The Last Light of the Day at Epcot

The sun set as we were waiting to eat on our first full day at Epcot this past year. I saw this cool tower with an amber light, and I pulled out my phone to make an Instagram of it. I realized how much I liked the way the colors were playing together here so I made another photo with my dSLR as well. I don’t know if this is the best travel picture in the world, but it is one that I really liked when I saw it in person. One thing that I liked about Epcot was that with the right angles you could make a lot of photos that looked like they were made in different parts of the world. With two young kids world travel is not really an option right now. Through the magic of Epcot I can pretend for a few hours. By the way if you are wondering where we ate that night it was the Biergarten restaurant in Germany. It was a great meal, and a great time for everyone involved at our table. I would highly recommend it.

My Favorite Camera and Lens Combo on Vacation

When I am just walking around on vacation I d0n’t think that you can beat the Canon 5D Mark III and the Canon 24-105mm lens. They really are what is on my camera most of the time when I am on vacation. The 24-105mm lens on the full frame body really gives me a lot to work with. I can get wide if I need to, or zoom in for those moments where I want to be closer. The photo above was made at about 80mm. At a place like Epcot you want some wide sweeping shots, but you also want to get in tight to capture the details as well. With two kids I can’t really carry what they need and a camera bag so I just need one combo to have on my shoulder all day. This is that combo.

Spending New Year’s Eve With Gaston at Walt Disney World

This past New Year’s Eve we watched the early New Year’s firework show from Gaston’s Tavern in Fantasyland. It was a great show to watch which is what I did for most of it. A couple of times though I broke out the camera to make a couple of photos. Here I liked the way that the crowd was barely illuminated by the streetlights as was the statue of Gaston. I waited for the right pattern to make this shot. I am usually not a fan of fireworks photos made without a tripod. I want my shutter open for a longer period of time. The fireworks here were good enough though that I like this image.

A Huge Website Update

When I created my Squarespace site I did not have a clear vision of what I wanted on it. What I ended up with was a large gallery of sports images that were just too many. I came up with an idea to break it up into how I see an event to clear things up a little. I still have my action section that I can send out to potential clients. I also added a few categories that allow me to tell more of the story of gameday. The website is really always changing. So head on over and check out what I have done over there. You can click here to see it. Let me know what you think in the comments, or send me a message through the site.

Touring Canada at Epcot

This past December I made my first trip to Epcot in over twenty years. As a photographer I loved the different architecture and the different photos that I was able to make just by walking around the lake. As the light starts to even out the park takes on a different look. Everything starts to look a little better. As much as I could with two kids I tried to be somewhere different during this time every night. Here I loved the look of this path leading up to a castle like building with the Canadian Rockies to the right. If you want to visit a few countries without breaking the bank (too much) then Epcot is for you. I really had a great time, and so far it is my favorite park of those that we have visited.

Thinking Warm Thoughts

This past December the weather down in Florida was amazing. The warm sun felt good, and I was not quite ready to come back home when we boarded our plane. Here we are entering the second week of April, and the snow is still falling. It is not sticking, but I have seen it too much already this month. I thought that with this post I would take myself back to the warm days of December. As the spring sports start to heat up a little warm weather here would be really nice. It makes it a better experience for all involved. I saw too many photos of snow at Opening Day for some minor league teams yesterday.

Visiting France at Epcot

One of my favorite places that I visited last year was Epcot in Florida. For someone who likes to make travel photos, but does not have the time to do it right now it allowed me to tour the world in a few hours. I was able to make photos of all kinds of landmarks from many countries without leaving my own. At some point it would be great to actually travel abroad, but with the current schedule Epcot was great. Over the course of a few days I was able to ‘visit’ many countries. The first time that I visited Epcot I was about 12, and I was not impressed. I wanted more. Now that I have matured a little it is my favorite Disney resort. I have yet to visit France, but thanks to Epcot I was able to act like I did for a little while.

Waiting For The Right Lens

I actually walked by the scene a few times during my vacation. For most of the trip I was using my 24-105mm lens on my full frame body. I knew that I wanted to wait until I brought my 17-40mm lens into the park to make this photo. I wanted to show the scene with this view. With the 24mm lens I did not have the look that I wanted. I wanted an extreme wide angle view here. In fact the 17mm might not have been wide enough.

