I hope your 2015 is off to a great start. It’s hard to believe 2015 is already here. A friend of mine once said he felt that time was moving so quickly that it seemed we were starting a new day every 20 minutes. I didn’t feel that way at the time, but I sure do now. With the coming New Year, it’s time where we’re all asked about our New Year’s Resolutions. This year I’m going with a few that are a bit different than my typical past (and abandoned!) resolutions.
I’m going to keep working on improving my photography, and taking pictures more often. This will certainly help me take better pictures on our next Disney trip, but I’ll get better overall at capturing special moments with my family, and also gain more appreciation of where I live and work. I’m also going to spend more time improving my ability to post process my pictures. Another side benefit to getting out and taking more pictures, especially landscapes, is the extra walking around. So I guess I have a hidden fitness resolution in there too. Sticking with this resolution should be no problem – we’ll just have to see how much more I improve. I’ll keep you posted.
Dark Ride Photography is a big area of improvement for me
I’m going to keep working on my Disney Photography Bucket List. Sure, I have some pretty good pictures of park/resort icons like Cinderella’s Castle, the Partners Statue, Spaceship Earth, Tower of Terror, and the Tree of Life. In looking back at those pictures, I think whatever good elements are there resulted mainly from luck, and very little skill. I’d like to get to the point in my photography where I know I’m getting a great (ok, pretty good) photo as I’m releasing the shutter. There are some “money” pictures missing from my personal collection – good shots of Wishes and Illuminations, monorail shots at Epcot, cool night photos, and empty park areas. We’ve all seen them, and maybe I’ll bring nothing new or original to those photographs when I get my chance, but I’d like to be able to say I captured some of those photos myself. I’ve already been working on this, so sticking with this resolution is a done deal.
not too bad
I’m going to try to “see the Disney” in my surroundings. What I mean by that is finding the magic that usually is present wherever you are – and is noticeable if you look hard enough. Yes, some of us live near the parks and go a lot, or some go once (or more) per year. I’m working on getting over the trip envy. Maybe one day. But have you ever stopped to think of how many people would love a trip to your home town? Probably more than we think. Now, it helps that I ran across a real life Mater a while back, so maybe “seeing the Disney” around here is not so hard. I’ll try to stick with this one too, but you wouldn’t have to work too hard to talk me into a trip to Walt Disney World.
sometimes we find the Disney magic where we least expect it
I’m going to plan the next trip, even if we don’t go this year. Sadly, we probably won’t make it to Walt Disney World in 2015, but it doesn’t hurt to prepare, just in case! Besides, thinking about the things we’d like to do – where to stay, where to eat, and so on, is a lot of fun. I do this in my head all the time, so this resolution probably shouldn’t count.
Last resolution – I’m going to stay up to date with Disney news from The Disney Driven Life! Of course I’ll stick to this one!
Do you have any Disney related New Year resolutions for 2015? Let us know!
Since going to Walt Disney World and Disneyland at a young age, Chris has always enjoyed Disney music, TV shows, movies, and trips to Walt Disney World. But his appreciation of the overall Disney experience has greatly increased over the last few years. While waiting for the next chance to work on his Disney photography skills, Chris passes the time listening to Park/Resort audio, WDW podcasts, and checking out the work of other Disney photographers. To Chris, there are no bad Disney trip photographs or photographers.
Non-Disney pursuits include spending time with his wife and children, watching and listening to baseball broadcasts, and cheering for the Chicago Cubs and LSU. Chris is a third generation professional engineer in Louisiana, working mainly on asbestos, lead, mold and demolition projects. Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWhitePE and you can check out his Flickr photo stream: chris_white2323.
