Saturday 16th May saw us heading down to Paultons Park for the opening of Valgard: Realm of the Vikings. Now, I’ll admit, I’m probably not the typical theme park visitor. I’m not a huge roller coaster enthusiast and I could quite happily avoid standing in enormous queues for a few seconds of adrenaline-fuelled chaos. My wife and kids though? Completely different story. They absolutely love it.
What I do enjoy is the atmosphere surrounding these parks — the theming, the creativity, and the engineering behind the rides themselves. There’s something fascinating about the way steel track twists through carefully crafted landscapes, designed to immerse you in another world for a few brief moments.
With that in mind, I packed my trusty old Fujifilm X-T1 along with the Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS, a combination that feels perfect for this sort of environment. Wide enough to capture towering structures, sweeping track curves and busy themed areas, while still being compact enough to carry around all day. I also slipped my Mia Pinhole Body Cap into the bag because, honestly, I can never resist trying to photograph places a little differently.
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| Heading up the DRAKON |
After braving the new rides with the family, I wandered off for a while to capture whatever caught my eye. Rather than focusing on the obvious “ride photos”, I found myself drawn more towards the shapes and movement around me — the way the coaster track carved through the sky, the repeating lines of support beams, and the contrast between the harsh steel structures and the softer themed scenery surrounding them.
The 10-24mm lens was ideal for exaggerating those curves and angles. Looking up from beneath the rides gave everything a slightly surreal scale, with the tracks almost appearing to fold back in on themselves. Wide-angle lenses always have a way of making engineering feel even more dramatic.
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| Vild Swing |
Then there was the pinhole body cap. Completely impractical for a busy theme park? Probably. But that’s part of the fun. Slowing things down amongst the noise and movement creates images that feel completely detached from the rush around you. While crowds hurried between rides and queues stretched across the park, the pinhole images turned the scene into something softer and more dreamlike.
That contrast ended up becoming my favourite part of the day — high-speed rides and chaotic energy captured through one of the slowest and simplest forms of photography possible.
Valgard itself looks fantastic. Even for someone who isn’t chasing the biggest thrills, I can appreciate the amount of work that goes into creating an area like this. The theming feels immersive without being overdone, and the towering coaster structures give plenty of photographic opportunities even if you never step onto the rides themselves.
By the end of the day, while everyone else was talking about their favourite rides, I was probably more excited about the photographs — abstract track shapes, wide architectural views, and a few wonderfully imperfect pinhole frames.
Sometimes days out like this remind me that photography isn’t always about finding spectacular landscapes or perfect light. Sometimes it’s simply about observing the details around you, even in places designed entirely for noise, speed, and excitement.
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| To infinity - Velociraptor |
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| The drop of Drakon |
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| Raven and Drakon intertwining |
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| Raven |
I found myself scrolling through the images on the Fuji, already spotting little details I’d missed during the day. Curves of steel against the sky, blurred movement from passing rides, and the occasional imperfect pinhole frame that somehow captures the feeling of the place better than a perfectly sharp image ever could.
Theme parks probably still won’t turn me into a rollercoaster addict anytime soon, but days like this remind me that photography can make almost anywhere interesting. Whether it’s the engineering behind the rides, the carefully crafted theming, or simply the atmosphere of a busy family day out, there’s always something worth noticing through a camera lens.
And honestly, that’s half the fun of carrying a camera everywhere.
See more Theme park adventures post here
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