Back in July 2019 I made my first trip stateside. Where else to get my first impressions of the mighty USA than from Orlando in Florida? I might have preferred New York or Portland but Orlando it was. This is the place you come to for Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and awesome tropical weather. Well, except in wet season when you’re almost guaranteed a thunderstorm every afternoon.
Even though this was going to be a full-on holiday centred around the theme parks, I still planned to carry my camera everywhere we went. This is where the Fujifilm system comes into its own. I carried the X-T2, my trusty 23mm f/2 and 56mm f/1.2 as well as my latest additions; the 16mm f/1.4 and 35mm f/2 all in my backpack. I found the lens range to be more than sufficient with my most used lens ending up being the 16mm f/1.4. As soon as I mounted the lens on my camera, I knew this was a special lens.
A few tips to think about when planning to take your camera to Orlando and, in particular, the theme parks:
Less is more – For those not somehow obsessed with prime lenses like I am, a zoom lens would have covered the full range offered by my four lenses reducing weight and the need for a backpack. However, I don’t mind carrying a bit of extra weight on my back and that 16mm f/1.4 is worth it.
Weather Resistance – Trust me, you’ll likely need it. The rain can absolutely pour down during the wet season (conveniently correlating with the school holidays in England) and the humidity is insane.
On more adventurous trips, I’d certainly swap out the 56mm f/1.2 for the 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 which is a brilliant lens. The only thing I’m therefore missing from my kit now is an ultra-wide lens though that’s an issue for another day. I tried my hand at street photography inside the theme parks but it didn’t quite work out. I was very self-conscious of pointing my camera at other visitors especially given these are Disney parks.
For those interested, all of these shots were JPEGs with my Classic Chrome settings unless it’s black and white and then it’s Acros. I’m hoping that this blog post attracts Fujifilm users with families to see that it’s just as good at capturing family holidays and not just street scenes. It isn’t one I’ve written with SEO in mind, just one for the purists who might want to discuss photography with me!
I’ve separated out the parks into individual blog posts which I’ll link below and this post will be for a mix of my favourites and my ‘other’ photos that wouldn’t normally make it onto the website. This is their time to shine.
The Theme Parks of Orlando
Universal Studios
Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Best Photo Spots in Universal Studios
Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom
Animal Kingdom
Epcot
Hollywood Studios
More Photos of Orlando
If you enjoyed ‘Orlando’ why not pin the image below?
There is so much to see, much of it never seen by U.S. citizens, I suppose the parks are as good a place to start as any. I enjoyed your photos.
Thank you! There’s so much more of the US that I’d like to see: New York & the West Coast top of my list!
There is so much to see, much of it never seen by U.S. citizens, I suppose the parks are as good a place to start as any. I enjoyed your photos.
Thank you! There’s so much more of the US that I’d like to see: New York & the West Coast top of my list!
There is so much to see, much of it never seen by U.S. citizens, I suppose the parks are as good a place to start as any. I enjoyed your photos.
Thank you! There’s so much more of the US that I’d like to see: New York & the West Coast top of my list!
Seriously, Orlando and the entire state of Florida are the last places I would visit to experience Americana. Orlando is one giant commercial mess. When you come back, yes visit New York City, but also the small towns in southern end of New Jersey, and the western end of Pennsylvania. These are the old colonial towns of America that existed before Florida and the rest joined the United States.
Yeah I agree it wasn’t the best example of America! It was a holiday mainly for the children! We are definitely planning on visiting NYC soon but those others look good!
Seriously, Orlando and the entire state of Florida are the last places I would visit to experience Americana. Orlando is one giant commercial mess. When you come back, yes visit New York City, but also the small towns in southern end of New Jersey, and the western end of Pennsylvania. These are the old colonial towns of America that existed before Florida and the rest joined the United States.
Yeah I agree it wasn’t the best example of America! It was a holiday mainly for the children! We are definitely planning on visiting NYC soon but those others look good!
Seriously, Orlando and the entire state of Florida are the last places I would visit to experience Americana. Orlando is one giant commercial mess. When you come back, yes visit New York City, but also the small towns in southern end of New Jersey, and the western end of Pennsylvania. These are the old colonial towns of America that existed before Florida and the rest joined the United States.
Yeah I agree it wasn’t the best example of America! It was a holiday mainly for the children! We are definitely planning on visiting NYC soon but those others look good!
The east coast in general – New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Atlanta, Outer Banks, Miami – are interesting culturally and historically. Orlando is nothing just a giant outdoor commercial entertainment complex. Nothing, nothing at all, in Orlando is real.
The east coast in general – New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Atlanta, Outer Banks, Miami – are interesting culturally and historically. Orlando is nothing just a giant outdoor commercial entertainment complex. Nothing, nothing at all, in Orlando is real.
The east coast in general – New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Atlanta, Outer Banks, Miami – are interesting culturally and historically. Orlando is nothing just a giant outdoor commercial entertainment complex. Nothing, nothing at all, in Orlando is real.