Little Mermaid at Disney's Art of Animation Resort

Under the Sea

If you have read Part 2 of the 2018 Christmas Disney Cruise Trip Report, you saw the mention of some photos that we took around the Art of Animation Resort at Walt Disney World. We took way too many photos to include in that trip report. So here is the first part of a miniseries of those photos. This time around, we focus on the Little Mermaid section of the resort.

You may have already seen this first photo, because it was included in the trip report, just to give an example of what we did. I thought I would include it here again, because it fits in with all of the other photos.

As you can see, Laura and Jaylin were somewhat trying to match the pose of Ariel behind them. They were close. And one of them was slightly more willing than the other to participate. It was also that more willing person’s idea in the first place. I will let you guess which one that was.

Laura and Jaylin almost get lost in this photo, because they are dwarfed by the giant King Triton. Also, they did not actually have tridents to hold like he did, unfortunately. So they just pretended.

From good to bad, we go from King Triton to Ursula. Of course, you probably know that Ursula was the villain of the movie The Little Mermaid, while Triton was the father of the heroine. Laura and Jaylin had an easy time matching Ursula’s pose, just by throwing their hands up in the air.

Laura and Jaylin join Sebastian the crab in song. However, while he has 8 legs (actually, 2 claws and 6 legs), they only have 2 claws and 2 legs, so that left them at a disadvantage numerically. But they all still had their smiles on.

Prince Eric was looking rather blue, but Laura and Jaylin were still quite colorful. And they wore expressions that were not quite as serious as Eric’s, too. But that is okay, because people like happy people much better than serious people anyway.

Laura and Jaylin join the conga line with the singing fish from Under the Sea in the last photo of this part. And they changed clothes for the occasion, too. Actually, our first attempt at this photo did not quite turn out well, so we tried it again the next day before we left the resort and headed to the cruise ship (as you can read in Part 3 of the Trip Report). I am glad we went back and tried it again because this is now one of my new favorite photos. Thank you to the fish for cooperating and smiling for the camera!

Fun Times

As you can see, we have lots of fun, no matter where we happen to be. And it is even better if one of us has a camera to capture some of the fun ideas that another one of us has.

Don’t be afraid to have a little fun with whatever you happen to be doing, and wherever you happen to be. Don’t let it bother you if people walking by are giggling as you take a funny photo. Maybe they are just jealous and wishing that they had the same idea.

If you take some fun photos like this, one of these days you will look back at them and be glad that you did. It has not even been two months since we took these, and I am already quite happy that we did.

Life is much better if you make it more fun!

Bible Verse

So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 8:15

About the Photos

These photos were a little tricky because of all of the light and shadows. Many times, Laura and Jaylin were in the shadows, while the character statues were in the bright sunlight. With the original Raw files, I turned down the highlights and turned up the shadow details in Photoshop to give the photos a more balanced look.

The photo with Sebastian was a slightly different challenge because the sun was almost behind them. But I solved that problem in the same way as the shadow problem above.

I worked even longer on the last photo with the fish because I wanted it to be just right. In addition to adjusting the highlights and shadows, I also added dodge and burn layers in Photoshop, which can be valuable tools. It was worth the work, I think.

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens
Date: December 16 and 17, 2018
Location: Art of Animation Resort, Walt Disney World, Florida