The Disney Parks are truly amazing pieces of art and entertainment but there is an often-overlooked portion that needs to be given some thanks. It is not an attraction, marvel of architecture, new technology, or animatronic. Quite the contrary, this piece of the park really is a living, breathing, attraction in itself. It is the wonderful Disney CAST-MEMBER, and June of 2010 is Cast Member Appreciation Month at The Magic in Pixels. Without the Cast-Members, the Disney Parks would just be another place to go to blow off some steam and have fun, but the Cast-Members personally, and often thanklessly, transform Walt's Dream into what we all know and love today. Day after day, these dedicated individuals go on-stage in the heat, rain, and crowds to add another dimension to the experience. By performing their roles with enthusiasm and vigor, they can personalize your experience into a one-of-a-kind magical moment and make your children feel as if they are on top of the world.

http://themagicinpixels.com/component/trackback/112-cast-member-appreciation-month?format=raw

Labels: cast member, thanks

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MagicMeets 2009 is proud to present something new … we want to see your “Magical Memories!”

In a photo contest sponsored by The Magic in Pixels, our guests are hereby invited to enter one photo – from any Disney-related trip – that showcases their perfect Magical Moment, frozen in time. The first-, second- and third-place winners will receive a variety of prizes courtesy of TMIP, Scrapping the Magic, the Disney Moms Panel, WDWRadio/Disneyworldtrivia.com and AllEars.Net. A panel of 10 judges – including MagicMeets founder Fred Block, CMMO Justin Muchoney, Mouse Fan Travel’s Beci Mahnken and WDWToday’s Matt Hochberg – will view all the submissions and each select 10 photos. The 10 photographs with the most votes will be professionally printed, mounted and given to the owners at the end of Saturday's event, compliments of TMIP.com.

The finalists’ photos will be displayed at MagicMeets throughout Saturday’s Main Event. There, all guests may vote to select the top three shots, with the results to be announced at the meet.

Entries must be e-mailed to Tim Devine via The Magic In Pixels Gallery ( tim (at) themagicinpixels (dot) comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) by July 18, and all submissions must come from an e-mail address of a registered MagicMeets 2009 attendee. Entrants should also submit a title for their photo, which will be displayed on The Magic In Pixels Web site.


The rules are these:

* You must be a paid attendee of MagicMeets 2009.
* A guest may enter only one photo.
* The photo must be yours. You may not submit other people's work or copyrighted material (this includes Photopass photos and on-ride photos).
* The photo must be acquired “legally” (i.e., do not submit a photo that used a flash in a flash-prohibited location).
* The photo may not have been judged a winner in any other previous photo contests.
* The photo should be submitted at a high resolution, 4 megapixel (about 2,272x1,704) or larger.



So start sifting through those miles of Disney photo files on your computer or in your Facebook account. We want to see your smiling faces and starry-eyed gazes!


CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE MAGICMEETS 2009 MAGICAL MEMORIES CONTEST GALLERY!

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Anyone who knows me at all knows how I feel about my beloved Phillies. Today, Phillies phans everywhere lost a true legend, a piece of their collective soul, their voice. Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas collapsed and died in the broadcast booth in Washington, DC, prior to the Phillies game versus the Washington Nationals. The Phillies have lost their voice, a part of their identity.

My love of the Phillies started in 1985 when I was eight years old. Players like Mike Schmidt, Juan Samuel, and Steve Carlton inspired me to want to play but it was the voice and enthusiasm of Harry Kalas that made me love the game. Harry had a style and delivery like no other and you could instantly see how much he truly loved the game. Harry's wonderful rapport and chemistry with Richie Ashburn brought them out of the booth and into your home.

