I am a self proclaimed Disney addict. I usually have some kind of Mickey Mouse apparel on or a Disney accessory with me every day of my life. Not only do I love Mickey Mouse, but I love the ideals of the dreamer who created him, Walt Disney himself. “What does that have to do with photography?” you might ask. Well I have always liked photography. I started taking pictures back in the days of film. I know, I am telling my age a little here. I always took pictures on vacations, but I kind of got away from it for a while. When digital cameras became the “norm,” my husband bought me a Nikon D50 and I was in love again! Now I could take all the pictures I wanted, and it didn’t cost me a fortune to buy film and get it developed. On one trip to Disney World, I came home with over 2,000 pictures. They weren’t all good pictures, but I was thrilled.

Fast forward a few years, and I found a website called Flickr. I was looking at pictures one night on my computer, and I decided to do a search for pictures of Walt Disney World. Up came some amazing pictures of the parks from people like Tom Bricker, Cory Disbrow, Don Sullivan and more.  If you haven’t seen their work, find them. You will be amazed. I thought to myself, “I want to take pictures like that!” I am not at the same level of these guys, but I am working my way there. You don’t become a great photographer overnight.

I began to study their pictures and their settings. Then I stumbled on to Tom Bricker’s website, Disney Tourist Blog. He has great Disney information there, as well as some really great pictures. I began to look at his recommendations for photography books and equipment and started making my wish lists for future birthday and Christmas presents.

Then I also found a website called Disney Photography Blog. It had great tips about how to take better pictures in the parks, and I tried to soak up as much information as I could. They recently had a problem with the site and lost a lot of their content. They are rebuilding it and trying to add new content, so check them out. Some of the members of the site planned a big get together at Disney World called Photo Magic 2013. I was lucky enough to attend, and I got to meet several really great photographers and great people like Mark Willard, Joanie Eddis-Koch, Alan Rappaport, and Mike Christoferson and many others. This event only made me want to better my skills even more.

When I got home, I began to take some photography classes at my local Museum of Contemporary Art and I joined Kelby One online. I also meet on a regular basis with a small local group of photographers who are constantly pushing and challenging me to better my photographic skills. I have a lot of things that I want to do with my photography, so I hope you come along for the ride. Just a word of caution though. You might fall in love with a mouse!