florida.

It's actually not that she's a Crisco fan. It's more that she's a fan of the luscious pies made possible by Crisco.

You see, this shot was taken during the Great American Pie Festival (yes, there is such a thing) in Celebration, Florida. For a few dollars, you can get all-you-can-eat pie during the festival. For irony's value, in an ideal world it would be followed by the Type-2 Diabetes Festival with all-you-can-prick blood glucose meter strips.

What is Celebration, Florida, you ask?

It's a "master planned community" south of Orlando that was originally developed by the Walt Disney Company. For some, it is an ideal modern American community. To me, it's a fake monstrosity of people who wanted to live in Main Street, USA and kind of reminiscent of the scary community where "The Truman Show" was set. Or maybe the community where Indiana Jones survived the nuclear explosion in a refrigerator.

It's not that Celebration isn't aesthetically pleasing, because it is. It's cute. It's just fake. I guess pretty fake is better than ugly fake, but it's still fake.

It's kind of like a Chia Pet. It's kind of natural. But it's also kind of ridiculously fake and disturbing at the same time.

Still, nothing says middle America stuck in a southeastern peninsula setting filled with retired New Yorkers than a Mayberryesque town at capacity with people gorging themselves on cheap cherry pie.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/250. f/11. ISO 400. LR 2.

Strings Attached

Strings Attached

April 29, 2012. Strings Attached. Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

In Orlando perhaps more than any other city, cartoons share with us the three dimensional space of reality.

In the real world, even cartoons are subject to the laws of physics.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/125. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Bronze Statue

A Portrait of the Artist as a Bronze Statue

April 30, 2012. A Portrait of the Artist as a Bronze Statue.

A bronze statue of James Joyce sitting on a bench patiently meditates outside Raglan Road at Downtown Disney near Orlando, Florida.

I'd also like to add a brief word about stylistic influences. Included among those for me is Mr. James Joyce.

It isn't Finnegan's Wake, Ulysses, or A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man that resonates with me. For me, it's Dubliners. Published in 1914, it's a poignantly human collection of short stories depicting middle class nobodies encountering their personal turning points in life.

These are the written snapshots of decisive moments predating Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau. After all, what is street photography but the portrayal of the sometimes unvarnished, gritty, and natural moments of modern existence that precipitate epiphany?

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/1000. f/2.8. ISO 100. LR 2.

Deadmau5 Invasion

Deadmau5 Invasion

April 30, 2012. Deadmau5 Invasion.

Downtown Disney. Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/500. f/3.5. ISO 400. LR 2.

Carousel

Carousel

April 29, 2012. Carousel. Downtown Disney.

Children become knights and princesses for a few instants one evening at Downtown Disney.

Shooting Tip: the Leica X1 has an unusably slow auto focus, particularly in low light. The Fujifilm X-100 and X-Pro1 are known for the same difficulty. This shot was taken by manually focusing on the outside rim of the carousel at about the same distance as the midpoint of the shot would be.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/125. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Peanuts and Cracker Jack

Peanuts and Cracker Jack

May 15, 2007. Peanuts and Cracker Jack.

I'm still catching up from the 2012 International CES in Las Vegas, so I decided to do a quick look for old shots in my library that captured something special about Orlando.

I've also been missing baseball terribly. Watching non-Florida NFL teams and basketball does nothing for me.

That's when I came across this May 15, 2007 shot taken at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports, right before the first Major League Baseball game ever played in Orlando.

The Tampa Bay Rays (still the Devil Rays back then) won the game and went on to sweep the three game series against the Texas Rangers.

The seats that my wife, father, and I had for this game were extra special. They were in the same section from which my wife and I used to watch the Minor League AA Orlando Rays play on our weekly dates when we first got married.

So this photo goes up, looking forward to the upcoming Rays season, and looking forward to the return of baseball to Orlando someday.

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS. 1/100. f/4.0. LR 2.