As seen through the lens of my Fuji X-S20
This year I was lucky enough to visit the magical, majestic Disney Parks in So. Cal. In previous years I’ve brought along my Nikon D800, a GoPro Hero 9, and my Fuji X100V. The Fuji X-S20 was the perfect balance of photo quality, ease of travel, and handling. Here’s a sprinkling of the photos from the trip. I’ve included mostly night images to display the images a diffusion filter can create.
We stayed at the newly remodeled Disney hotel, previously called Paradise Pier Hotel, and now known as Pixar Place Hotel. Within walking distance of the parks, Pixar Place is a great option for sneaking back to the hotel for rest throughout the day. Our room window gave us a spectacular view of California Adventure. In the photo above, you can see Guardians of the Galaxy, Goofy’s Sky School, the San Fransokyo bridge, and, even in the distance, Ornament Valley, where Radiator Springs Racers is.
Our first steps into the park were in the evening, and we took the path through the Grand Californian Hotel and into California Adventure.
I was excited to try out a Black Mist Diffusion 1/4 filter on my 27mm lens. My photos have much more of a glowy effect than they would otherwise, and do more to capture that feeling of magic and wonder.
Given how crowded Disneyland and California Adventure are during the holidays, many of these photos were taken as we were walking along—no time to stop and take a picture with a steady hand! So I did have to play with the camera settings and try to account for movement.
I love the colored lights in the trees near Grizzly River Run.
This photo of the buildings by San Fransokyo Square was a lucky shot. We were walking at a pretty brisk speed to follow the flow of traffic and this picture is somehow in decently sharp.
One of my favorite photos from this trip is of this tower, nestled between Pacific Wharf, Paradise Pier, and Grizzly Peak areas and beautifully lit.
Here are a handful of other favorite photos from throughout our trip. The daytime photos were taken without the Black Mist filter.
Pixar Pier:
Carsland:
We love going on Luigi’s.
And over at the Disneyland side, Small World is absolutely magical. We happened to be there when they released snowfall, and it was the perfect memory.
Pro-tip: taking the monorail also offers an incredible view of Small World.
This last image was taken across from Soaring Over the World, and is my favorite from the trip. It had started to rain, and I just love the moody feel.