Having Fun at Epcot

While waiting in line for the Spaceship Earth ride I had some fun making some images of the iconic orb that greets you as you enter Epcot. When most people think of Epcot this is the image that appears in your mind. I had some fun making images from all around the iconic structure. I cut it in half as I did here. I shot it up close to see the geometry involved. I made the wide shot a few times that everyone does, and I also made pictures from inside of the orb. The fun part about Disney is the fact that you are on vacation so why not try some new things? I tried to show the many sides of this structure. I also made sure that it showed up in a lot of my backgrounds over the course of the week. Sometimes it was very small back there, but it was there. I little symbol to let you know exactly where you are.

Photos of the Week

This week I have once again compiled my favorite shots from the week into an Exposure page.  You can find that page here. This is a fun way to see some of my favorite work from the past week. This week I had three shoots that are private, and won’t be in the photos of the week. Even without those three I am still happy with my take. Next week will have a lot of baseball in it. I will be shooting 15 games over the course of four days for the MVC Conference Tournament. I have no idea what will happen over that four days, but I am sure the emotions will be running high. It should be a good week to shoot.

Seeing Michelangelo Paint in Person

Part of the fun of the Spaceship Earth ride at Epcot was seeing Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. More specifically he is painting the section of the ceiling called The Creation of Adam. This is one of the most famous pieces of art ever created. It has been copied or spoofed more times than this simple photographer can count. It was neat to see the famous work being created again for our pleasure. This is one of those photos from vacation that I may be the only one that likes or cares about it, but it is one of my favorites from our trip to Disney.

Check Out My Website

This month has been a great month for adding content to my portfolio. The nature of playoff baseball is that the games are very emotional. The win or go home mentality of the playoffs adds a level of tension that makes for good photos. This has been a good month, and the website looks a little different now. You can check it out at www.davewegielphoto.com.

Catching an Impromptu Concert at Epcot

If you have followed this blog for long then you know that I love concert photography. That style really heavily influences how I make a lot of my photos. I have found that shooting concerts is the hardest part of photography for me to crack. I was very lucky with some breaks that made shooting sports much easier than it should have been. Concert photography is full of rules about ‘professional’ cameras in venues that prevent you from getting some shots from your seat. With that in mind when I saw this show starting at Epcot I made a point to make a photo of it. I found a spot where I liked the foreground and background and let the singers move into it. Here they all seemed to be just right.

Being Away From Home

Last month I think that I was away from home more than I was there. That might be a first for me and my photography. I go on many day trips, but this was many extended days away from my house. This month starts off just as busy as last month, but most of the jobs are in West Lafayette. That is a good thing. I love what I do, and I love the experiences that I have been able to have this year. As Dorothy said though there is no place like home.

The Great Movie Ride at MGM Studios

I made the photo above during the Great Movie Ride at MGM Studios in Orlando. I love movies, and this ride is a great way to relive many great movies all in a short time span. They really spend some time with The Wizard of Oz. I liked this little scene as it nearly looks like I am on set with the actors. I thought it was the perfect picture for today. One of these days I will get around to making the post with my pictures from the ride.

Walking Through Epcot at Night

I enjoyed walking through Epcot when we were there last December. I really enjoyed walking through Epcot at night. The park is really beautiful when the lights come on. Here I found a view that I really liked looking back at Spaceship Earth from across the lake. I wish that I had longer glass with me, but the 24-15mm lens was all that I had. I would have liked to have had my 400mm right then to just get the palm trees silhouetted against Spaceship Earth. I wouldn’t want to lug that 400mm all day long though so the 24-105mm gets the job done here. The colors at night make for a good show.

Walking Around With the 24-105mm

I have really come to use my Canon 24-105mm lens for a lot of what I do. It is an f/4 lens, but with the Canon 1DX I can get away with that at most places that I shoot. The range that the 24-105 gives me is hard to beat. When you are on vacation at a place like Epcot with your kids you can’t really have your big bag of lenses with you. You have to pick one to take for the day. The 24-105 really seems like cheating when I take it. This was my first trip with the lens, and I knew I liked it right away. I bought it just to use on vacations, but it has ended up taking a spot in my everyday bag as well.

