I have a vague recollection, from my visits in 1978 and '80, that "Disney World" back then consisted of just the Magic Kingdom, and that the Magic Kingdom had an area within that was devoted to animals.
In the 40 years since then, Disney World has become a complex, adding Epcot Center, Hollywood Studios, the ESPN Wide World of Sports and, now, a separate Animal Kingdom.
The Animal Kingdom was our destination on our third day of the theme park tour of the Orlando area. Of course, I didn't recognize any of it this visit; it was all new. But there were some interesting opportunities for photo composition, as long as we weren't riding the safari tour bus. That's not to say anything critical of the tour experience; but the bus was almost always moving, and the roads were dirty -- and bumpy beyond a point you might imagine for a diligent photographer to depend on getting a large percentage of shots that weren't off-center or, at worst, blurry beyond salvaging.
I did manage to get a few shots on the tour, and I've included them in the gallery for this day. But the majority of images were taken elsewhere in the park. My favorite part was the etchings of animals into the bluff rock. There was some amazing work done there, and hopefully the pictures in this post reflect that. But if you click on the photo leading off the post, then enlarge it as much as you can without distorting detail, look close in the trunk of this iconic tree in the park; there are etchings of various members of the animal kingdom through the trunk and then more in the bluff rock to the right and left at the bottom of the tree, portions not visible in this image.
As always, to view a larger, sharper version of an image, simply click on it. To view a full gallery of images from my visit to Animal Kingdom, click on the link in this sentence.
Above: I'm not sure why I made a point to grab at least one photograph of each of the entrances to the parks we visited, but I did. Perhaps it's the "preserving a historical record" thing that I have. Anyway, that's what this photo is about. The image below is just a closeup of the elephant head in the middle of the above signage.
A significant portion of the first area you walk through after getting past the entrance is devoted to tropical landscape and vegetation. The photo above and the two below are from that area. Above and below: These guys, both winged creatures, are the first two members of the kingdom I came across in the park. In the same vicinity were the modest water falls above and the river overlook below. Above and below: Also nearby were these flamingoes. Here's where we get into those animal carvings, sculptures or whatever the proper term is for them. There are quite a few of them below this point, so enjoy the handiwork. Some of the works were in full sun; others were in full shade. I was appreciative that I shot each in triplicate to process them in high-dynamic range software to bring out the full details. An initial break from carvings: Another moment I was glad to have composed in triplicate for HDR processing was when I shot the waterfalls above and below from an opening on the other side of the cave. My shutter was pretty slow for both shots, but I tried to use the image giving me the best sharpness for my buck.
Above and next three below: More animal carvings before another break ... Above: A colorful vegetation interlude I came across while shooting the carvings, more of which appear in the next three images below. Yet another waterfall (above) followed below by three shots of the lily pond again. Above and next three below: I'm not sure how Disney people crafted this other-wordly looking objects melding into the bluffs and ground. You can see more of them in the full gallery. Above: Whaddya know? Another waterfall! Above and next four images below: A look at some of the outdoor "decor" in the park. More colorful vegetation (above) followed below by another other-worldy creature. Above and below: Because I guess one just cannot get enough tropical vegetation pictures. Above and next two below: Disney's Animal Kingdom doesn't have spontaneous parades like at the other theme parks, but they do have people dressed in Disney characters waving to crowds on walkways and bridge overpasses while they cruise past on a boat ride. Above and next three below: Some scenes from the primage pedestrian walkway. The picture above starts a series of shots I took on the safari tour (the one in a bus along the bumpy dirt road). I put my two favorites -- the rhino looking sortakinda right at me and the gorilla looking to its right -- at the end of the series. Above: A far less intimidating (and much more inanimate) profile of a couple of elephants. At a merchandising place (aka "store") along the route, the walls at the entrance were saturated with animal likenesses like the ones above and below. Above and next two below: Visitors can get up close to a handful of tame animals -- goats, pigs and the like -- in the petting zoo area. That's where these images were taken.
The signage tells it all (above) before wrapping up this post with a shot below of one more boat cruise-by involving staff dressed as Disney characters.
No comments:
Post a Comment