Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Nighttime Personal Viewmasters, 1961

I scanned many hundreds of personal Viewmaster images for a friend a year or so ago, and generally found that anything taken in a low-light situation resulted in a grainy mess. So it surprised me that today's pair of night images came out as good as they did.

There's the Matterhorn, presumably taken with a very long exposure. It practically glows! I love the green waterfall. Notice the corner of the House of the Future in the lower right corner.


And why wouldn't you at least try to take a picture of the castle? It would be impossible to resist. I wonder if my friend did they old "trash can = makeshift tripod" trick. 


6 comments:

Nancy said...

The Matterhorn looks like a giant gold nugget!

The House of the Future is aglow as well....pretty cool. Been a while since we have seen it :-)

The lights shining on the Castle are super bright as well, and the part in the foreground right of the pic are in darkness so are they spotlights?

An interesting pair of pictures today....

Alonzo P Hawk said...

Even a corner tidbit of the HOF is cool. Shots of it at night (well lit) are about as rare as running Corvair. Thanks.

K. Martinez said...

I seem to remember the color lit waterfalls on the Matterhorn when I was a child, but wasn't sure if it was a false memory. I love the effect as it heightens the fantasy.

Nanook said...

Wow-! 'Pajama-time' shots of the Sleeping Beauty Castle & Matterhorn. Those are pretty darn swell.

Thanks, Major.

Tom said...

That Matterhorn shot is wonderful. The lights in the trees, the waterfall lit up, the HOF looking like a UFO... it must have been a magnificent sight at the time.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nancy, for Disneyland's 50th, they painted many ride vehicles with gold paint. They should have done that to the Matterhorn for it's 50th anniversary! (kidding, please don't do that ever, Disney).

Alonzo, the HOF looks like has reached critical mass. I would not want to be standing close to it!

K. Martinez, I have seen vintage postcards in which that one large waterfall is glowing green, it looks so cool.

Nanook, nighttime at Disneyland is always the best. They should build a dome over the whole park so it can always be night.

Tom, I didn't even notice the twinkle lights in the trees, another one of my favorite details. When the sun is setting and those lights turn on…. awesome.