The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

One item that I wanted to cross off of my list was to go on The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios. I love movies, and on the ride they take you through many of the greatest movies ever made. Movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, Singin’ in the Rain, Mary Poppins, A Fistful of Dollars, and the Wizard of Oz are featured on the ride. It is really cool to see what appears to be the movies being made as you go through the ride. You can watch the ride online using something like YouTube if you want. There are plenty of people who have gone through it and posted videos of it. Nothing beats seeing it in person though.

Shooting in the Near Dark

I really wanted to make some photos of this ride. The problem with that is that the light was constantly changing, and always on the low side. Rarely did I have too much light to work with. I was always shooting in the near dark to make my images. If you want to improve your photography then get out of the good light and go somewhere with very bad light. If you can come up with good images there, then you you can make good images nearly anywhere. I don’t often shoot at ISO 10,000, but that was what was needed to get anything even remotely usable here. Sometimes on a trip like one to Disney the pictures seem to come very easily. I love it when a big challenge pops up.

More Photos From the Great Movie Ride

Below are a few extra photos from the Great Movie Ride. I had fun making the images as well as editing them. This is one ride that I would do again if the opportunity presented itself.

The Magic Kingdom at Night

One of the amazing things about the Magic Kingdom at night is how nothing ever really looks the same. The castle seems to be constantly changing colors. That is a problem for a photographer as you constantly want to be making pictures of the castle. The good news is that in walking around the castle I was able to make many photos that look very different from the ones that I had just made. It is a good problem to have I guess. I kept trying to find locations to make photos of the castle that had something else interesting in it. Here I like the reflection of the small pond in the foreground. I would love to have some time around the castle with a monopod at night, but you are usually fighting the fireworks crowd when the light is the best for making photos.

The Week In Photos

This week once again I have compiled some of my favorite photos from the past week into one Exposure post. If you click here you can see some of the fun that I had last week. This week will include a whole lot of baseball, and that is okay. Baseball season for me is winding down. This coming week will probably be the last baseball that I shoot until next year as the schedule starts to fill up with fall sports.

Photographing a Fire Dancer

On our last night in Disney this past winter we went to a luau to celebrate the trip. Part of the fun for me was the fact that I was going to get to photograph a fire dancer. Of course by the time he came out to dance my daughter had fallen asleep in my arms. I still managed to make a few good photos of him with one hand while he had his fun. In low light I usually want both hands on the camera to steady it, but here I had to make due with what I had available. Not photographing the whole show also allowed me to enjoy it as well which is what you should do on vacation.

The New Canon 5D Mark IV

Late last night Canon announced their new camera in the 5D series. The 5D Mark IV sounds very impressive from what I have read so far. It is a long time coming, but much needed for myself. My copy of my 5D Mark III which made the photo above has seen better days. It has been dropped, cracked, and is ready to move out of my rotation. I was not going to do that though until the IV came out. Now it sounds like it will ship during the second week of September so maybe my 5DIII can finally get some rest. I really have made many pictures with has lasted me three years. At one time it was my only camera that I would use for jobs. It is still my vacation workhorse camera. The next time I go on vacation I may have a new camera at my side. Are you excited for the new 5D Mark IV?

Look Around You to Find Beauty

While walking around at Epcot you have so many things to look at. You have all of the different flavors that make each country what they are. As you walk around with two kids it becomes increasingly harder to take everything in. As we walked into a Chinese temple though the first thing I did was look up. The walls seemed to lead you to the ceiling, and I was very impressed with what I saw. While the little ones were getting their passports stamped I made the photo that you see above. I love the way that the folks at Disney pay attention to every last detail in their work. This was an amazing site that no camera would do justice to. Many times I am blessed with a great photo when I just look up. This was just one of those times.

A Busy Weekend

Speaking of looking up, this weekend will be a good one for me. Over the course of the next two days I have five volleyball matches scheduled in two states. I knew about two of the matches last weekend so that is why I brushed up on my volleyball last Saturday. Three matches kind of fell into my lap this past week. I have come to really enjoy photographing volleyball so this will be a fun weekend. I will have some posts over the next few days showing some of my photos from each match. The college season officially starts for me this weekend, and it starts with a bang. That is what we want to see.

