Cameras have been around for a very long time. However, the relatively recent explosion of digital photography has changed the way we capture the memories of our Disney World vacations, at least for me. Now before I go any further, I have to admit that I am somewhat of a photoholic, if there exists such a condition. My wife says that my camera (and often video camera) are my girlfriends. While that may be a slight exaggeration, the simple fact is that I have over 25,000 pictures stored in my computer, all of which were taken since 2002.
Why have I taken so many pictures? Two words: digital photography. The truth is that prior to my first digital camera, I wasn't much of a photo buff at all. Film wasn't cheap and the process of developing pictures took too long. You'd have to pay for the film, snap the pics, drop off the film at a photo center and then actually wait for them to be printed. Then, after this lengthy process, you'd have to pay money, once again, to pick them up! Not to mention, you'd only have 24 or maybe 36 pictures in your hand at the end of this lengthy process, many of which were blurry or too dark. Enter......the age of digital photography.
There are so many great reasons why digital cameras have enhanced our Disney World photo taking experience. First and foremost, we never have to worry about wasting film. As long as we have enough storage space in the camera we can snap away with reckless abandon. As I write this, we are starting our fourth day at the happiest place on earth, and I have stored 427 pictures so far. I have actually taken well over 500 but have erased many on the fly.
The ability to check the quality of the picture, as soon as you take it, is the second amazing thing about digital cameras. If Cinderella's Castle is a little out of focus or my son blinks, I can simply take a second shot and quickly erase the original. Along those same lines, I can immediately crop or resize the picture right on the camera's display. In the past, we'd have to fly home, start the development process described above, only to realize that our little guy blinked! It was almost like playing the lottery and "hoping" that you would get lucky with a handful of good pictures.
Finally, I want to mention how easy it is to share your digital photos. First, you simply upload all of those great Disney pictures onto your computer. From there, you could copy them onto CDs and give them to all of your friends and family (whether they want them or not). Or, you could email your best photos to everyone you know. Everybody should have a picture of your kid standing in front of the Magic Kingdom, which is literally the most photographed spot in the world. You could also post your photos on the Internet using a service like Snapfish or Flickr, and then other people can choose what pictures they want to save or print. Although, I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want ALL of my Disney World pictures. I mean, doesn't everyone need 15 photos of the Tower of Terror queue or every angle of the Tree of Life? Ok, I guess I am just a little obsessed with taking great pictures while on vacation. But like I said at the beginning of this article, I am a photoholic and I'm not sure that there is any recovery in my future!
Have a Disneyriffic day and remember to keep moving forward. See ya real soon!