More of a Pirate's Life

I recently purchased a new lens with the intention of expanding my dark ride (and general dark setting) photography.  I had been wanting to get a Nikkor 28mm f/1.8 ever since a photog buddy, Michael Besant, let me play around with it when he came to California on vacation last year.  Last month, Nikon had its annual spring sale, which enabled me to add this full frame prime to my camera arsenal.

Naturally, I was eager to test it out, so I took it aboard Pirates of the Caribbean to see what shots I could get.  There's definitely a talent and skill involved with great dark ride photography that I've far from mastered, but the immediate impact of the high aperture wide angle was obvious just from the shots I did snap.  Shooting in RAW, at a high ISO, with the f/stop wide open, I was able to quicken my shutter speed, which made for more crisp photos.  Here's a batch from that first run-through!

After the drops, riders enter an eerie submerged cavern with the ghosts of pirates past.

I was sitting on the left side of the boat, so I could only capture this scene straight ahead.

One pirate inspects his treasure.

A glimpse ahead of another guarding his.

The dim lighting of the battle scene makes it tough to shoot, but I was able to get a few nice shots.

The quality of optics is also on hand at the auction scene.

Enough light is crisply captured that I don't have the bleed out of color and shadows that I normally encounter.

"We wants the redhead!"

The chase scene is another routinely difficult shot to achieve.

The second appearance of Jack Sparrow in the ride.

"Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life's for me!"

Those prisoners have still never escaped.

This exposure came out brighter than the actual scene, but I like the focus the lens was able to lock onto the barrels.

At the end, Jack bids adieu with his treasure in hand.