I'm not sure if we've had any Snoozles™ from Florida yet, but today's examples (from 1982) are solid examples of photos that should probably be dropped into the "NUKE" bin (you have a "nuke" bin on your computer, don't you?).
This one is around 50% inky blackness, but you can still see Main Street Station to the right, and the Cup and Saucer, which (oddly) sold cheese graters and yo-yos - both popular theme park souvenirs in '82, thanks in part to that song by Hall & Oates ("Cheese Grater").
As the sun continued to sink, the photos became darker and darker, this one is perhaps 60% velvety black. Imagine if the place really looked like this to guests! I'd be afraid to take a step in any direction, there might be a monster right next to me, waiting to eat me. Overhead: the Pigeon of Doom.
Major-
ReplyDeleteEven in 1982, film (and probably not the best camera in the world) could only do so much back then in low light situations.
Thanks, Major.
I don't have a "NUKE" bin on my computer... at least I don't think I do. But I do have a "BOILING HYDROCHLORIC ACID" tank, which I'm sure would do the trick.
ReplyDeleteThe first pic looks like Chernabog's long shadow creeping across Main Street. [shudder!] But the photo does have an eerie beauty to it.
The second pic looks like another one of those "day for night" shots done with filters in front of the camera lens. But this one needs more of a bluish tint. The "Pigeon of Doom" is actually the Raven of Doom, flying to its master, Chernabog. (I like that name. I'm gonna use it as many times as I can today.)
WDW Snoozles... Neat! Have we had any Knott's Snoozles? Or World's Fair Snoozles? Thanks, Major.
These are actually "familiar" "shots" in my memory. That time at dusk where...it was still a little light....but the actual lights weren't really "lighting up" the street. It almost appeared darker than when it actually got dark...as your eyes were confused. So....when it got darker...and the lights became more "light" it became brighter. It was kind of the time...if the park was closing at 6, where things got "quiet" and started to wind down. The guests were tired, and the kids weren't all wound up...a complete 360 to "rope drop" time. This was the "my shift is almost over" time...so in my visceral memory, it serves as sort of a countdown clock...where you can still smell hot asphalt...the carpeting and the textiles in the emporium (the T shirt wall)....many many visceral memories....like the smell of those giant size candy canes in the Candy Palace...sugar + cellophane ....that shop was ANYTHING but serene....maybe the kiddies already got pumped up with sugar so the parents could get them to the car....or it was a literal contact sugar high? Who knows...but it was a place to avoid at closing...get those Pecan Nuttles and English Toffee early in the day people....They still make these things fresh of course, but the stars have to align for you to be there at the right time, the right day...etc etc....or else you get the pre-packaged stuff...which isn't bad actually, but there IS a freshness factor, no matter how "fresh" it was packed. In the 80's they used Callebaut chocolate, and I would buy bulk chocolate from them when I needed it. Bulk chocolate like that was difficult to find in "normal" places...and you didn't have to buy the 11 pound bar from them....the guys cut it into chunks and put it in a generic bag....like actually buying it from a "real" candy store in your neighborhood...and I suppose it WAS my neighborhood...on that note...thanks for taking me back Major with a Snoozlely Sunday.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I occasionally question your assignment of various views to the Snoozle™️ category, but today I feel you are spot-on (as they say across The Pond).
ReplyDeleteI don’t know enough about WDW to pick out any favorite landmarks, and I’ll be sure not to try to print these out as they will use all my printer’s black ink cartridge.
Thank you for trying, hopefully another Junior Gorilla can make something of them.
JG
Nanook, I know you’re right, BUT… maybe with a faster film and a better camera… miracles could have happened!
ReplyDeleteJB, the NUKE bin is right next to the “puree” button. Over there. See it? Hydrochloric acid is a lot of fun, I love to throw random stuff into it and watch it dissolve. Your mention of the Raven of Doom made me wonder if the Florida parks have a crow problem like Disneyland does? I’ve heard people refer to certain times of day as “crow o’clock”, such as when the birds land all over the Matterhorn. Crows have scale! “Chernabog” is a good name, and would be great for a cat. Please don’t shorten it to “Chernie”. I’ve certainly posted World’s Fair Snoozles, but maybe not KBF Snoozles? YET.
