I have been asked several times what made me want to publish a book about Walt Disney World. Doesn’t Disney put out their own books? Aren’t there several of them already in circulation? Well, yes Disney does put out their own books, with images that cover the parks, resorts and ancillary things on the property. I have a nice collection of them actually, but none of them quite capture the magic of Disney that lives within me and it has long been a dream of mine to bring to life what I envisioned. You have to start somewhere, right? This started with a dream.
Walt Disney World holds some of the greatest memories of my childhood, times spent with my family, the laughter and the magical moments that still fill my days with a smile. I have been visiting the parks since the day they opened in 1971. When I was a teenager, my Mom was an independent artist for Disney. She spent a great deal of time going back and forth from our home in Tampa to Kissimmee, and of course, my sisters and I would tag along when we could and play in the parks. We literally grew up in the parks. And, just a few months ago, I found out from my Dad that 500 acres of the Walt Disney World property belonged to my grandfather and was sold to one of the companies that were part of the “Florida Project.” Mind blown! There is a history of Disney connections in my life, no wonder I was feeling the desire to create something that captured all of the magic within.
For several years, and on every visit to the parks, I found myself looking for something unique as far as books go to no avail. I wanted a dynamic photography book that would rest on my coffee table just waiting to be perused whenever I was longing to be at my favorite place. No offense to Disney for their products, but what I was finding just didn’t satisfy the craving I had for fine art photography of Walt Disney World. I had visions and dreams of something spectacular, something that every Disney fan would love. I decided it was time for me to be change. Capturing the Magic is a dream in the making.
So, how do I do this? Where do I begin? Well, over a year ago, I started writing, recalling all of the history and details that I have absorbed during visits to Walt Disney World since it first opened. It was fun and it was a welcome escape from my hectic everyday business life. But then I encountered a problem….I didn’t have the incredible photography that was necessary to make this dream a reality. I am certainly no photographer and even my best shots weren’t worthy of filling this beautiful book I envisioned.
For months at a time, I searched for semi-professional Disney photographers online and on Facebook. I wanted to find someone who had a passion for Disney that was similar to mine. There are tons of photographers out there who shoot Walt Disney World but none of them quite met my standards of excellence. Most of the images I was seeing were horribly over-processed, reflecting colors that don’t even exist in the parks because they are so heavily photoshopped and layered. Very frustrating!
And then I found Disney Image Makers – WOW! I was blown away by the artistry in every one of their images. I spent hours just looking through their images, each one more beautiful than the last. Who are Disney Image Makers? What kind of people are they? Where does their passion come from? Are these the partners I have been searching for? So many questions! After many conversations and meeting in person, I knew they were the perfect choice for the coffee table book I had been dreaming of for several years. I found my partners – my Dream Team.
Eric and Bill are amazing guys with a deep love for all things Disney, just like me. They are family guys, also an important criteria for me, with careers and their Disney photography is a hobby they are extremely passionate about. As a Disney blogger, I have met a handful of wonderful people in this little niche but I have also encountered a world of some not-so-honest people – people who pilfer ideas and try to make them their own, people who step on others to get to where they think is the top – very disheartening. This was not the case with these guys. Bill and Eric are the complete opposite of what I had experienced. They are true to form, honest, smart, creative and fun and our visions of creating something magical were parallel. Time to get this ball rolling!
We wondered how we would do this given the geographic challenges we were faced with, Bill and Eric living in New York and my living in North Carolina. Given the convenience of sharing things digitally, it worked beautifully and we were off and running. We worked for close to a year, in constant and daily conversations via messaging and emails. We worked tirelessly on our book, sharing screenshots of the page spreads as we designed them, taking time away from our families and friends in an effort to get it completed. We spent countless hours matching images with text and vice versa. Teamwork was key in this whole process, and frankly, I had the best team I could have ever imagined having.
In the process of our project, my friend and mentor, Pam Brandon, came on board offering expertise, guidance and an unwavering amount of support. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Pam, she is the wonderful lady who serves up all the delicious news as Disney Parks Food Writer on the Disney Parks Blog and has written every Disney cookbook you probably have in your collection. She has a long history with The Walt Disney Company so her knowledge and expertise was priceless, especially when it came to editing. Needless to say, we are indebted to Pam for her hard work, her kindness, her enthusiasm in our project and her encouraging words to make this dream come true. Without Pam, I am not sure I would be telling this story.
Pam introduced me to Story Farm Publishing owner, Bob Morris where, after several phone conversations and a meeting in his Winter Park office, I knew Capturing the Magic would be in good hands. Together, we would create a beautiful work of art to offer Disney fans. Once our work was complete as far as images and text were concerned, Bob and Pam took the reins and lead us down the path of publishing. This was a path worth taking.
©Disney Image Makers
We moved into the design stages – YES! This is exciting! Don’t get me wrong, we did a fairly decent job at designing our pages and were pretty proud of ourselves for doing so, especially being newbies. Well, at least we thought so until it was time for our awesome designer, Jason Farmand of Hatchet Design, LLC, to take over. I have to admit the first design samples I saw were not what I expected. They were different from our original design, but I was given reassurance that it would be wonderful when completed. We had complete trust in our team and Jason did a stellar job designing our book. After reviewing the page proofs last week, it is beyond wonderful….it is absolutely perfect. Hats off to you, Jason!
©Disney Image Makers
Viewing the page proofs had to be the most exciting part so far. We were so excited to see this year-long project we created with our team of experts come to life on actual pages. I can’t even describe it, so many emotions ran through me, but mostly pride. It was a pretty spectacular moment for all three of us. There we stood, holding in our hands a result of all of our hard work. A year’s worth of work in vibrant color form – Wow! This is a dream come true!
©Disney Image Makers
©Disney Image Makers
Having such great blessings bestowed upon us, we know we are fortunate but we also know the importance of giving back – a pay it forward, if you will. Bill, Eric and I decided long ago that we would not just make this our personal project but one that makes a difference. We have chosen the Make-A-Wish Foundation as our way of giving back. For every copy of Capturing the Magic purchased, we will donate $1.00 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help make a child’s wish come true. Given the long-standing relationship between Walt Disney World and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, we feel strongly about following Disney’s lead and giving to this wonderful organization.
Our motivation behind this is not just the relationship between Disney and Make-A-Wish but one that is on a very personal level for me. In March of 2014, a beautiful young lady who was close to my family, Amber, lost her two year battle with brain cancer. She was only 17 when she passed away but she was wise beyond her young years and accomplished great things in her short life. During her valiant battle against cancer, she selflessly worked to raise over $16,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Amber was a Wish recipient, and she wanted to be a part of helping other kids with life-threatening diseases have their wishes granted. It is an honor for us to carry on her legacy and be a part of making a wishes come true as well.
So, I will leave you with this….publishing a book requires a lot of work, dedication and a great team. Without our amazing Story Farm team – Pam, Bob, Jason, Marcie, Bo, Mick, Veronica and Tina – this dream would not have become a reality. Making ANY dream come true requires hard work and dedication but it IS possible. In the words of Walt Disney, “All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” Don’t ever be afraid to wish upon a star or to pursue your dreams, they really can come true, it just takes a little faith, trust and, you guessed it, pixie dust!
Here is a preview of Capturing the Magic:
To reserve your copy of Capturing the Magic, click here to visit our website. We are currently taking preorders and anticipate shipping to begin November 1, 2015. Our preorders are off to a great start and for that we are thankful. We truly hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it!
Visit www.capturing-the-magic.com for a preview of the stunning coffee table book, Capturing the Magic and purchase your copy today.
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