Take alot of pictures & photography advice.
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I wish my parents would have taken more pictures while on vacation when I was a kid. They were not big picture takers unless it was Christmas or a birthday. I am left with only a very few pictures from when I was a kid at the various parks we went to. Even now I regret not getting all the pictures I wanted to even from trips I took just last year.
Here is what I have learned: While taking pictures of roller coasters, the picture is more interesting if a roller coaster train is in the picture. You'd be suprized at how many pictures I have or have seen of coasters that don't even have a coaster train in them.
I'd like to hear any other advice that anyone might have as far as park and coaster photography. I am still trying to learn to take good pictures.
Keep the sun to your back
I like to get lots of cross-overs in frame
Get a little bit of surroundings so you can relocate your point-of-view later
Always get park overview shots from the observation tower, if available
Later,
EV
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"Just remember, wherever you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Banzai
Here's some great advice, if you see someone taking a picture of a roller coaster, find a different spot. Too many pictures are taken from the same old places, try to find a different angle or time of day. If available use a tripod and a telephoto lens to get a shot from a different part of the park.
Night photography should also not be avoided, however don't use a flash. Long exposures can look really sweet.
Most important thing is to try something different than what you've already seen. Zoom in very close to an interesting part of track, take pictures of supports or bolts. Be creative and compose the picture well. A shot of a lift hill smack dab in the middle of the pic is boring, move it off to the side, get low, get up high, do something new. But most importantly, have fun.
Oh, in reference to the above post, DONT keep the sun at your back. Back lighting is great for coasters.
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LONG LIVE ARROW DYNAMICS!!
*** This post was edited by Revolutionary on 5/8/2002. ***
Revolutionary said:
"Oh, in reference to the above post, DONT keep the sun at your back. Back lighting is great for coasters."
IF you know how to do it right. I sure as heck don't!:)
Later,
EV
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"Just remember, wherever you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Banzai
I always think taking a camera into a park is a huge pain in the butt, but it's always worth it.
Personally, I prefer how the pictures look *without* a train on the track.
I agree though - seek out a different angle. You may look stupid lying on the ground for a low angle, but at least your picture will be unique.
Also, if you go to a park with a disposable camera or a cheap point-and-shoot, just know that everything will look much smaller when you get your shots back. It always disappoints me, but then again I use my pictures more to bring back memories than as works of art, so I'm not much concerned about quality. :)
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He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking; can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding.
I agree with some statements in previous posts.Look for a different angle, or what I like to call, a different perspective of the coaster. IE. Many people only take pictures of the front of the Raptor and never anywhere else. When I saw a pic from the back of it, I didn't recognize it at first. Quite a difference. Look around for the best shot, a shot which you believe can be seen in a different light. I like to take my EOS inside the queue lines and never even get on the ride. (No way am I gonna ride with it! WHEW!) Get people in the picture that are watching the action. You get more of a realism effect you might say. Photography is fun, but only when you work to get the shot. A point and shoot picture doesn't say much, but a thought out picture says everything.
Happy hunting!
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"Your love is like a roller coasta' baby baby..."
If love is like a rollercoaster, doesn't that mean you should be happy ALL of the time?
Shawn Bailes
110 Drumline
http://www.ohiou.edu/marching110/drumline
*** This post was edited by Coasterfreakbailes on 5/8/2002. ***
Too many photos are too complicated. Keep the composition simple, only including what you really want in the photo. Unless you are trying to show the chaos of the park.
Watch the edges
As you are looking through the camera, watch what is happening at the edges of the photo. Many times this will make or break the photo.
Get a good camera.
Good cameras take good photos. There are some exceptions but very few. A good camera will produce a picture that looks remarkably similar to what you really were seeing.
Take more
Did you ever notice that professional photographers take many shots of the same thing with just minor differences. This helps increase your chance of getting a great photo.
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"Looks like you've been missing quite a bit of work lately"
"Well, I wouldn't say I've been MISSING it, Bob."
2) Keep a log of what you've shot. Again, I've gotten a roll of film back and thought I took a picture of a ride, only to find out I hadn't.
3) Avoid dark, dreary days. My first batch of Kennywood pictures came out miserable, and many of the pictures were too dark.
4) Follow the train with your camera, especially if you're trying take a picture of someone with the train in the shot. If you don't do this, the train will either be late or early in the shot.
5) Take chances. I've stood on top of trash cans, uneven wood beams, and fences to get shots. Just makes sure whatever you're doing is legal, or just be damn careful.
6) Like someone said earlier, if you're using a disposable camera, don't take long shots. Something that may have looked close, may look 10 miles away on the print.
7) Watch out for the sun. Things get especially bad in the afternoon, especially when the sun is going down.
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The word "definitely" is definitely the most misspelled word on the buzz.
The nice thing about digital photography is that you're not constrained by the cost of film. The only negative is that you need a camera that does 3 megapixels or more to get really good quality prints. The real plus is that companies like Ofoto.com (a division of Kodak) print to real photographic paper now, which still holds up better than anything from your printer.
I just took the leap and ordered a Canon D60 to compliment my existing Canon lenses. After years with my ancient, all-manual Nikon F, then the last four or five years with my Canon Elan IIe, my only problem has been film consumption. At an average 8 rolls per outting, that gets expensive, so I can justify the cost.
Digital allows you to be creative, because if you screw up, you don't lose anything. With an SLR, you can start to experiment with depth of field, different lenses, time exposure, slight variations in exposure, etc. The biggest plus is immediate feedback. With film, unless you wrote down your camera settings, you never really knew what you did to get the image. Now you get to see what happened, and even have the camera data embedded in the image file. Here's hoping this gets people more creative and not more lazy.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"
It is the Olympus D-380. It is not too pricey at $200, but remember in addition to the camera you will need to buy a memory card and rechargeable batteries too.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_product_lobbypage.asp?l=1&p=16&bc=1&product=856
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"Looks like you've been missing quite a bit of work lately"
"Well, I wouldn't say I've been MISSING it, Bob."
A couple of other hints:
Be careful to expose for the coaster, not the sky. Take your exposure off some nearby patch of grass in the same light as the coaster . Too many coaster photo's come out as unintended shilouettes because the auto exposure exposed for the the bright sky.
Consider the use of a polarizing filter to reduce sky brightness.
Remember that auto focus cameras take time to focus and the coaster train will be somewhere else by the time they focus. Traveling at 40 miles per hour, the coaster will move 30 feet during a 1/2 second focusing. Prefocus so there is no delay.
Look at good coaster pictures and try to figure out how they were taken and why they are good.
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Coaster M and M
Ride On!
Your digital camera might be focussing but it also may be saving the previous photo you took. On my camera there is a blinking light that flashed after I take that lets me know the camera is saving the picture. The higher the resolution that is selected the longer it takes to save. I cant take anymore photos while this is happening - at the high rez it takes about 3 seconds.
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"Looks like you've been missing quite a bit of work lately"
"Well, I wouldn't say I've been MISSING it, Bob."
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"poojax to the people"
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"poojax to the people"
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"poojax to the people"
I am happy with my Samsung Digimax 200 2.1 MP that I purchased at Wal-Mart for $195. I also saw a $50 camera there that was 640 X 480 resolution if you want to go really cheap. I saw 3.1 MP with 2x lens zoom for about $350 and I kind of wish now that I would have spent the extra money. Oh well maybe someday.
Yes, my camera does take extra time to save after the picture. I was aware of that. The time elapsing after I pushed the button though was undoughtedly the focus and I have since learned more about this function on my digital camera, but thanks.
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