Flying Elephants

I always see moms and dads taking photos from ground level of their kids riding Dumbo. It’s difficult to do because the kids are moving, they’re not always looking for you, and you’ve got a bit of an awkward angle.

Another option is to ride Dumbo, sitting in the elephant that’s in front of your kids’. When the ride starts pull the lever so he goes as high as he can and have the kids fly at a lower level. You’ll have to turn around in your seat and fly backwards to get the shot. It sounds funny and probably looks funny but you’ll love the results.

While Laura Gilbreath* and I ran around the Magic Kingdom, we put this piece of advice to work. When asked how many in the party, we each said, “one”. We found two elephants, and Laura got in the one behind me. When we began to fly, I went all the way up and Laura stayed in a lower flyzone.

With a Nikon Coolpix 7600 in hand and only a few minutes to get the shot, I still had time to test 2 different settings. The first setting used is Face Priority. Since we were flying at the same speed, I thought I’d give it a whirl. As you can see, this is not the proper setting.

Great composition however Laura is nothing more than a blur. Sorry, kid.

I switched over to the Sports setting, designed to capture action. Well, Dumbo’s hat is in focus but dear Laura still isn’t. Why? Flying backwards and taking photos with a point and shoot isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Finally! I only got 3 shots during our circular journey. She’s sharp, she’s soaring, and she’s modeling. Work it, work it. Certainly, I’d like to have better lighting and lose the pole that’s in her head and I can by using Photoshop but I wanted to provide you with the actual results.

You can also try this on Triceratop Spin and Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

*Laura Gilbreath sold separately.