I listened to Harry during Harry's induction into the Hall of Fame, his tribute and eulogy of Richie Ashburn in 1997, and his tribute to America and baseball following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

After 24 seasons of watching the Phillies with diehard enthusiasm and faithful, I finally got to hear Harry Kalas call the final out of the World Series in 2008 as they Phillies finally won the World Series that I had been waiting so long for them to win. 24 years of baseball equates to almost 3,900 baseball games and for once, finally, I got to hear Harry cry out, "Swing and a miss, struck him out.... the Phillies are 2008 World Champions of baseball!"

I wish we could bring him back, just like anyone wishes they could bring back a loved one. Harry felt like he was one of my family. I loved listening to him and I couldn't wait until Spring Training every year after a long, cold winter so I could hear Harry call a Grapefruit League game.

Harry was certainty in a world of change. As I grew older and my life situation changed from year to year, as Presidents changed, as economies rose and fell, and entire countries came and went, I could always count on hearing Harry broadcast a Spring Training game and know that all was right as long as we have baseball in the world. I always felt like Harry was speaking directly to me, as did millions of others in the listening area.

I got to meet Harry one time, briefly, in Clearwater, Florida, about ten years ago. It was a pleasure to speak with him and he was a gracious and genuine person. He even signed a baseball bat for me. At the time, his signature was just one of about twenty-five or so signatures that I was able to collect. Now, that bat is all about Harry's signature with twenty-four others.

I write this post with tears in my eyes and heaviness in my heart. With his death, I feel like I lost a dear friend, a family member, a loved one. Now that he is gone, he becomes even more immortal than he was in life. The Phillies have lost their voice and baseball will never be the same. Thanks for the memories, Harry, we all loved you and will miss you. Your legend will live on forever, as long as there is baseball in the world.

So long, old friend.

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

The TMIP Disney Photo Forum recently passed over 4,000,000 page views and just today, the TMIP Disney Photo Gallery passed it's 3,000,000th photo served. Thanks for all of the support and patronage over the years.

Remember, there is a coupon special running on the TMIP Print Gallery... head over to The Magic in Pixels Homepage for complete details.

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

The Magic in Pixels proudly announces it's first signature event, PIXELMANIA!
Walt Disney World Resort, December 3 - December 6.
A gathering of photography, friends, and fun.




WHAT IS PIXELMANIA! ?
Pixelmania! is a festival of Disney Photography, friendship, and fun!

WHO IS THE COMMUNITY THAT IS PRESENTING PIXELMANIA! ?
Pixelmania! is a presentation of The Magic in Pixels.com, the #1 community for Disney Theme Park Photography!

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
Pixelmania! is being held so Disney Photography Enthusiasts can have fun taking pictures and learning with each other in a relaxed environment with other like minded enthusiasts. It is also an opportunity for members of TMIP and other communities to meet and share a common interest.

WHERE IS IT?
Walt Disney World Resort

WHEN IS IT?
December 3, 2009 - December 6, 2009

WHO CAN ATTEND?
ANYONE who enjoys taking photos in the Disney parks.

WHAT IS IT GOING TO BE LIKE?
Events are going to be fun and informative, such as learning how to improve night time photography or get that perfect photo of your favorite location. The format will be open so you don't have to feel rushed going from event to event.

IS THERE A SCHEDULE OF EVENTS?
The official schedule is currently on the drawing board so stay tuned and keep yourself up to date!

I ONLY HAVE A SMALL CAMERA....
Hakuna Matata! You will have just as much fun as everyone else or you get your registration fee refunded.

OK. SO HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO REGISTER?
Basic registration is FREE! There will be opportunities to help defray costs by purchasing t-shirts, etc., at a later date.

I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION!
Send an email to tim(at)themagicinpixels(dot)com with your suggestion and it will be given consideration.

I WOULD LIKE TO HELP!
Please help by making a small contribution via Paypal (please email for details) and sharing this information to the members of the communities that you run and participate in to help make Pixelmania! a smash hit.

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SAVE 25% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER NOW THRU APRIL!