A Miracle Born Three Years Ago

Three years ago today my daughter was born. You never really know how you are going to react until the moment comes. From square one holding my daughter I knew that thins had changed dramatically. My life would take a turn in a new direction, but it would be a great direction. This has been a great three years. It really does not seem like three years looking back on it. It is fun to think of just how much things have changed in that time. My photography career started its current trajectory right around the time that Lanie was born. I had my first real success just before her birth. Since then I have had a good run, and started to find some success there. That is all really good, but nothing compares to the success that I have achieved with Lanie. Some of my favorite photos that I make involve her. It really is amazing just how much one person can change your life.

My Best Picture

Of course I had a camera that I took into the delivery room. At the time I had a little Nikon point and shoot. As the nurses were checking out my little girl I made the photo above. I was not really thinking as I made the photo, but I did some really good things here. Just the nature of the photo will make it my favorite photo that I have ever made. No matter what I do, and what I photograph from here on out this will be the photo that I look to as being my favorite. A moment in time that forever changed my life.

Rapunzel’s Tower At The Magic Kingdom

While walking around at Disney I would be engaged with my family, and then suddenly like the dog in the movie Up get distracted. There would be an interesting object that I would want to photograph. I will say that over the course of the last nearly five years I have become much more familiar with the Disney Princess family. I know enough to immediately notice that this is Rapunzel’s Tower on the other side of the rocks. I liked the terrain around it, and knew that it could be an interesting picture.

The Week In Photos

This past week was a fun week to make photos. On the sports side I had Purdue volleyball opening up Big Ten play, and then playing Indiana in Mackey Arena for the Monon Spike. Both matches were fun to cover with a lot of emotion to go around. Saturday morning I was back in Ross Ade Stadium for the first time to see the Boilermaker football team play. They put on a great show, and showed a little toughness in a come from behind win over Nevada. On a personal note my daughter turned three, and that provided me with a few great moments to capture as well. It was a fun week that you can relive by clicking here.

A Very Happy Birthday

Today is my wife’s birthday. Having a birthday four days after our daughter means that she probably doesn’t get the treatment that she should. Meeting her was one of the best things that ever happened to me though. The career change that I have chosen would probably not have happened without the gentle push that she gave me. At one point during the course of this blog she may have been the only one reading it. Every weekday my post goes out at 9:27 as a little nod to her everyday. So if you are reading this during your lunch hour I just want to say Happy Birthday. I will try not to burn dinner for you tonight.

The Large Christmas Tree at Epcot

While walking through Epcot last year you couldn’t help but notice the Christmas decorations all around. They really do a great job in making everyone feel good for the season. We were there just after Christmas, but this was a great way to extend the holiday a little longer. I love the season of Christmas so why not? This scene was everything that you can imagine that it would be at Epcot. A grand Christmas tree with ornaments from all over the world on it greeted you as you started your mini tour around the world. Christmas is a busy time to visit Disney World, but I really enjoyed my time at Epcot last year.

A Grand Adventure

Last year at this time we were preparing for something that I don’t even think that we were prepared for. We had fourteen family members join us at Disney for our trip. It took a lot of planning, waiting for reservations to become available, and then jumping on what we needed. In the end we got it done, and somehow pulled the trip off. It was a great way for everyone to be together during the holidays. It is the busiest time of year at the Disney resorts, and we did our best to help the numbers out last year. Our next trip down there might be a bit smaller though.

Epcot Decorated For the Christmas Holiday

Just like with yesterdays photo I have another one showing an seasonal element at Epcot with Spaceship Earth in the background.  This time it is a shrubbery decorated like Mickey Claus. During the trip I kept trying to keep Spaceship Earth in my photos, but often far in the background. You could guess where you are by the mouse ears, but the globe gives it away to you. This is a small trick that I try and employ in my travel photos when I can.

In the Holiday Spirit

As the holiday draws nearer I am getting more and more excited for what that means. I love giving my family and friends the presents that I have bought them. I usually have to be stopped from giving the presents to them early. This year is no different. This is a fun time to go around singing Christmas carols and after the year that we have had I think that we deserve a little time to forget about our differences and get together for the holidays.

