QUESTIONS
1. Why does this site even have a FAQ section?
2. Can I use your photos for my _______?
3. Can we exchange links?
4. Why do your photos look so _________?
5. What kind of cameras do you use?
6. What computer/software do you use?
7. You need to get pictures of _______!
8. Will you use my incredible coaster photos?
9. Why do you have so many pictures of lame/weird coasters?
10. How many coasters have you ridden? What are your favorites?
11. Do you take all these photos yourself?
12. Do you have a privacy policy?
13. What happened to the hidden pictures?
14. When did you start taking coaster pictures?
15. Your gallery numbers don’t match up!
16. Why don’t you have POV photos?
17. I found a mistake!
18. What is the music in the (fill in the blank) video?
19. What’s the deal with all the stupid photos on this page?
20. My question isn’t in the FAQ!
Why Does This Site Even Have A FAQ Section?
You’d probably be surprised at the volume of questions that comes my way about the site, the pictures, the rides, the parks, the weather, whatever! Hopefully your question is answered here. If it’s not then drop me a line. I answer all but the most ridiculous inquiries. I’m cool like that.
Can I Use Your Photos For My ______________?
Feel free to take as many of my images (also includes videos, wallpapers, etc) as you want for personal use. Add to your collection, use them as desktop wallpaper, whatever. That’s what the photos are here for – to enjoy! However if you wish to use any of my photos for public display of any kind, please drop me a line. I’m open to letting other sites use a few photos from my collection. If I do grant permission to use one of our photos on your site, it cannot be altered in any way 
(including, but not limited to, resizing, cropping, etc) and a visible text link to coasterimage.com must appear immediately above or below the photo on the same page as the picture.
If you would like to use one of my photos for a commercial project please contact me with the understanding that I do not obtain model or property releases for any of my photographs. My pictures have been used in countless regional publications, national magazines, books, advertisements, at major amusement parks themselves, on official park websites and by amusement parks for advertising, promotional and commercial purposes. I’m able to offer photos in a variety of formats, feel free to contact me for more information. I have the original negatives and/or digital files of all my photos on file and will aggressively pursue my rights as owner of the photographs.
I’ve also contributed information and done interviews for various forms of print media as well as radio & television and in addition to my photography may also be able to contribute to your project in other ways. As with my photography, contact me for more information.
In other words: “Just ask”
I also respectfully request that you do not “hardlink” or “deeplink” to our photos. (This is linking directly to photos on my server from your site) If you wish to use any of my pics and I’ve granted permission, please store the photo(s) on your server.
Mirroring this site in any way is also stirctly prohibited and a violation of applicable copyright laws.
Please respect these requests as I work hard to keep this site enjoyable for everyone.
Can We Exchange Links?
Yes we can! I’m willing to trade with anyone who keeps a well maintained, active roller coaster or amusement park related website. Just add Coasterimage.com to your link page and drop me a line. I’ll add your site to our links page as soon as I receive the request. Don’t ask for preferential treatment please, I list the links in alphabetical order. It keeps it as fair as possible.
Why Do Your Photos Look So ____________?
Most of the mail we receive comments on the photos. They’ve been described using just about every adjective in the English language (and several others). The truth is that everyone’s computer capabilities are different. Everyone’s hardware is different. Everyone has different preferences. There’s no way I (or anyone for that matter) can possibly ensure that images look great on every computer that views them.
On my end I go to great lengths to offer the highest quality images possible. I use a high quality Sony monitor that I have optimized to the best of my ability. Is it perfect? Well, nothing is, but I’ve done much research into obtaining the truest, highest quality output from my pc and monitor and from the tests I’ve run things look to be set up pretty darn well.
In general, older photos look worse than newer ones. Basically, my technique, equipment and mad skillz have improved greatly since I began this site and they continue to do so. I hope to someday go back and bring older material up to the quality of the newest.
What Kind Of Camera Do You Use?
I’ve used so many cameras to get the pics on this site that it’s almost silly. Let me try to keep it straight:
2001 – I used a Pentax ZX-30 for 99% of my photos. I also had an Olympus D-360L digital camera and a small Pentax point and shoot (EZY-R) that were used for some of the pictures.
2002 – My still photo set-up stayed the same. I began grabbing video with an older model Sony camcorder (TRV-68).
2003 – I kept with that set-up until June when I bought an Olympus C-740UZ digital camera. At this point my photos went from 95% film/5% digital to 90% digital/10% film.
2004 – I got a new Sony MiniDV camcorder (TRV-22) and my photo set-up has stayed the same. However, I rarely use the film cameras – I’m 99% digital at this point!
2005 – Video set-up stayed the same. Picked up a Canon Rebel XT for photos. Consider this the year I made the full switch to digital.
2006 – Same set-up, but added a Fuji Finepix Z1 because it’s a cute little camera that will be nice for dropping in my pocket and easily carrying around for shots where the big camera isn’t necessary or logical.
2007 – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Same set-up as 2006. Looking at the possibility of a new camera purchase sometime next year.
