Slides, 9-1-1!
You all know how much I love restoring old slides that have seen better days. Each slide has its own peculiarities, but that's part of the challenge. And when the results are good, why, it's very satisfying! All of today's images are from June, 1974.
First up... yuck! Pink is a perfectly fine color, but not when it overpowers everything else. This first image shows us how it looked after the scanner software did what it could to correct things - it got us about 25% there.
For some reasons greens seem to be especially hard to recover, so it's always nice when those colors come back. Looking at this jpeg, I would probably increase the contrast a little, but I could fiddle with these things forever, often. It's nice to see the balloons returned to their original bright hues. And oh yeah, there's an Omnibus! I love those things.
Next is this unusual view taken from the Peoplemover! It looks like we're headed in the direction of the Plaza, at which point the Peoplemover will make a hairpin turn as it heads back toward the load platform.
As I've noted before, one of the neat things about the Anaheim Peoplemover is the way it went up and downhill, rather than staying as flat as possible. We're about to descend to the level of the Mark III Monorail as it sits at the station with its zig-zag roof. This isn't a great photo, but I don't have anything else quite like it!
20 comments:
Major, congrats on the successful restoration job on both of these. I think the second pic IS a great photo! We've got PeopleMovers, Monorails and Skyway Buckets, OH MY! And even an original Matterhorn bobsled, at it's very highest point in the ride!
Major-
Yes - look at those newly-discovered colorful balloons-! And none wearing a stitch of army green. "This isn't a great photo..." Oh, really-? Considering the unusual angle and vantage point, I'd say it's a damn swell photo-!
Thanks, Major.
The second image is a real beauty. Love seeing Monorail Blue from that angle and a blue PeopleMover train running parallel to it.
Then you've got the wonderful Skyway (god, I miss the skyway) and the Majestic Matterhorn with it's bobsleds and waterfalls. I LOVE IT!
Thanks, Major.
If you look closely, there are some guys in grey uniforms near the balloons. I wonder what that's all about?
Anyway, you did a great job as always restoring these slides, Major!
Great restoration work, Major! I like both the first and the second photo best.
Andrew, I noticed those guys, too. The uniforms are khaki rather than grey. The details are a little hard to pull out, but they appear to be wearing the U.S. Army's Class B uniform of the period.
The guy to the right of the yellow balloon is a sergeant, the guy whose head is obscured by the balloon is a staff sergeant, the guy behind that is a specialist 4, and the guy to the far left is either a sergeant first class or a master sergeant (hard to tell due to the sun). Their longer hair and relaxed attitude about wearing headgear means that they are almost certainly members of the California Army National Guard, which did not require regulation haircuts during this period unless the member was on Federal active duty orders. The uniform may have been a requirement to receive a discount on admission (although I know my active duty Air Force dad never wore a uniform to the Park).
Nice work indeed, Major.
You're right Nanook, no army green balloons. I guess somewhere between 1974 and 1985 those green balloons were snuck in. Probably some nefarious plot involving Boris and Natasha. There is an argument that 'sneaked' is the past tense of 'sneak' and not snuck. I prefer snuck.
Chuck, you have a keen eye. My Dad left the Air Force a year after WWII. Only have pictures of him in his uniform. He looks pretty cool. My Dad's demeanor was very quiet and reserved. It was hard to imagine him doing the things he did during the war.
That second pic is neat. I think it's going up on my desktop for a while. I always leave your logo on your desktop pics I've absconded from you. Adds a touch of class to the image.
Thanks Major and great job working your magic on these guys.
Both are doozies, but I have to vote for the second one. The moving layers!!! Still, number one has that "peaceful day in the park" feel. I love that too! Of course, "doozy" really means "Duesenberg," so I guess they aren't doozies after all... But they should be!
There's a lot to love about both Duesenbergs today.
I vote for both as favorites, but photo two has more landmarks for sure, even the Disneyland Hotel makes a brief appearance, and that "folded plate" roof on the monorail station demonstrate the good taste of the WED designers.
JG
Nice work, Major! Were they giving away ballons that day? I've never seen so many people in line at a balloon vendor. And you had to be wearing a hat to be on the right side of the photo. Looks like a long line for the Matterhorn, too.
I agree with all who said that these were in bad shape and you brought them back to life. Thanks for all your efforts, they look fantastic.
I know there is no easy fix for photos this bad but it's like they say
"Necessity is the mothra of invention".
TokyoMagic!, Thanks! I guess I didn’t fully appreciate photo #2, but now that I see that there is a Matterhorn bobsled, it has been bumped up by 27%!
Nanook, those army green balloons must have come from Jeff’s Discount Balloons. The savings were incredible, and they gave you the strings for free. Talk about stretching your balloon dollar! I’m glad you liked photo #2!
Andrew, Those are the rarely-photographed balloon police, making sure that each balloon met with minimum standards for firmness and buoyancy. It’s not an easy job, but it keeps all of us safe.
Chuck, I actually did think that those guys were cops, but I defer to your expertise. I sure am impressed by how much you can glean from not much detail. There are chevrons on one gentleman’s arm, I now see. Is that hair really considered “longer”? Even in 1974? I have to wonder why the National Guard would be gathered like that - four of ‘em. They don’t look like they’re there for fun. A mystery!
