I Pahked My Cah in Hollywood Studios

Every now and again I go into a park with a theme in mind. On an overly bright, sunny, and hazy day I decided to photograph the various parked prop cars at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong day to photograph shiny, reflective surfaces as it lead me to shoot while squinting or with one eye closed. Yay for me? :shakes head in disbelief: Kids, don’t try this at home. Wait until some clouds move in and you can actually see what you’re doing.

This experiment was conducted with a Canon Powershot SX100 IS.

Let’s recap my brilliant idea.

I started out with this truck over by Sid Cahuenga’s One-of-a-Kind.

This was the best view I could get as shooting from the other side proved to be far worse as far as ghosting goes. Ghosting is a digital photography term referring to the white cloudy/hazy spots that gleam off of highlights and look like ghostly figures.

Next I moved onto Oscar’s Super Station.
My goal was to shoot through the window to get the interior of the front seat. Three photos later of holding the camera up and at an angle where I couldn’t really see anything and all I got was a bad blend of the steering wheel and everyone standing behind me. The picture you see here I took while squinting and it’s soft. I used Adobe Photoshop CS4 to sharpen it.

Strolling down Hollywood Blvd and turning right onto Sunset Blvd, this car was parked in front of the store Legends.

Thankfully it was under an awning. That certainly helped cut down on the blinding reflections. This is a far stronger image than the previous ones with good contrast,

Further down the left-hand side of the street you’ll find this taxi beside to a Disney Vaction Club kiosk.

I moved around a little to try and angle my shot so it looked like the cab was driving into the street. Aside from barely being able to see the LCD screen in the direct sunlight, it was near impossible on such a busy day to avoid pedestrians crossing in front.

Sci-Fi Drive-In has this convertible sitting out front. It’s the only prop car you can climb into unless of course you dine at the restaurant.

The shadows were rather harsh so I had to lighten them up. Do you see the Disney name on the the hood? The front of this car makes me think of a fish’s mouth for some reason.

My last stop was at Backlot Express where this Toon Patrol mobster-looking car waits for the traffic light to change.

The counter service restaurant is covered from the elements but has the perfect amount of natural lighting. I find that photographing cars in this manner, close-up, and from the front gives them more personality.

What theme will you try on your next vacation?

This blog was written while listening to Michael Jackson’s This Is It soundtrack.