Monday, September 08, 2014

Frontierland 1956

Here are some more images from a set of slides that were found by Kevin and Amber! 

This is a nice view of the south end of Tom Sawyer Island, with the old mill endlessly turning. Notice Tom Sawyer's Shack, where you could rent a fishing pole and catch yourself a trout. Just below that, there is a father carefully snapping a photo of his wife and son (or are they both kids? Hard to tell). In the background to the extreme right you can just see a Stage Coach.


This view looks so moody and misty. On the far shore, a Conestoga Wagon and a Stage Coach follow the trail into the wilderness. I think this picture must have been taken from the balcony of the Golden Horseshoe; what do you think?


8 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

A Rainbow Mountain Stage Coach, Conestoga Wagon and a brand-new Tom Sawyer Island - this is definitely a triple thrill. What a great way to start the week-!

Thanks, Major.

Chuck said...

That first photo reminds me of the old National Geographic "Red Shirt School of Photography" - to add a little pizzazz to a scenic shot, throw in a model wearing a red shirt or sweater. There are no less than three red tops in this image.

Junior looks much more interested in the corner of the fencepost than ol' Dad and his camera. Ah, the joy of child portrait photography...

K. Martinez said...

In the second image, the three people walking along the trail on the edge of Tom Sawyer Island seem to make the Rivers of America look smaller in scale or more compact. Both images today are extra nice. Again, another great find by Kevin and Amber. Thanks, Major.

Anonymous said...

I like that first picture too. Dad has actually taken a seat while composing his kid photo - such a perfectionist!
And as a follow-up to Chuck's reference about the Red Shirt trick: when you have a large area of your photo that is boring or colorless, throw a moose antler into the frame. Aim for the roof, cuz that's where moose usually lose them and it won't look weird.

Thanks Amber and Kevin!

Bill in Denver

Nanook said...

To elaborate on the old National Geographic 'trick', they really took their cue from Technicolor. The Technicolor "look" remembered so fondly consisted of more than saturated colors - it was their whole color 'design' - from the costuming, to the makeup, to the sets, to the framing, to the lighting, all the way to their version of the "red shirt". That often consisted of a bright gold or peacock blue or purple highlight, usually on an actor's costume; or maybe a set piece or prop.

And when the look of saturated colors fell out of favor, the 'design' lingered.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, it's so funny to see the Conestoga Wagon tootling along the shore - it was there for such a relatively short time, it almost feels like some other theme park.

Chuck, it's interesting that you mention that, because I noticed the red shirts, and because there are plenty of vintage Disneyland postcards in which the clothing has been retouched to be bright and colorful. Red was popular, but so was yellow and green. You can often find variations of the cards in which the same person wears a different color depending on when it was printed.

K. Martinez, maybe it's because of the scrawny plants and trees too? It does seem less impressive than in later years when it was (is) so lush and green.

Bill in Denver, it makes me wonder how many pictures dad took of his kids. Maybe they will pop up on Daveland or someplace! As for moose antlers, the same rule goes for other parts of animals. Try it and see!

Nanook, somehow I always believed that NatGeo was more "documentary" in content; I'm surprised that they would stoop to inserting colorful elements for the sake of a better (but not totally "real") picture. It's almost like the old Disney nature featurettes, which are often wonderful, but sometimes embarrassing.

Melissa said...

I wonder if they used real animal horns on that roof or clever fakes.

Nanook said...

@ Melissa-

With Disney, you can never be too sure. But being as this is Disneyland's second year of operation, the chances are pretty high those horns are the real deal.