Michael Graves Causeway at Walt Disney World
During our visits to the Epcot Resorts at Walt Disney World, we enjoy taking a walk from one hotel to the next and seeing the architecture of Michael Graves, such as in this view from our July 2017 visit.
I like walking along the palm tree-lined path that leads between the Swan and Dolphin hotels. Water surrounds the walkway, making it actually a causeway across the lake, although you cannot see the water here. The canopies along the sides provide protection from the rain if necessary, and the wet concrete shows that those might have come in handy.
I also really like the symmetry found here. It may not quite be perfectly symmetrical due to the placement of the trees, but it is close enough for me. And all of the colors seem to work together well here, too. Which of course was by design of the architect, Michael Graves, who designed both hotels to complement one another.
As we were walking along, I saw a plaque dedicating the walkway to the memory of the architect, who passed away in 2015, by naming it the Michael Graves Causeway. That was a nice touch.
I have always wondered a little at the large dolphin sculptures that top each end of the building. You can only see the tops of the tails of those sculptures here, as they are blocked by the canopies. But you can see one of them a little better in this earlier photo. Those dolphins definitely do not look like Flipper, or like any other dolphins that I have seen anywhere. But that is art for you. Besides, calling it the Dolphin Hotel sounds much better than calling it the Big Fish Hotel. Besides, who am I to criticize, since I have not been asked to design one of their hotels?
So instead of being too critical, I just sit back and enjoy the views. Such as this one.
When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom. - Proverbs 11:2
About the photo:
In all honesty, the original version of this photo was pretty boring. The sky was washed out due to the thick clouds and light rain, which made all of the colors look a little bland. Everything was just flat and dull. So I decided to spice things up just a bit. Using some Photoshop magic, I made the sky quite a bit more blue than it was originally. I turned up the color saturation and the contrast quite a bit. And I even added a bit of artificial sunlight to the color tones to make it more appealing. I like this newer version much better.
Compare for yourself with the before-and-after version below.
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: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
Date: July 21, 2017
Location: Dolphin Hotel, Walt Disney World, Florida