From now through the end of April, all items in The Magic in Pixels store can be had for 25% off the regular price! Even better, spend $75 and get free shipping as well. New prints will be arriving very soon, so check back often and load up while the special sale is going on. Prints from The Magic in Pixels are professionally printed and are perfect for your home or office, and also make great gift ideas!

Special requests, such and digital artwork and customization can be made by emailing tim(at)themagicinpixels(dot)com. Looking for a particular subject? Send in your requests as well (no characters, please).

You must use discount code 25OFF to get the special price. Go to themagicinpixels.com/shopping to get started!

Labels: 11x14, 16x20, 8x10, prints, sale, walt disney world

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This fantastic image of Cinderella Castle in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom combines a series of photographs of varying exposures, combines them with HDR creation software, then tops it off with a touch of Photoshop magic for one amazing image. Quite a bit of time went into the creation of this beautiful scene, with one person commenting that, "it has an Annie Liebowitz look it to". Complement accepted for sure.

This print is available for purchase at The Magic in Pixels in the following sizes: 8x10, 11x14, 16x20. Go to themagicinpixels.com/shopping and get one for yourself or as a gift for someone else today!

Use discount code 25OFF to save 25% on your entire order!

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

Once upon a time there was a Sword named Excalibur which was lodged in an anvil in an enchanted place called Fantasyland. The stone on which the anvil rested was inscribed, "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rich and wise ruler born of England".



Along came the young price, Sir William, full of vim and vigor and in his youthful exuberance did he try to free said sword from it's prison of iron and stone. But, alas, it was not to be.


Even with his father, Lord Timoteo, by his side, young Sir William could not free the sword, despite his most passionate attempts. Clearly, all of the muscle power the young men could amass would not be enough to release Excalibur from it's prison.


Along came Lord Timoteo's father, whom Sir William doth moniker as the Mighty Pop-Pop, and try as they might, they three nobelmen could not manage to retrieve the mighty Excalibur. This was going to take more than sheer muscle and might to solve. What to do? What to do?


After wishing on a star with his tender heart, the sweet and loving Sir William got his wish in the form of a fairy named Valerie, who wore a magical white straw hat and carried a magic wand that made bubbles with every wave. Could Valerie grant Sir William the magical powers needed to release Excalibur from it's place of confinement? Did Sir William possess the purity and innocence to free the Sword from the Stone?


With some magic words and little bit of pixie dust, something incredible started to happen... the sword began to lift from the anvil! All hail Sir William, the new King of Fantasyland!

Labels: fantasyland, sword and stone, the magic kingdom

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Hey all, just a quick note to let you know that I am off to the 'World with my son and father for a few days. A much needed vacation, the highlight of this trip will be the Phillies vs. Braves Spring Training game at Disney's Wide World of Sports. Accompanying us to the game will be my grandfather, making four generations of guys in our family catching a Phillies game in Walt Disney World. It doesn't get any better than that.

Stay tuned for news and updates!

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Just a quick note to anyone who noticed that The Magic in Pixels has been a bit "wonky" the past few days...

I had to make a sudden and unexpected change in hosting companies with very little notice and no time to debug and test the site on the new server before going live. Needless to say, things don't always go as smoothly as planned. Thanks to some nice help and support from friends of TMIP, most of the issues have now been resolved and we are back to operating as close to normal as possible.

If you are in need of quality hosting with a small outfit where you can get some help when you need it, I recommend you check out Krypton Hosting and see if they have a solution that fits your needs.

Thanks for your patience during the transition period and have a magical week.

Labels: krypton hosting

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

I just recently upgraded The Magic in Pixels Disney Photo Forums to Simple Machines Forum version 2.0/RC1 and all in all it went pretty smoothly. A few oopsies by me due to lack of sleep crashed the site completely, but thanks to making numerous backups and some quick assistance from my hosting company, catastrophe was averted.

The forums have a slick new look and some new functionality, not to mention a major new feature coming very soon, just for members of the TMIP Forum. More and more addons and upgrades are coming all the time, so if you are not a member of the TMIP community, you should come on over and register for the forums right away.

