It’s the right time of year to make another trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights.
Osborne Family of Lights
Imagine a city block filled with strings of Christmas lights. Actually, you don’t have to imagine it. Just go to Google Image and search on the phrase “Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights” and you’ll see exactly how it looks. In fact, I’ll save you that step. The vast majority of the photos you’ll see in that image search look very much like the one below.
Look closely at the crowd at the bottom of the photo and you’ll see a few folks grabbing that snapshot with their camera. The reason is understandable. It’s sensory overload. Lights are blinking on and off, other lights are spinning in circles. There’s a thunderous sound system berating your ears with Holiday music. Meanwhile, someone in that crowd is kicking your ankles or hitting your knees with a baby stroller.
You just gotta let the folks back home know about this place!
Capturing all of those sensory experiences – the motion, the sound, the pain in your ankles – is really a very difficult thing to do. When someone looks at a photo from your perspective standing in the middle of the street, it just doesn’t reel them into the image.
They don’t hear the music or see the blinking lights. It’s a snapshot of a spectacle that they missed. At best, this photo triggers some memories for people who’ve already been there. Even then, they’ll say “You had to be there.”
Why fight that kind of uphill battle with your photos? Instead of competing with over a million results of mostly the same image, why not try for something a bit more unique?
While everyone is watching the blinking lights on the main street, there are a bunch of little street scenes just waiting for you to compose and capture without any interference. Each one has its own story to tell.
How many times have you gone to take photos at some place or event that was just overwhelming your sense? Instead of trying to capture the entire thing in one shot, pick little pieces that tell the story. You’ll end up with something more interesting and powerful.
William, we went to DHS to see the lights on Monday night just before closing and it seems like each year Disney implements additional crowd control measures. In my opinion, it makes it harder to move around. I’m with you, I try to avoid the crowd, but the side street seemed to be a big photopass area which resulted in more congestion.
I haven’t been yet this year, but I’m planning on spending an evening out there – perhaps midweek to see if that has a smaller crowd. I’ve found that most of the Photopass photographers will let you get the shot you want, but you have to wait in line like anyone else. It’s not as convenient as just walking up and taking a shot, but I suppose it’s fair considering everyone else is out of the way for that shot.