2008 – Updated my camera to a Canon Rebel XSI and picked up a couple of new lenses as well. For now everything else remains the same.
2009 – Still using the XSI for photos. Got a Sony HDR-SR12 for video. Yay HD!
This is just what works for me. I always tell people that simply buying the same equipment will not give the same results. I could go buy all the same paints and supplies the great french artists use, but my paintings will not be fine art. Some of the photos on this site were taken with a disposable camera. It just proves that a good picture is a good picture regardless of how you got it. Find what works for you and run with it. That’s all I did.
What Kind Of Computer/Software Do You Use?
On the hardware side…
I got lazy in 2009 and just bought a Dell. In the past I built my own and in the future I will again. If you have any interest in building your own PC, I highly encourage it – you’ll get exactly what you want and spend less for it. I fully plan on building myself a new machine in the near future.
On the software side…
The key to the photos is Adobe’s Photoshop. The difference between taking pictures and photography is post processing. Learn it, love it, live it. I do video work with Sonic Foundry’s Vegas Video. I do music work with Sony’s Sound Forge & Acid and I also use Cakewalk for music production. The site itself is designed with Macromedia’s Dreamweaver and then tweaked by hand. I’ve stolen some elements from both Wordpress and ZenPhoto to build the latest version of the site. Sometimes I close my eyes and blindly pound my keyboard like an angry gorilla and then add whatever comes out of it to the site. Whatever works to get the job done!
You Need To Get Pictures Of ___________!
I’ll bet you’re right. One problem though. We do this entirely out of our own pockets. We’re just a couple of enthusiasts just like you who have to get days off of work, find the cash and plan for travel, get into the parks, take the photos and video, process it all and spit it back out for everyone to enjoy. Not to toot my own horn, but it’s much more work than most people would believe. If we haven’t hit your favorite park or coaster yet, don’t despair. We enjoy this as much as just about anything we do and we plan on hitting every last park and ride we can. You can get a bit more insight as to our plans by checking our travel schedule.
The best way to help out is simply support the site. Visit often, tell a friend, pick up some gear, score a DVD – those kinds of things help more than you could probably imagine. The more support the site gets, the more we can get out and get those pictures.
Will You Use My Incredible Coaster Photos?
I hate to be so blunt, but no. We’re rather proud that our content is 100% our own. I’m sure your photos are just fine and dandy but there’s just way too much involved in keeping track of my own pictures, let alone everybody else’s. Sorry. Why not try your hand at making your own site? It’s good fun and chicks will dig you! Or if that’s too hard, sign on to one of those sites that rely on their users to supply most of their content. You’ll at least get your photos seen, I suppose.
Why Do You Have So Many Pictures of Lame/Weird Coasters?
The truth is we love all things amusement park. Big or small, popular or lesser known – we’re equal opportunity enthusiasts. One of the reasons I’m particularly proud to include these lesser known coasters on the site is the fact that not many (if any) other sites include many of these coasters. Sure everyone is familiar with the big chain parks and their super sized, larger than life rides and we love those rides as much as the rest of you. But with so many sites featuring the same old photos of the same old rides, it really all becomes the same old material. We like the fact that you can find photos of some coasters and rides here that you will not find at any other site on the internet. They may not be as popular but we still love them. If you just want to see the “big” parks and rides, we have those too. We also try our hardest to get unique perspectives on these rides and we feel that all our photos are among the best on the internet. We try to cover all the bases so look around and you’ll more than likely find what you’re after…did I mention that I like pie?
How Many Coasters Have You Ridden? What Are Your Favorites?
As of April 17, 2009 I’ve ridden 329 coasters. My favorites include whatever I’m riding.
My daughter is 11 years old and as of July 23, 2009 has ridden 268 coasters.
My son is 8 years old and as of July 23, 2009 has ridden 103 coasters.
My wife has no idea how many coasters she’s ridden. She is clearly above us all.
At any rate, we’re having a good time with it.
Do You Take All Of These Photos Yourself?
Yes. Well, pretty much. In fact, I do pretty much everything associated with the site myself. There are a handful of photos (especially ones I’m in) that my wife or daughter have taken, but other than those they’re all mine. (yes, there are a couple of coaster photos on this site taken by a 4 year old and I’m not telling which)
Coasterimage.com isn’t like a lot of sites out there. Some sites rely on their visitors to supply most of their content. Some are image submission sites where people from all over the world submit their photos. Some have multiple photographers who live in different areas of the country teaming up to create one large site. Some are just full of images that are being used with permission from other sites – there’s no original content. Coasterimage.com is a one man operation in most aspects. I’ve personally been to every park on the site and taken the photos myself. It’s another little quirk of this site that I’m proud of – I’ve been there and done that on all aspects of coasterimage.com. I think it lends a little credibility and consistency to the site. This is much of the reason for my answer to question #8.
Do You Have A Privacy Policy?
Ummm, sure. There is much concern over privacy on the internet and this is a legitimate question. Our policy can be found here.