Thanks to all of my loyal participants for being patient through the upgrade process; I can promise you that the forum will remain a work in progress and be subject to constant upgrades new features to keep it fresh and growing at the breakneck pace that it has been.

As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome.

Labels: community, forum, simple machines, upgrade

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

I recently posted a new article about getting your colors to POP! in Photoshop CLICK HERE when a question was asked in the forum if this was the way I popped the colors in the Sorcerer Mickey hat in the forum. When I alluded to the fact that there is more than one way to skin a cat, I was asked to post the second technique of making colors POP! Well, HERE YOU GO! (click).

Labels: color, Photoshop, tip, tutorial

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

A special Magical Moment occurred at Mousefest 2008, in which members of The Magic in Pixels were unknowingly thrown into a photography contest to create images for RandyHolbrook.com. Randy is the guitar player for Off Kilter, the Celtic rock band that perform in World Showcase at Epcot. The winning image was supplied by Katie McNamara and is featured on Randy's website She also scored a nice prize pack as well. For the complete recap, visit THIS LINK at The Magic in Pixels. Congrats, Katie!

Labels: contest, epcot, off kilter, randy holbrook, world showcase

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

Tom Sawyer Island is a hidden yet very exciting portion of the Magic Kingdom where you can get some great views of local attractions. Here is Big Thunder Mountain at Walt Disney World as seen from the edge of TSI. I really love the beautiful colors in the rocks and the sky. A very peaceful and scenic image.

Labels: big thunder mountain, the magic kingdom, tom sawyer island

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

The Magic in Pixels would like to wish all of your a blessed, healthy, and Happy New Year. As we enter the year 2009, let us all reflect on how good we all really do have it, and be thankful for all of the good things that have happened in our lives.

Thanks to the entire TMIP community for the way TMIP exploded in 2008. Without the participation of it's members, a community cannot and will not survive and TMIP is thriving and continuing to grow every day. Be sure to look for all kinds on new content in 2009, and if you are not a member of the TMIP community, be sure to register and being participating.

Happy New Year, everyone! Onward and upward!

Labels: misc

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I recently obtained a new plugin for Adobe Photoshop CS4 which will turn any color photo into a vintage black and white image. Through a careful mix of layers and blending, the resulting image is as shown. I think the treatment suits the image quite perfectly. Got any other ideas for this treatment (besides the Hollywood Tower Hotel, which is a given)? By adding the black and white to a new layer and changing the opacity of the black and white layer, some of the underlying color was allowed to blend through, creating a new image with a spooky tone.

Labels: Haunted Mansion, Photoshop, the magic kingdom

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

Tim Devine, photographer and owner of TheMagicInPixels.com, has announced that he will donate a portion of his sales at Fred Block's 2008 MagicMeets to the DisneyWorldTrivia.com Dream Team Project.

"As a father of a very healthy two year old, I know first hand the magic and thrill of a Disney vacation, as seen through my son's eyes and mine," says Tim. "I have also seen how the Disney magic can bring a smile to the faces of ill children as well and that really inspires me to want to do what I can to help. I just think it's the right thing to do to try to give that magic to someone else who may not be as fortunate."

The Magic In Pixels will have a large selection of matted 8 x 10" prints, 16 x 20" prints, and photo CDs. Additionally, orders for 16 x 20" prints may be placed in advance through TheMagicInPixels.com or at the table at MagicMeets. He will donate on-the-spot a percentage of the sales that are made at his table by the end of the Auction that day.

This is a wonderful opportunity for MagicMeets attendees to purchase some beautiful art for their homes that will also help a worthy cause!

The Dream Team Project thanks Tim Devine for his generous contribution!

