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This image was taken from just outside the gate at the 'International Gateway' entrance to the EPCOT theme park in Disney World. This area of the park is themed to different countries around the world. The most prominent in this picture is the France Pavilion, note the top of the pseudo Eiffel Tower off to the upper right, with the tower of the Morocco pavilion visible in the background to the center. The waterway visible in the foreground is actually part of an extensive water system that connects EPCOT to Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park. Most park guests are unaware that this second, minor, park entrance is available to them and that it provides a leisurely, free boat ride to the Studios park aboard the 100 passenger Friendship Boats. |
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This is the Eastern hotel atrium end of the Orlando International Airport (MCO), in Orlando, Florida, USA. The hotel is currently a Hyatt. Millions of tourists pass through the airport every year on their way to the hot vacation spots in the Central Florida. From the world class theme parks like Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld to the ocean cruises that depart from Port Canaveral just 40 miles to the East, to the beautiful warm beaches that line the Florida Coast, it is said that this area is the world's #1 vacation destination, and for many, the airport is the first taste of Florida as they step off the plane.
Some notes on this image: - Due to the somewhat low light in the terminal atrium at the time of day this was taken I had to shoot at ISO 400 which unfortunately added to the digital noise in the picture. I decided that a high enough shutter speed was essential though since I didn't want all the people blurred. To me, they are the most interesting part. - Due to the motion and activity in the atrium you will find many, many instances of 'ghost' body parts. It's kind of fun trying to spot them all :-) - Look for the fat little kid in the yellow outfit. He was all over the place. Airports can be boring places to hang out. - In the lower right you will see part of the official Disney Store, hence the wall of Mickeys. Each of the theme parks has a specialty store in this area, however they were under the overhang so are not visible. - The security screening area is directly underneath where the camera was positioned. The view looking toward the section is a lot nicer due to the four glass elevators of the hotel, but they don't let you take pictures of the screening area for security reasons, and rather than be hassled by police I opted for the somewhat boring wall. - This image is composed of 154 individual images were stitched together from a Canon PowerShot G9 12 Megapixel camera set to full 6X optical zoom. |
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This pond is part of the Split Oak Mitigation Area just South of Orlando, Florida, USA. The area provides habitat for a wide range of native Florida wildlife, hardly any of which, other than bugs, is visible in this picture. The pond is a nice place to sit in nature or maybe dip a fishing line. Very few people know of or visit the park, leading to a very serene, undisturbed wander anytime you visit. Covering many, many acres, the area changes frequently due to the controlled forest fires which are set by managers and are used to control hazardous buildup of dried vegetation. Forest fires are a natural part of the Florida ecosystem.
I don't think this pond is natural, but is an old sand quarry connected by a manmade canal to a natural lake not far away. If you look for the white sandy area kind of off to the left, you can see, sort of, that the land is raised in an otherwise tabletop flat landscape. I believe that area was the tailing disposal for the quarry. At this writing I haven't looked that closely at the picture, but I hope I captured some of the neat birds that are native to the area. Taken with a Canon Powershot G9 camera. |
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This somewhat overexposed swimming pool is a small part of a 2 1/2 acre swimming area that serves Disney's Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts and Villas (Disney's name for 'timeshare'). The Beach Club Resort was listed as one of the top five resort hotels in the world by the Travel Channel, which Disney owns coincidentally |
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SeaWorld Orlando is one of the eight world class theme parks in Central Florida. Of all the parks, this is one of my favorites for a fun relaxing day in a beautifully landscaped area with all sorts of neat sea animal exhibits and shows. It also features a couple adrenaline rides like the coaster Kraken and the Journey to Atlantis water ride. The free beer samples at the Annhauser-Busch Hospitality House doesn't hurt either. This is a shot of the show "Believe" featuring Shamu, the killer whale in Shamu Stadium. Actually they have at least a half dozen Shamu's, from newborns to one which is a real monster! Of all the shows, this is probably the most popular. The seating area down by the water is a 'Splash Zone' as during the show the jumps and tail flips spray tons of cold salt water on visitors. There is a really neat nigh time version of the show during peak season. The large rectangular panels on the stage are huge TV screens that display video throughout the show and move, spin and change which is why they might seem messed up in this shot. I tried to get at least one good picture of Shamu and trainer but it was tough. Taken with a Canon Powershot G9. In this shot, I manually set the exposure and only shot the main show area, not the stadium so much in hopes of getting more of the whales and trainers. |
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Just another quiet, lazy day on the narrow little Lake Lizzie Drive. Note the Sand Hill Cranes x2. It was the same mating pair, they just moved while the panorama was being shot. |
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Harmony High School serves the community of Harmony Florida, a planned community just to the South east of Orlando Florida, USA. Some of the students who attend the school come from the Deseret Ranch, the largest cattle ranch in the United States, hence the Longhorns moniker.
This image was taken at about 6PM the day before Hurricane Hannah brushed by the coast of Florida. In it you can see how the school provides a venue for local families to spend time together, including the mother and two daughters who are captured at least three times walking around the track. In the distance, you can see the champion football team in training for a new season. Shot with a Canon G9 camera. |
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Harmony, Florida is a large, planned, golf community which bills itself as being eco-friendly. This scene, taken by the golf course, typifies the flavor of the growing new community which just 7 years ago was open pasture and pine hammocks. Harmony is located just to the South East of Orlanda in the rural areas of Osceola County. Numerous sculptures throughout accentuate thedevelopments 'harmony' with nature.
This is only the second Gigapan I made and I am a lot happier than I am with the first one even though the manual focus seemed to not stick at infinity like I wanted it to for some reason. Not sure why. The guy mowing the grass is a little wacky. |
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Just a shot of the shore facing to the Northeast. Private docks and launching area. Saturday morning. Yes, the fishing is pretty good here. |
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Harmony, Florida is a large, planned, golf community which bills itself as being eco-friendly. This scene, taken by
the golf course, typifies the flavor of the growing new community which just 7 years ago was open pasture and pine hammocks. Harmony is located just to the South East of Orlanda in the rural areas of Osceola County. Numerous sculptures throughout accentuate the developments 'harmony' with nature. |