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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 know on the night setting (and according to the manual the fireworks setting, though I haven't used that one) the shutter speed is pretty slow. These are two hand held shots I took. Both of them I used the "Brace my elbows" method, but obviously there is a big difference!
Those aren't uncommon pics for that mode. I believe your camera has IS, make sure it is on and that will help.
You can also use light poles, garbage cans, fences, anything solid to set the camera against to assist in keeping it steady.
Handholding a camera below 1/125 takes concentration, steadyness, and lots of practice... I've been shooting for over 45 years and can usually hand hold to 1/15 second with my DSLR's, 1/30 second with the point and shoots we have... Practice, practice, practice...
<--- has a tripod. ^_^ I'm not that silly, and my hand is unsteady enough that normal lighting pictures come out blurry if I don't really concentrate, anyway.
Strangely enough, I think I know what caused that up-and-down blur. And I know not from photography ... but from rifle marksmanship.
When making a shot, especially at long range, you do best to hold your breath while acquiring the sight picture, and then firing the shot.
That's because as you breathe in, and then exhale, the angle of the rifle changes ever so slightly up, then down, and so on ... even though what you see, does not change at all. So ... you exhale completely, and hold there for a moment.
When hand-shooting with your camera, try that, and see if it works to improve things.
Ok, i have a fairly advanced point and shoot camera (Fuji Finepix S9000) and it has a full selection of manual modes that help with night shots but i usually go for the tried and true "sports" mode. No flash, fast shutter speed, no tri-pod. I hold up my camera and shoot. Not all of my pictures are "keepers" but i can get quite a few nice photos. Here are a few examples from May 2008:
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Last edited by wendybell; 09-30-2008 at 03:51 PM..
When making a shot, especially at long range, you do best to hold your breath while acquiring the sight picture, and then firing the shot.
That's because as you breathe in, and then exhale, the angle of the rifle changes ever so slightly up, then down, and so on ... even though what you see, does not change at all. So ... you exhale completely, and hold there for a moment.
When hand-shooting with your camera, try that, and see if it works to improve things.
This is one of the possible reasons, the other is that the camera was jarred up and down while pressing the shutter button. That is another of those items that cause slow shutter speed blur, like pulling the trigger on a rifle. Slow and steady works best, along with being able to remember to breath and hold...
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Ok, i have a fairly advanced point and shoot camera (Fuji Finepix S9000) and it has a full selection of manual modes that help with night shots but i usually go for the tried and true "sports" mode. No flash, fast shutter speed, no tri-pod. I hold up my camera and shoot. Not all of my pictures are "keepers" but i can get quite a few nice photos. Here are a few examples from May 2008:
Nice shots Wendy!!!
Jan has the Fuji S5200, and she loves it for those situations. She's recently been given an Olympus Stylus 1030SW (Shock and Waterproof) which she is still learning, but equally loves. She thinks Olympus made this camera for her, Shockproof (6.5' drop), Waterproof (to 130'), works to 14F, and can have 250 pounds set on it with no damage....
Jan has the Fuji S5200, and she loves it for those situations. She's recently been given an Olympus Stylus 1030SW (Shock and Waterproof) which she is still learning, but equally loves. She thinks Olympus made this camera for her, Shockproof (6.5' drop), Waterproof (to 130'), works to 14F, and can have 250 pounds set on it with no damage....
Thanks Bill... i feel like i just got an "A" from the teacher I really do love that camera!
The shock and waterproof (MOSTLY THE SHOCK!) is WHY I have the olympus! I tend to drop things! I LOVE that when it falls out of my hand (which it has!) I don't have to panic about it!
I'll have to try the breathe holding thing!! I'm going to look for a small lightweight tripod too and practice with it in Dec!
I'll have to try the breathe holding thing!! I'm going to look for a small lightweight tripod too and practice with it in Dec!
I've been eyeballing those "gorilla" mini-tripods, with the flexible arms, myself. They can apparently function not just as a table-standing tripod, but also as a clamp sort of thing, using a pole, tree, railing, or other conveniently-placed structure as a stable base for yoru camera.
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I really do love that camera!
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