Watching the Fire Dancer at a Luau

One year ago today we were celebrating my father in law’s birthday at a luau at the Disney Polynesian resort in Orlando. When we first went to Disney last year I was very skeptical of the whole thing. I know that it is a tourist trap, and I was not that excited for myself. By the time we left in June we were already planning this huge family trip in December. Disney can really get to you quickly. The Spirit of Aloha dinner was a great way to end our second trip to the Magic Kingdom a year ago. The food was great (I probably bring this up once a week still), and the show was very entertaining. A few of our party even ended up on stage as part of the show. The fire dancer near the end though was really fun to watch. I don’t think that we planned it this way, but the luau was perfect for the last night.

Making Photos on the Family Vacation

While I am with the family on vacation I have to constantly keep telling myself that it is not about the photos. If you cannot tell by this blog, I am obsessed with photography. When I am not doing it for work I am doing it for pleasure. It is both a job and a hobby. At some point I think that I will become tired of it all, but right now that is not even close to happening. While at the luau I made some photos of the family members that were called up to dance during the parts of the show, but otherwise kept my camera down. The food was too good to worry about photos! When the fire dancer came out though I was suddenly very interesting in making some photos. The one problem was that my daughter who was two at the time was passed out in my arms. Luckily she was on my left side so I still could have my right arm free to make photos. I was really pushing myself making longer exposure with one hand for extended periods of time. The arm gets tired, and the camera does not stay so steady. Holding at 5D Mark III with the battery grip and a 24-105mm lens on it can get tiring after a while. I kept at it though as the results were pretty fun. The photo above was made at 1/8th of a second. I wanted the fire to really move a little in my frame. I knew that the dancer would have some motion blur, but that is part of the show. My real focus was on the fire. This was one of my favorite frames from that dinner.

The End of a Good Year

If you haven’t been able to tell by some of my year end posts I really had an eventful 2016. It was a good year that saw my photography reach new heights. I feel like I came a long way with my ability, and I also forged some new relationships that will carry on into the future. This was such a good year that I really don’t want it to end, but I remember thinking the same thing last year. The goal is to get out and make the best images that I can. Each year that bar for what I think is a good image seems to get raised which is a good thing. I have weird goals for my photography. I don’t really seek fame with it. I just want to make good images. This year I have been able to do that so that makes me very happy.

Visiting the World Through Epcot

I have only left the country once in my life, and that was a quick trip to Canada when I was so young I barely remember anything about the trip. My two biggest memories are playing Mad Libs, and getting a deformed cup that said “I got smashed in Canada.” One great thing about visiting Epcot is that you can visit many countries in one day. Looking through travel photos after the trip I find myself saying things like “I’ve been there” only to realize that I saw the copy at Disney and not the real thing. It is neat to get the chance to explore a bit while just traveling to Florida. With that said I would love to see many of the copied items in person.

Waiting in Line

I made the photo above while waiting in line. The girls were getting henna tattoos, and in order to get to see Aladdin and Jasmine someone had to wait in line. I spent over an hour with this as my view. In all reality this is not a bad view, but I am not a person that likes lines. When you see how much fun your kids have with the characters though a little line time never hurt anyone. In that line I was also able to take in this scene, and make a photo of it. Had I not been in line I probably would have been fascinated with the fake camel with the fez on its head, and just walked right by this scene.

Having More Fun in Germany at Epcot

One of the best places to have fun at Epcot is Germany. It is a great place, and we spent some time there during our trip last year. We took two trips in the same year, but Disney is big enough that it didn’t seem like we were seeing the same things over and over. On our first night in Epcot we had a reservation for Biergarten. Of course with a reservation we showed up a few minutes before the time, and then we were put into a line. I normally hate these types of situations, but at Disney it is a chance to explore a bit. I actually made this photo coming back from exploring. Looking up I knew that the blue sky would look great. I originally thought this was a great candidate for an HDR image, but as I was editing it I changed my mind. The details really don’t matter here. I like it more that you are left with a curiosity about what it is.

Evolving Your Art

This was a photo that I would never had made early on in my photography. I would have let the camera meter the scene at first, and of course that would have been something that would not have been up to me. Later I would have done a terrible HDR to this scene with little to no contrast in the scene. Now I have gotten to a place where it is fun to play with light. I try and use it as much as possible to show something different than I saw earlier in the day. This is a shot that you can only get once a day in the park. Why not use the light that you are given?