Sunday, January 26, 2014

Unrejected Rejects

It's time to unload more rejects! Blurry, mostly. I feel like I'm "getting away with something" by posting stuff that would ordinarily wind up in the trash.

I was so happy when I held this slide up to the light for the first time. Oh boy, a sweet (and early) view of the Swiss Family Treehouse! But… as you can see, there are problems. It still looks "just OK", with the late afternoon sunlight, but if only it was crisp and clear.


This view of the abandoned Monkey Temple would have been nice; the scruffy "plush" monkeys can be seen (barely) atop that broken column - they weren't there for long. I'm noticing the white patches on the column that look like bird droppings or efflorescence (minerals leaching out of the stone), but it is cool to think that some world-weary craftsman dabbed that on with a paintbrush because he just knew what to do.


The next two are from the same lot - again, they're not terrible, but the photographer didn't have a steady hand. The Friendly Indian Village sits near the banks of the river; a pet moose or elk (or whatever it is) stops for a drink in the area where worker's motor boats could tie up.


And finally, here's a not-too-interesting view of Fort Wilderness. (It's still more interesting than what is there now).


10 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

I actually have a "magical pair of glasses" that eliminates the blur. Okay... not exactly. I'm attempting to train my brain to 'sharpen-up' the blurs. Let's just say it's a work in progress.

I do love the 3rd image - with the Indian Village in the foreground, and peeking its stripy sails above the hills of Nature's Wonderland - the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship.

Ahhhh.

Thanks, Major.

Alonzo P Hawk said...

Since Fort Wilderness and Swiss Family Tree house (in Anaheim) don't exist anymore you can un-reject any and all blurry photos of them(imho). Thanks as always.

Maybe wiggle-vision would have an opposite effect and sharpen them up?

K. Martinez said...

These images brings back memories of the one and only time I went to Disneyland and forgot to wear my glasses. I also like the 3rd image, as it shows the early expanse of Frontierland.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, were those magical glasses given to you by a mysterious little man who vanished when you looked up to thank him? Because that's what happened to me. I'll bet those glimpses of Fantasyland weren't visible for very long before the trees got tall enough to block it.

Alonzo, wiggle-vision turned out to be too risky, since its startling effects sometimes drove people mad. Kind of like Smell-O-Vision.

K. Martinez, if I ever forgot my glasses, I would be very unhappy! The whole place would be much blurrier than these photos. It is kind of cool to see how much land was used to give Frontierland that frontier feeling, considering how Walt desperately wished he had more acreage to expand on.

MRaymond said...

Looks like the photographer had the same problem as my mom. Mash Fingers. The urge to mash the button on top of the camera instead of the gentle squeeze. She said it's because the camera was cheap. :)

Melissa said...

This view of the abandoned Monkey Temple would have been nice; the scruffy "plush" monkeys can be seen (barely) atop that broken column... t is cool to think that some world-weary craftsman dabbed that on with a paintbrush because he just knew what to do.

Sounds like Hanuman could use a Handyman!

The third picture shows a cross between a Moose and an Elk - the rare Møélk. A Møélk once bit my sister... No realli!

Love that shot of the fort, with Old Glory fluttering in the sunny blue sky between the towers. The vegetation was in that perfect state between scrubby/underdone and so overgrown it obscures the buildings or messes up the forced perspective.

Melissa said...

These images brings back memories of the one and only time I went to Disneyland and forgot to wear my glasses.

My best friend has only been to WDW once. Her blind-as-a-bat-without-them glasses got completely smashed on the drive down, but their first day in Florida a pair of Onassis-style prescription sunglasses, missing one bow, washed up on the beach. She tried them on for a laugh, and as luck would have it they were almost exactly the same as her rare prescription. She wore them throughout the trip, holding up the side with no bow whenever it wobbled. DISNEY MAGIC, Y'ALL.

Looks like the photographer had the same problem as my mom. Mash Fingers. The urge to mash the button on top of the camera instead of the gentle squeeze. She said it's because the camera was cheap. :)

I sometimes wonder if that's my problem. My right hand is so much stronger than my left hand they might as well have come from different bodies.

Major Pepperidge said...

MRaymond, the gentle squeeze sounds so easy (it's like firing a gun!), but I never feel like I've gotten the hang of it either. Ah well.

Melissa, I am more of a fan of Ligers than I am of Meélks. But that's just me. The plants in front of the fort look like the settlers have done some serious clearing of the surrounding land, but that was a few years ago and the wilderness is trying to reclaim its territory.

Melissa again, couldn't your friend have used a piece of string or something to make up for the missing piece? Tie one end to the glasses, and staple the other end to the ear. I'm telling you, it would work. Scotch tape and Krazy Glue are good alternatives too.

Melissa said...

She may have eventually done that, and just have been telling me about the early part of the trip holding onto the glasses.

Melissa said...

Now, my sister left her retainer in a rest stop bathroom in South Carolina on our first drive to WDW as kids, and Dad drove an hour back, screaming and cussing all the way. If only we'd known, we'd have just gone on ahead and waited for one to wash up on the beach.