Instamatics! July 1970
It's a "repeat Monday" today; both of these have appeared on the blog before, although I only had little 4" X 4" photo prints... now I have the original Instamatic ("126" format) slides. HERE is how it looked before... compare to the scan below. I love this shot of a bright yellow Horseless Carriage on Main Street.
I am almost certain (say, 98%) that I have posted this image before, but for some reason I am unable to find the previous instance on GDB. Let the games begin! If I didn't know better, I would think that this was scanned from an unfaded Pana-Vue slide because it looks so good. The sub is moving through the warm turquoise water, having just visited Atlantis, gone beneath the polar ice caps, past erupting volcanos, and down in the most extreme depths where dark and fearsome creatures live.
12 comments:
Major-
The Horseless Carriage image is lovely, but the view of the Submarine is a stunner-! Definitely postcard, Pana-Vue, or any other professional format-worthy. The only way it could possibly be better were there to be one or two Mermaids present.
Thanks, Major, for repeats worthy of same.
Yes, you've posted both of these before, but I still love 'em. That Sub pic is one of my favorites. Seeomg the military gray subs in the turquoise waters is a beauty. Why couldn't Disney leave them military themed instead of the explorer yellow? Thanks, Major.
Seeomg!?! What am I smoking? I meant Seeing.
Gloriorgeous!
Flunderful!
Instastic!
The shot of the submarine and waterfall looks positively unreal!
So, from where was the submarine shot taken? The skyway with a longer lens? I dunno. Ideas?
My first visit to Disneyland was entered via Monorail; after fleeting but astonishing glimpses along the route, this Submarine view from the Monorail exit ramp was the first sight I glommed on: instant fan.
It was a weeknight, with the park open for a private event, and just dazzling. Even now, a whiff of diesel fuel from some city vehicle in the "real world" will bring it all back. Thank you, Major!
Ah, thank you Stefano, the exit ramp simply didn't occur to me but it makes sense. It just looks like it is almost on top of thesubmarine's route, but I guess the ramp really is just about on top of the submarine's route.
Major, these are terrific, I don't care if they are repeats.
The submarine is the winner here. The photo vantage is definitely from the end of the Monorail platform and it is wonderful.
I think driving the submarine would be a great job to have, second only to the Mark Twain or Columbia. Imagine an 8 hour shift peering out that little port.
I took a sightseeing submarine ride recently in Hawaii, it was fascinating to see how much the real thing resembled the Disney "original". But there were no mermaids, sea serpents, or even underwater volcanoes, so it was not as great a ride except that it was real.
http://atlantissubmarines.com/
I saw their booth at the hotel and went straight over to say "Take My Money".
JG
Nanook, it’s funny, because I know I’ve seen the sub photo (from my old post) on other sites such as Pinterest, and assumed it was a Pana-Vue that had somehow miraculously not turned magenta. Hey, I can’t remember EVERY slide I’ve ever shared!
K. Martinez, I suppose I understand the thinking behind making the subs “research subs” rather than military vessels, but I can’t believe that they couldn’t have upgraded the ride itself (without adding Nemo) with better effects and new scenes.
K. Martinez, ha ha, I do that all the time. I love it when I catch myself writing “to” instead of “too”, or “your” instead of “you’re”… makes me feel real dumb!
Melissa, I believe that all of those words were originally coined by Ira Gershwin.
Patrick Devlin, I cheated and read ahead. Other helpful souls have chimed in.
Stefano, it does seem hard to believe that the exit ramp was so close to the sub tunnels, but an Instamatic camera certainly didn’t have anything fancy like a long lens, so it’s the only explanation. As for the whiff of diesel fumes, as a kid it always reminded me of the airport, like when we would fly back to California to visit my grandma and grandpa.
Patrick Devlin, that sub is so close, you can practically touch it!
JG, I’m sure even a “sexy” job like Monorail Pilot might get monotonous - even though the idea seems too cool to mere mortals like you and me! I think I would have liked to be a Mine Train operator. Wow, I am impressed that those subs in Hawaii are REAL submarines! I would be OK with a nice glass-bottom boat (like in Catalina). Over in Morro Bay, they have a boat that looks like a rather ordinary craft, but it has lots of windows below the water line (on the sides) - a similar concept to the Disneyland subs.
JG, somewhere at my Mom's place there's a picture of my Grandma on a glass-bottom boat tour in, I think, Coral Gables? It's in a cute souvenir paper matte that's supposed to look like the outside of the boat. It was always one of my favorite things in Grandma's scrapbook.
Major, that Irma Gershwitz is one smart cookie.
@Melissa, that sounds like a great souvenir, I can see how it would become a favorite.
@Major, I have been on the Catalina GB boats, but not for many a year. I have seen the Morro Bay boat that you mention, but have not ridden it. I think there are glass bottom tours in Monterey too, but again, have not ridden them. The California coast has a lot of sea life, in spite of not being tropical.
The Atlantis subs are really subs, the whole machine submerges and travels to depths of -100 feet. The location we toured had artificial reefs of sunken ships, planes and structures to create fish habitats so there would be something to see. The resemblance to the Disney sub was really striking, but Atlantis vessels were much much larger, especially in headroom.
JG
This is as close to a submarine ride as most of us will get. great image. Thanks.
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