As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I have been experimenting with trying to shoot fireworks in hopes of figuring it out before our Sept Disney trip, I really want to try to get some shots during Wishes. So far I am not having much luck. I shoot in the aperature mode and have also tried in shutter mode but just can't seem to find the right settings. I am using a Canon Ti1. If someone else who has been able to shoot fireworks can share their settings with me I would really appreciate it. They can be from any mode.
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I would go with the full manual mode. First set ISO to 400. Then start with a 1 sec. shutter speed and f5.6 aperture. See how that turns out. If its too dark set your ISO up to 600 (if possible) or 800 and/or set your shutter speed for a longer period of time. You may have to adjust even more but that is part of the fun and challenge of getting a great picture.
I tend to set the camera in Shutter priority, set the shutter to 1/30 sec. I can handhold my camera that slow with no difficulties. If you have difficulties holding the camera still at that speed, then use a tripod, monopod, garbage can or other support structure. I let the camera set the aperture, or you can set it to the widest (lowest number) setting. I set the ISO to 400, focus to manual, and shoot away.
Shooting like this will not give you long light trails, if that's what you are looking for, then I would concur with MichaelF.
As you start taking the pictures, always look at your display after you shoot to get an idea if you need to make adjustments to settings.
I tend to set the camera in Shutter priority, set the shutter to 1/30 sec. I can handhold my camera that slow with no difficulties. If you have difficulties holding the camera still at that speed, then use a tripod, monopod, garbage can or other support structure. I let the camera set the aperture, or you can set it to the widest (lowest number) setting. I set the ISO to 400, focus to manual, and shoot away.
Shooting like this will not give you long light trails, if that's what you are looking for, then I would concur with MichaelF.
As you start taking the pictures, always look at your display after you shoot to get an idea if you need to make adjustments to settings.
I shoot fireworks the same way Bill does, except that I tend to use a bit slower shutter speed like 1/20sec or 1/15sec, and crank up the ISO. On fireworks shots, with the sky black and the shells bright, the higher grain and digital noise that higher ISO can cause are less noticeable, so I can get more usable shots. Still, only about 1 out of every 3 is really usable, and maybe 1 out of 20 is a really good shot.
When shooting like this, you need to be aware of your stance and your breathing, much like when shooting a firearm or a bow. Little vibrations can throw a tremor into the lens, which will cause a blur in the shot. Bracing the camera can help, so I have often braced against a light post or pillar. And if you can find a trash can with a good view, and can use a mini tripod, so much the better.
In the 10 years I've been shooting SLR cameras, however, I have never taken a full-size tripod into the park with me for fireworks or holiday lights, and I really want to. I have a nice new tripod this year, along with a new camera and a new walkaround lens, so I may just get around to getting tripod fireworks shots on this year's WDW trip.
I usually go full manual and manual focus with my aperture at the "sweet spot" for the lens I'm using and the shutter speed to bulb. I then use my remote and hold as long as I need to. I've also been reading about using a circular polarizer too. It's supposed to reduce the haze from the moisture in the air.
I am using a tripod and have set the focus to manual and leave it set once I get what looks like a good focus. Right now I seem to be fighting the camera. I'll set a shutter speed and aperature but the camera tries to override it. I am sure it's something I'm doing, I just need to figure out what it is. I have also been trying to shoot fireworks with no real reference point (like a castle ). I think I might be able to try to shoot with a reference point at the local theme park (Kings Island) this weekend. Since I am hoping to shoot Wishes I want some practice having a lit structure in front of the fireworks.
I have a Canon 50d and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to shoot fireworks before we left for WDW.
I ended up shooting both Summer Nights and Illuminations in Auto mode, on just the Flash Off setting. I got some great shots after playing around for a while.
If I knew how to post photos, I would!
I have a Canon 50d and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to shoot fireworks before we left for WDW.
I ended up shooting both Summer Nights and Illuminations in Auto mode, on just the Flash Off setting. I got some great shots after playing around for a while.
If I knew how to post photos, I would!
You have a nice camera there Teresa. Check out the operators manual to see the features of the other modes. They are very easy to set with a little practice.
STEP ONE: resize your picture!
The PP forum has a rule regarding picture size: no more than 640x480 if it's posted "in-line" in your post.
You can use IrfanView (a free download - you can find it through Google) to resize/resample your pictures pretty easily.
STEP TWO: put your picture online.
You'll need to host your picture online. There are several free places to do this; I recommend PhotoBucket, as it has a nice, easy to use interface.
STEP THREE: adding your picture to a post.
Copy the URL of your picture, from wherever you uploaded it. (Each picture gets it's own URL.) In the edit bar at teh top of where you're writing your post, is a button that looks like a sun or moon, over two mountains. Click that, paste the URL there, and click "Okay".
Well, I went to the local theme park to try out some of the tips and to my disappointment discovered that their nighlt firewaorks show has lost alot of what itr used to be. The fireworks were low and it was hard to find a spot where I could get a view that wasn't partially plocked by trees, building, etc. I remember when they used to shoot the fireworks high and it was easy to get great views with the tower in the foreground.
Guess I'll have to wait for Disney before I can really experiment. At least we will be staying at BLT so I should be able to get a couple of tries and one night the park will be open until 1am so I'll get lots of time for some night shots through-out the MK. The one good thing I discovered while setting the camera up was I found out I was mis-reading my shutter speeds. I now have a (I think) good setting with a descent shutter speed and good depth of field.
Thanks for the tips and hopefully I'll have some good shots to post after our Sept trip.
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). I think I might be able to try to shoot with a reference point at the local theme park (Kings Island) this weekend. Since I am hoping to shoot Wishes I want some practice having a lit structure in front of the fireworks.
Linear Mode
