Spinning on the Teacups

Our friends Brant, Zach, and Katie spin their way along on the teacups of the Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. You can’t really see Katie, because she is mostly behind Zach, but she is there.

I think I have ridden the Mad Tea Party a grand total of one time, and that was enough for me. It didn’t particularly bother me, but way back in the old days I had a bad experience with a similar spinner ride at Opryland. So when I came out of the Teacups without a problem, I figured I better quit while I was ahead. I like to keep my eaten food where it belongs, after all.

Instead of just going for the standard motion blur shot of the Mad Tea Party, this time around I decided to try a panning shot because I actually knew some people who were on the ride. Panning is a bit tricky for me, so while Brant and the kids were waiting in line, I practiced my technique on some complete strangers who were already on the ride. And actually, one of those photos turned out to be almost better than this one. But I still decided to go with this one, because someone might think it is creepy if I post photos of complete strangers on here. So this one is just fine.

If you aren’t familiar with panning, it involves taking a photo of a moving subject by following that moving subject with your camera. If it is done right, the subject will be in focus and the background will be blurry, giving a sense of motion to the photo. I don’t use that technique very often, so I was glad to have a little time to practice. And overall, I am happy with the results.

And besides, if I stare at the photo for too long, I start to get dizzy.

About the photo:
A single RAW exposure, processed in Adobe Lightroom. Read more about the photo software and gear I use at the camera gear page.
Camera: Canon EOS 60D
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm