Fantasmic! is one of those shows that you don’t realize how difficult it is to photograph until you try and fail. My first time visiting Walt Disney World, I was so in love with Fantasmic!, but didn’t realize how challenging it would be to get photos worth looking at. The nighttime show features fireworks, characters, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers and mist screen projections — all notorious for being rather difficult to capture properly. Coupled with the fact that seating for the show is pretty far away from the action for safety reasons, getting good shots at Fantasmic! seemed impossible on my first visit.

But I love a good challenge, and years later I returned to Hollywood Studios and watched Fantasmic! prepared to get photos I’d be proud of. Fantasmic! definitely had an influence on my love of event photography and being able to capture the perfect moment in challenging circumstances, and for that reason, this show will always hold a special place in my heart.