DrGoat, you’d think that in the psychedelic 1970s there would be even more colorful balloons, not more earthy colors. Thank goodness Rocky and Bullwinkle captured Boris and Natasha and we returned to appropriate balloon hues. Did your dad ever talk about his time in WWII? I used to ask my dad about Vietnam and he would get real quiet and look at his fidgeting hands. My sister once tried to interview him about it for a school project and got very little. I appreciate that you leave the logo on the images - believe me, I’d prefer not to deface them that way, but my hand was forced by unscrupulous people. Even now there are one or two people on eBay selling prints of my photos!
Stu29573, if they used Bugattis as a reference instead of Deusenbergs, would they say that the photos were “Boogies”? I’ll show myself out.
JG, I have always liked that zig-zag roof - simple, yet it still makes a statement. I wonder what they did about drainage when it rained? Or did water just pour off in cascades from the valleys? Inquiring minds want to know.
Kathy!, thanks! Hmm, that’s a thought, maybe that was some special day and the military was giving out balloons. I’ve never heard of such a thing, but I am learning new things about the park practically every day, so it can’t be ruled out. Nice to hear from you!
Alonzo, of course I really prefer slides to be in great shape with good color, but it really is kind of fun to restore a faded example. I love to watch videos of restorations on YouTube. Furniture, cars, paintings, you name it! I’m starting to feel like Mothra is the spirit Kaiju of this blog.
In the 2nd shot, being in the Peoplemover makes you feel like you're at eye-level with the Disneyland Hotels, the bobsled and the Skyway - Nice! I also like the way the lagoon's colors make it look like real tropical waters.
Always love your befores-and-afters, Major - thank you!
Major, Dad didn't say much to us kids about his war days. He flew in a B-24 Liberator stationed in Italy, not far from the town where he was born. He was a a waist gunner and had other stations, but he never elaborated. The only thing my sister and I remember him saying was that it was cold and scary. I got to crawl up into a B-24 at an air show years after he passed away, and it was a bit scary just sitting on the tarmac. I remember getting a bit emotional about it, thinking of him doing things that are hard to imagine.
I do still have his official book with photos and information. The logo was a black panther, which was pretty cool. I can send you a couple of scans of the book if you'd like.
Major-
Fairly certain the edges of the 'zig-zag' roof slope gently towards the center, where a drain is positioned at the lowest point of each 'zig'. (Or, is it the 'zag'-??)
Hehehe. If those men really are the Balloon Police, I wonder if they talked with high squeaky voices all the time from checking the quality of the helium. ;)
The second photo has all kinds of goodness in it. Oh how I wish those PeopleMover trains were still rolling along that track.
Great job on those photos. The ones I recently scanned were a beautiful shade of pink, also. My biggest problem was the satin finish that all the photos had.
The Monorail shot is especially nice. The Peoplemover was a great ride. So many interesting vistas (like this one) that could only be viewed by riding that ride. I love the way it curves down here. Kind of scary? I love that the Peoplemover actually is above the Monorail in places.
Lou and Sue, that Peoplemover track got up there at some points! Three or four stories above the ground? That was part of the fun, getting that very elevated vantage point - something that is all too scarce at the park today. I always love the lagoon’s colors, and the way they vary from sapphire blue to turquoise green.
DrGoat, oh man, those guys in those planes were really risking their butts. It’s too bad he didn’t tell you more stories about his time in the war, but I do understand that it was traumatic. He was probably grateful to get home alive and in one piece. I’ll bet your dad was a very young man at the time, too - maybe just out of high school? Sure, I’d love to see the scans of the black panther logo.
Nanook, aha, I see what you mean! It looks legit. Thanks.
Omnispace, those squeaky voices could strike terror into the hearts of the hardest criminals. Every time I think about the mishandling of the Peoplemover I just shake my head in bafflement.
Sunday Night, I’m unaware of anything that kept the Peoplemover trains absolutely in line with the pathway (I’m explaining myself poorly). There was no guide rail or anything like that. Or was there? If one wheel (in the track) was moving a little faster than the others, wouldn’t it make the vehicle turn at an angle? I really do wonder!
Major, my initial reaction was also CHP or maybe a local Sheriff's Department (particularly with the longer hair and no hats), but the more I looked at them the more the details started coming together, particularly the fact that none of them are wearing shoulder patches, which is de rigueur for khaki-wearing CA law enforcement agencies. CHP uniforms also have a blue-and-gold trouser stripe, and CHP sergeant stripes are blue. While some law enforcement agencies do wear gold sergeant stripes, they rarely have more than one grade of sergeant, and the Army's specialist 4 rank design is pretty unique and distinctive. The specialist also appears to be carrying an Army green garrison or "envelope" cap in his right hand. The preponderance of evidence just sort of added up.
While that may be fairly short hair for a civilian in 1974, there is no way an active-duty member of any branch would have been able to get away with hair touching his ears or collar. In 1976, my dad, a major and on leave at the time while we were moving to another duty station, got lectured by a colonel when we stopped at a base hospital along the way because he hadn't shaved for over a week. The fact that the regulations had been relaxed and didn't require you to meet grooming standards while on leave was completely lost on the colonel, along with the fact that the only reason we were there was so he could have his seven-year-old son tested for strep throat.
I am amazed by your color restoration efforts!
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