Castle Amidst the Bokeh Blur

Not only was Dapper Day a return of a beloved Disneyland tradition this year, it also coincided with the 2021 kickoff the Disney winter holiday season.  That meant that the parks were dressed in their Christmas finest, with the familiar garlands, wreaths, and holiday lights stretched through Main Street and select other parts of Disneyland (and likewise with Disney California Adventure's usual Christmas decorations).  On Main Street, where the Christmas spirit shines the brighest, I sought to try to get photos that were different than my collection I've obtained over the years, and on this past Sunday's visit, that meant playing with framing on my telephoto lens as opposed to my usual wide angle zoom.  

The activity evolved into finding fun angles and framing opportunities create compositions I hadn't tried before, and this photo of the Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle perfectly focused while all the lights in the foreground blended into a blur of bokeh was one that I really liked, once I processed it.  It's a narrow window that I end up shooting through, and it's a pretty busy composition.  But I enjoyed how it turned out, with the amorphous framing the precise and architectural.  Plus, the new winter castle turret tips were pretty prominent even in a photo taken from this distance!

The Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle, glowing through all the Main Street garland and Christmas lights.