Bu, have you spent much time at WDW? You’re right, there’s a period in which the lights are on, but they provide decorative accents, and don’t really illuminate anything yet. It looks great, I have to admit. At a certain point in the evening, I do notice that groups of people (especially with kids) seem to be more subdued, the long day of overstimulation has taken its toll. I like it when Main Street has large numbers of guests heading toward the exit! I’ve heard lots about the candy canes in the Candy Palace, but have never had one. Apparently they sell out early at certain times of the year. Oh well! I love me some candy, but for some reason I don’t want sweet stuff (except for maybe a churro) when I’m at the park. I’ve seen displays of amazing candy apples, but would never actually buy one. Our friend Sue loves those Matterhorn macaroons! I’m not familiar with Callebaut chocolate, but assume it must be quite good. When I was a kid, I’d see 11-pound bars of chocolate at Hershey Park. I know, Hershey chocolate, not great, but when you’re 10 years old, the thought of having an 11 pound candy bar is the stuff of dreams. BTW… why 11 pounds for Hershey and Callebaut? How did that become the magic number?
JG, sometimes I have a big backlog of genuine Snoozles™, but other times I have to scrounge for them. Right now I have about 160 scans in a folder, and maybe 2 of them are real clunkers. SO… I might use pictures that are kind of OK, but maybe off-center, or just boring. Yes, don’t print these out, there will be better things to come! These are so black than any adjustment just makes them look gray and hazy.
Oh, my, are these dark! But it’s an even darkness, not that grayish, grainy mess you sometimes see with print film. Slide film can do dark quite well, even if these are so dark they don’t have a lot of detail.
ReplyDelete11 lbs is just shy of 5 kilograms (4.99 kg, to be precise), so the standard is probably 5 kg of chocolate translated into measurements that Americans can understand.
Happy for these, dark and all.
Taking pictures PRE DIGITAL at WDW could often be very difficult because the lighting is affected so much by the sudden weather changes. In the 90’s to documented the original 70’s Tomorrowland before the big renovation … so first thing after opening one morning I used 6 rolls of expensive tungsten color film for crisp sharp detail . But the January morning light was bright but most of the buildings and facades were in shadow … which you didn’t see in reality taking the pictures ….
ReplyDeleteChuck, thank you for figuring out the 11-Pound Conundrum (as Edmund Teller called it)! I am not surprised that the metric system is the culprit. I remember back in the 1970s when it was proposed that the US switch to metric, and many people lost their minds. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteMajor-
ReplyDelete"I’m not familiar with Callebaut chocolate, but assume it must be quite good".
'Barry Callebaut AG is a Swiss-Belgian cocoa processor and chocolate manufacturer. It was created in 1996 through the merging of the French company Cacao Barry and the Belgian chocolate producer Callebaut and is currently based in Zürich, Switzerland'. Barry Callebaut is generally recognized as the world's largest manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, beating out Cargill's stable of chocolate brands.
Other makers of note producing high-quality bulk chocolates are: Valrhona, Guittard, Cordillera (and to a lesser extent - Merckens, Wilbur, and Peter's - these three brands owned by Cargill). Naturally, there are others, such as Nestlé. (The less said about Hershey's... the better; for among other things, they are responsible for ruining Scharffen-Berger Chocolates, and their own Hershey Bar-!)
The French maker Valrhona is often bandied-about as 'the chef's favorite', and its name is often listed along with the dessert's description as something special. No argument there, but as mentioned, there are plenty of other bulk chocolate manufacturers who make equally-fine chocolates, and in the case of Guittard, and others, can easily tailor a specific blend/flavor profile for your business.
I personally use Guittard, Valrhona, Cordillera and Callebaut for my chocolate and cocoa needs - different products from different brands to achieve a particular result.
Wilbur, Mercken's, Peter's (since 1917), and Guittard chocolate are made in America; Cordillera is from Columbia; Valrhona is from France; and as previously-mentioned, Callebaut is Belgium, but has factories in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, France and Germany; Nestlé is in Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, UK and America.
Chuck answered your question as to why "11-pound blocks" (about 5 Kg). Annoying to work with unless the entire block is being used. More common sizes, especially for chefs, are 'callets' (small discs) and 'wafers' (pistoles/fèves). 'Chips' are generally of lower quality chocolate(s), often containing [in place of some cocoa butter] glycerol or a similar ingredient to retard melting/spreading - better suited to run-of-the-mill Toll House Cookies...
Mike Cozart, I must have just missed you last time. Believe me, I know how much digital photography has revolutionized low-light photography - not to mention video. If only we’d had this tech back in the day! Very cool that you got a bunch of good photos of Tomorrowland before they changed it.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I emailed you with a reply, but I can repeat that I appreciate the education about the world of chocolate! Now I really want some!!