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

All 16x20 mounted prints in THE MAGIC IN PIXELS WEBSTORE are now on sale at 20% off the everyday prices. Each 16x20 print is mounted on hard backing and shipped flat, ready to be framed and displayed. Most of the 8x10 matted prints in the store can also be printed as a 16x20 so if you see something that you like and would want larger, please send an email to sales (at) themagicinpixels (dot) com. Go over to THE MAGIC IN PIXELS WEBSTORE and make your selections today! For a limited time only.

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Visit The Magic in Pixels.com.
View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

For any of you who peruse The Magic in Pixels Disney Photo Forums, you would be glad to know that there are a ton of new features that were just added:


1. Recent posts at the bottom of the forum index have been tweaked a bit to show number of replies and the post icon.
2. The TAB button now works in the posting box so you can very easily align text without needed to use a table.
3. A TMIP favicon is now next to the URL in the address bar (see above).
4. The breadcrumb trail at the top and bottom of the forum itself is now a bit more hierarchal for easier navigation.
5. You can preview a post by hovering with the mouse over the title of the post itself.
6. Most recent poster's avatar now shows on the forum index and board index pages.
7. Filtering options now appear at the bottom of the board index pages (makes it easy to sort among the posts).
8. Inside of your profile, you can now see the number of monthly posts and topics started (profile -> show stats).
9. At the top of the recent posts (bottom of forum index) is a new "Most popular topic today" block.
10. "Quoted" images show no longer appear more than once in the original post.
11. There is a new "spoiler" button which covers up potential spoilers. Use the "Sp" button in the posting tools.
12. The topic starter inside of that specific topic now has the tag "Topic Starter" in his profile box on that specific board.
13. The stats page now has a new "Top 10 Posters Today" and "Top 10 Posters This Week" section.
14. Everyone has a new User Control Panel instead of the original profile editor.
15. There is a new "email user" in the member list and each member's profile which takes you to a contact form.
16. Several new administrative tools and modifications.
17. Dormant members now get an automated reminder to come back and check out what's new.
18. An new button (blue arrow) was added in the posting buttons next to the add image button so you can now wrap text around an inline image.
19. Avatars have been repositioned on the post pages to be right under the stars and above the other information. Labels have been bolded as well.

So head on over and join this really great community and talk Disney Theme Park photography.

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

I am sure by now you have noticed the stunning new banner that is featured on this site. Well, time to give a bit of props to the designer. Thanks to Jeff Pepper (2719 Hyperion), there is a new banner and logo for The Magic in Pixels. Jeff is also the owner of JP Graphics and Design and he has designed custom graphics for Grumpy's Hollow, ImagiNerding, and the cover for Lou Mongello's Main Street CD. If you contact him, he can design some stuff for you too at a very reasonable price.

Great job, Jeff, much appreciated.

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.

Yesterday, 12/31/2007, The Magic in Pixels Disney Photo Forum hit 10,000 posts in it's short history. Congrats to forum member Dan for hitting the milestone with his post. Also, today, 1/1/2008, The Magic in Pixels Disney Photo Gallery hit 1,000,000 photos viewed since the new gallery software package was installed less than a year ago. So, congrats to TMIP for continuing to grow and bring a lot of enjoyment to Disney Photo Enthusiasts the world around. Happy New Year!

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There is a new article on The Magic in Pixels titled, Spaceship Earth - Then and Now. The article takes you on a scene by scene tour of the attraction at Epcot, pointing out the new vs. the old and some points of interested in between. To read the entire article, head over to THE MAGIC IN PIXELS and click on the articles link. Here is a brief teaser of the article...

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EXTERIOR

THEN



NOW



Well, it's clear to see that the classic, pure look of Spaceship Earth has returned to Epcot. Gone is the Mickey wand and "Epcot" wording in favor of the pure geosphere in it's perfect round form. There are new signs for the attraction on the legs as you enter, however other than that, not too much has changed except for some new palm trees on each side of the attraction.

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To read the entire article, head over to THE MAGIC IN PIXELS and click on the articles link.

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View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.