Good day all. ; Been away for quite some time tied up with work. ; Less than 30 days to go until I am finally home again(in Disney). ; Unfortunately my schedule over the whole summer has pretty much brought an end to my picture taking ; Last weekend I finally got a day at Wonderland only to find that I had forgotten a great deal of the craft that is. ; By the end of the day I had remembered much, but not all. This Sunday coming up I am getting my first chance ever to take fireworks photos in prep for my Disney trip, and knowing how out of shape I am, I would greatly appreciate any last minute tips you can all pass on to me prior to Sunday. ; I will be stopping by a camera store to pick up a ND filter on my way up to the park as well so you suggestions as to which ND filter I should get would also be great. Using the NEX 6 w/tripod & remote shutter release. ; Kit pancake lens + whatever ND filter you all recommend. Thanks, Jay
I would get at least a 4 stop filter. Maybe 8 stop, a camera store locally probably won't carry a large range of them. I would look at a larger one (I have a 77mm) but if you are never planning on getting a larger lens a 52/58 mm one will work. But getting one to fit the kit lens is going to be difficult but a step up ring would be cheaper. So you can get a step up ring from the kit (40.5 if I remember) to the size of your filter.
The best advice that I can give you is to practice your set ups for dark rides, fire works HDR photography, etc, and make little flow sheet cards for each shooting situation so you don't forget to set, say, the camera's ISO. Disney is the capital of Attention Deficit Shooting Disorder, where you are constantly interrupted and distracted and you make little camera setting mistakes that hamstring your efforts. Having those cards leading you down a check list really helps to speed up the process and prevent a lot of mistakes. People like to laugh but you will find yourself stumbling off of a dark ride into a sun lit court and "LOOK! There's Jack Sparrow and he's coming my way!!! Click, click click at ISO 12,800.... wah wah....... At Disney you have to be mentally disciplined to keep the camera settings in the forefront of your mind because you can move from one shooting situation to the next with the greatest of speed. Some shooting situations to prepare cards for: Fireworks dark rides stage shows landscape photography night photography HDR photography setting your camera to bracket shots setting up to controls on your remote release Even though intellectually you KNOW what these settings should be in your head, using the cards forces you to double check your settings anyway... and that' how you find more of your Disney Camera Settings Attention Deficit Shooting Disorder mistakes. Also bring a flash light. I have spent to many hours as Hellen Keller fumbling around in the dark trying to set my camera controls and tripod. Take it from me... don't be a "Helen"! Bring the light!! ~Joanie
As noted, an ND filter is not a requirement. Here's a post on shooting Disney fireworks without an ND Filter: Photographing a Disney Fireworks Show This post is about using an ND filter for fireworks: Introducing the Neutral Density Filter ND filters are great for daytime use on moving subjects, too.