What Happened To The Hidden Pictures?
Wow, you gotta be a long-time visitor to remember those! They’re gone. To be honest it was a silly little idea that I hoped would be fun, but just turned out to be more of a hassle to impliment. Quite frankly, the hidden pics were just ones I didn’t feel were good enough for the main gallery. As for that hidden video that was floating around – it’s now available in our Video section for download right alongside all it’s ‘non-hidden’ video buddies – good for you Sky Princess.
When Did You Start Taking Amusement Park Pictures?
In 2001.
Although if you want to get technical, I think the first park photos I took were on a trip to Cedar Point with my Grandmother in the late 70’s. I think those photos are probably in a shoebox at my parent’s house. Maybe I’ll dig them out sometime. That’d be a real treat, I’m sure.
Your Gallery Numbers Don’t Match Up!
Believe it or not, I get mail saying this. In all cases it’s been a math error on the sender’s part. If the numbers aren’t adding up for you (and you really care) double check your math. The only place you may get a discrepancy is on the gallery page. If you go by the stats, then count the number of gallery links the numbers will not match. This is because of how I group parks. For example, Walt Disney World has 4 different theme parks, but it’s all under one link on the gallery page. In the stats I count this as four parks/locations, yet the number of gallery links increases only by one. If you still find a match error (and are anal enough to point it out) drop me a line and I’ll show you where you went wrong. (Yes, I’m that confident on my math when it comes to the site statistics)
You should also be aware that the numbers just correspond to photos in the galleries. There are also many, many photos in the special features area of the site and tons of pics just lurking in weird places all over coasterimage.com (for example, the pics on this page) – While we have thousands of photos in the galleries we have plenty more to be found if you just look around the site a bit.
Why Don’t You Have POV Photos Or Video?
First things first. Let me explain to people who may be unfamiliar with the term that ‘POV’ stands for Point Of View. This refers to photos taken while on rides from the riders point of view. Now that we’re all on the same page…
I don’t have any pics or videos in this style pretty much because I’ve never been in a situation where it’s been allowed. What most people don’t understand (or ignore) is the fact that a vast majority of parks don’t allow the practice of photography while riding. Sure, it’s easy enough to take a camera on the ride and 99.99% of the time it can be done without incident. However, I tend to have respect for the parks I visit and if they say no, then I don’t do it. Safety has become quite an issue in the industry recently and now more than ever I feel I’ve always made the right decision. Sure, I’ve felt the pressure to deliver this sort of thing – I get e-mails almost constantly asking why I don’t have POV stuff at coasterimage. Heck, I’ve even been tempted to snag a few shots at times (especially with hard to photograph coasters), but I just have too much respect for the parks and their wishes.
Secondly, I find POV material to be mind numbingly boring. In the case of photos I can at least see the allure in grabbing shots of a tucked away ride that you just can’t get a clean shot of, but I’ve never understood the appeal of POV video. A few good photos or a nice off-ride video will give anyone a great idea of what a ride does. Rather than sit in front of my PC staring blindly at POV video of someone else’s ride and daydreaming, I’d much rather get my ass to the park and ride that thing myself… until the wheels fall off.
I’m sure you’ve seen POV stuff on plenty of sites – much of it legitimately obtained, much of it not. I don’t want to hinder any possible or current park relationships over a few pics or a minute of video. If you need a POV fix that bad, I’m sorry, but you’ll need to look elsewhere. Again, it comes down to respect. Respect the parks and receive the same treatment in return. If the opportunity to get POV ever arises, you can be sure I’ll be on it. Until then…
I Found A Mistake!
Cool. Drop me a line and I’ll look into it. Spelling, facts, links – whatever. If you see something hinky, please let me know so I can get it fixed. I appreciate it.
What Is The Music In The Videos?
All the music in our videos is original – meaning I make it myself. Music has always been a part of my life. I began playing at age 8 and by the time I was 13, I was jamming with a couple bands for fun. At 16 I began playing paying bar gigs. By 26 I was talking to major labels, but having just started a family had to seriously consider whether it was worth the time involved and never came to an agreement with anyone. I’ve been involved with making music on some level for over 20 years now. In addition to a few smaller things I do, this is one way to keep creating music as a part of my life.
Plus, I feel it’s approximately 10,000 times more creative than ripping some commercially produced song and editing my video to it. Any monkey can do that with a CD-Rom and Windows Movie Maker – just look at YouTube.
For the record, you can download the tunes in MP3 format at the bottom of each video page.
What’s With The Stupid Pictures On This Page?
They’re older photos that are park related and predate the site and don’t really fit in anywhere else. I like them, wanted them here and so they are.
My Question Isn’t In The FAQ!
Have a question that isn’t listed here? Check the Terms Of Use and About The Site pages.
Still no answer? Then drop me a line. We’ll answer just about anything you ask and if you think of something we may have overlooked in this section, it just may be added for future generations to ponder. Consider it a contribution to future societies.
