Real Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 (edited) With the arrival of my new lens I can now pretty much capture any shot Ive not been able to in the past. This year Im dedicating it to creating a pretty comprehensive gallery of photos. Today was mostly a "test" day and I may delete or edit these further, but I figured I would share these first 50 with you. Mostly all of MF, TTD and Maverick with a few randoms thrown in. Ill organize them all later. And because I know Ill be asked at some point, heres my camera setup: Canon 40D Canon 28-135mm IS Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro Canon 100-400mm IS L Slik Pro 713 CF II Tripod Manfrotto 498RC4 Ball head Round 2 of photos! 42 more! Last 19 photos Yes, I took this sideways as they are going DOWN the drop. Kinda angled the camera wrong, oh well. Edited July 26, 2011 by Real Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom25 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Great pics from what looked like a picture perfect day (pun intended) LOL I wish on-ride photos would come out that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 I would kill for a 400mm lense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 I would kill for a 400mm lense. Thankfully I found a 2 year old 100-400mm on ebay at a reasonable price. I also lucked out that I lost some stuff in a fire that I wasnt attached to, so, after the claim I put it towards the lens and the tripod combo. 1600 total for both but entirely worth it. Long as nothing tragic happens, I plan to have it for many, many years. I was really scared it wouldnt be as sharp at 400mm as I wanted (and Id seen some VERY sharp copies on the web...mostly new or lucky ones) and after enough research found the last 3 years models to be sharp to very sharp. This one is between that from 100-400 (at 100mm its stupid sharp) but at 400mm from f7.1 and up its sharp enough for that kind of distance. If you have a canon camera, I can recommend this lens in a heartbeat. Just ensure you get a newish lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willh51 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Nice pictures! With all that clarity I couldn't help but notice what looked like some larger riders on Millennium Force. I wonder if they loosened up the belts this season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandallDuell Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Awesome pictures! I agree that it'd be incredible to have onride photo turn out half this well - then you'd actually feel "ok" about paying those crazy prices! Well done ... although I have to admit I was sifting through them looking for some hidden treasure (or wardrobe malfunction)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Awesome pictures! I agree that it'd be incredible to have onride photo turn out half this well - then you'd actually feel "ok" about paying those crazy prices! Well done ... although I have to admit I was sifting through them looking for some hidden treasure (or wardrobe malfunction)! And you win the prize...I have one that is NSFW. Really funny you mentioned that...I am pretty sure I cant post it here. But lets say, overweight woman with low cut top on Maverick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I am pretty sure I cant post it here. But lets say, overweight woman with low cut top on Maverick... Yeah...no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmichellex Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Amazing photos! I LOVE the facial expressions on MF's first drop... such a great range, from sheer terror to complete joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 I am pretty sure I cant post it here. But lets say, overweight woman with low cut top on Maverick... Yeah...no. Ha, I would never post that picture anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Great pics! My only pet peeve is with CP. Notice all of the empty seats? A single rider line for their major coasters (Millenium, Top Thrill, Maverick) would definitely help with capacity and wait times. Every empty seat means the line is that much longer for everyone else waiting. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skitt2010 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 WOW! Looks like a beautiful place to be, stunning pictures, if you're not a pro-photographer... give up your day job. Seriously, lol. Impressed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Great shots! Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster-mm Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Thanks, awesome pictures! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Great pics! My only pet peeve is with CP. Notice all of the empty seats? A single rider line for their major coasters (Millenium, Top Thrill, Maverick) would definitely help with capacity and wait times. Every empty seat means the line is that much longer for everyone else waiting. Just a thought. More often than not, if there are empty seats on a train, the operators will announce on the PA that there is an empty seat(s) for anyone that wants to ride right now. If no one comes forward, they just send it out. I will say that single rider lines, while they do work most of the time, can be troublesome.....make that VERY troublesome. As Carowinds found out last year with Intimidator, you have to staff at least one extra person to control the station entrance (which CP has almost completely stopped doing at all coasters). You also have the problem of people who don't understand the concept of the single rider line jumping in and thinking the wait will be "shorter" because there aren't as many people. When the single rider line opens, that virtually eliminates all odd numbers from the regular line (unless there are groups of 3, 5, etc.). So it has the possibility of making you wait a REALLY long time, which creates lots of complaints for the park. And then finally, you'll have entire families get in the single rider line and then raise all holy hell when they can't sit together, which generates even more complaints. Yes, single rider lines can help capacity and shorten the line up some of the time, but for a lot of parks, it's way more trouble than it's worth. I mean, Carowinds only ended up using the single rider line on weekends last year for that very reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper39 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Great pics! My only pet peeve is with CP. Notice all of the empty seats? A single rider line for their major coasters (Millenium, Top Thrill, Maverick) would definitely help with capacity and wait times. Every empty seat means the line is that much longer for everyone else waiting. Just a thought. More often than not, if there are empty seats on a train, the operators will announce on the PA that there is an empty seat(s) for anyone that wants to ride right now. If no one comes forward, they just send it out. I will say that single rider lines, while they do work most of the time, can be troublesome.....make that VERY troublesome. As Carowinds found out last year with Intimidator, you have to staff at least one extra person to control the station entrance (which CP has almost completely stopped doing at all coasters). You also have the problem of people who don't understand the concept of the single rider line jumping in and thinking the wait will be "shorter" because there aren't as many people. When the single rider line opens, that virtually eliminates all odd numbers from the regular line (unless there are groups of 3, 5, etc.). So it has the possibility of making you wait a REALLY long time, which creates lots of complaints for the park. And then finally, you'll have entire families get in the single rider line and then raise all holy hell when they can't sit together, which generates even more complaints. Yes, single rider lines can help capacity and shorten the line up some of the time, but for a lot of parks, it's way more trouble than it's worth. I mean, Carowinds only ended up using the single rider line on weekends last year for that very reason. While I agree that they can be very troublesome at times from an operations standpoint, I completely disagree that they are more trouble than they are worth. Ultimately a single rider line is worth the extra effort. The single rider line we had at Everest had the same problems you mentioned but it's pretty easy to explain to the people that you can't choose your seat or ride together from the single rider line.The greeter is really the one responsible for clearing up the confusion about not being to choose your seat or ride together, and the greeter also has the ability to close the single rider line when it gets too long. Also as a grouper the single rider line can really bail you out of trouble if you start to get behind or get some guests that are moving slowly. Have 6 empty seats on a train that is about to load as a result of guest being slow or dumb? just throw in 6 singles and start loading the next train. You really don't have to have an extra person manning the station, the grouper (if the ride is using a grouper) should be able to handle the regular line and the singles line without too much trouble. I think all new new attractions and major attractions should try to use a single rider line if at all possible. Diamondback at kings Island had a single rider line both of its first 2 season (don't know if they still do but they did on my last visit) and I never saw them have a problem with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pufferfish Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Before I continue in this off-topic discussion, these are some really awesome photos! Pure eye candy really, thank you so much for posting these. Now to the poster above me ^, Carowinds was a special case with this. It was the first time we were ever doing a single rider line for anything and so basically no one had any idea what it was. We would always have a greeter, every day of the week, and they told every person going into that line what it was and what it did, and that still didn't help. People were always using it thinking it was a "get on the ride quick" line. No one ever payed attention to the fact that when the line was half full, when running full capacity, was only a 15 minute wait. Everyone would see the sheer volume of the line and immediately jump into the single rider line, sometimes whole parties upwards of 10 people would jump in it! Also, what you said about using multiple single riders together may work for Disney because of how quickly the crowds flow through at Everest, but for Carowinds we couldn't do that because people started complaining if the group before them got to sit together but then they'd have to be split up. Seriously, the entire line set up at Intimidator was ghastly to say the least and I still think it needs a change up. Grouping was an utter nightmare... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper39 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Yeah, while I truly think that every major attraction should try to have a single rider line sometime it just isn't feasible from the way the station is designed. At Cedar Point I don't know if they could add a singles like to Maverick or Millennium Force after the fact if it wasn't initially deigned into the station and que layout. Some guests will complain about anything they can find to complain about but bottom line is that a single riders line helps to operate the attraction at it's maximum capacity all the time. When people start to jump in the singles line you close it down temporarily until it empties out, if parties of 10 enter the singles line that's fine as long as they know they have to ride as a single, when people complain about not being able to sit together you tell them they have to exit the singles line and wait in the regular que. It works at Disney because it is properly executed, and it will work anywhere if it is properly executed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Single rider lines ONLY work if there's a grouper in the station that controls the flow of guests at the loading gates and groups single riders according to odd numbered parties. If there's no grouper then yes it will be a cluster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 MF could not do it. Station is a terrible design imo already. Maverick has a single rider line but it starts 40ft from the load platform. TTD also has staton design that prohibits a smooth single rider flow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfot11girl Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Great pics! So it has the possibility of making you wait a REALLY long time, which creates lots of complaints for the park. And then finally, you'll have entire families get in the single rider line and then raise all holy hell when they can't sit together, which generates even more complaints. . You would think people would understand that "single rider line" means "SINGLE rider line". Sort of seems obvious to me. I loved it when I was at SFOT and standing in line for Superman Tower of Power that day I was there with TPR for the New Texas Giant Blast. I went by myself that day, met new people, but since I was a little short on extra cash, I didn't get a flashpash like everyone else. As a regular to SFOT, I wasn't as worried about catching every big ride during the rush of the day, especially with ERT. Most of the day I spent relaxing and walking around, avoiding those rediculous two hours waits. I caught Superman a few times and cut my wait time in half, at least, by standing in the single rider line. Riding with people you know is great, but if you are really just interested in the rides, a single rider line can potentially make your day easier. I was catching the green eye of envy from those others who stood in the regular line and watched me get in line after them and ride a half an hour before them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 We should rename this thread: "Talk about how awesome/crappy single rider lines are and maybe check out these photos of Cedar Point while you are at it". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 ^ The pictures aren't watermarked. I think that's the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braztaz Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I used Maverick's single rider line last year and it cut off 5 or 10 minutes tops. I did get to meet someone new and ride in the front row, though! Pretty convenient. I agree that MF and TTD don't have the right station layout for single rider lines, whenever I rode MF the station was so crowded and adding more commotion would make it unbearable. Oh yeah, and amazing pictures. Yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Beemer - I don't consider these final products. It was a test bed of stuff. Ill analze what worked and what didn't and hopefully in a few weeks, start taking the real shots. Also playing with the ISO to get acceptable levels of noise. The 40D does a really good job with noise but still, to stop objects you need lots of light and fast speeds. Anyways, I have the metatags...its hard to pass one of my photos off as your own in front of me. I just know them that well. Not sure how watermarking would help curb the negative nancies and the single rider debate though LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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