Faded Rainbow Ridge, 1950s
I scanned a small group of slides from the 1950s that were extremely faded; but I was pretty certain that a bit of Photoshoppin' could bring them back to something approximating their former glory. I'm fairly pleased with the results!
There's the little mining town of Rainbow Ridge - I suspect that the Rainbow Desert Mine Train had debuted not long before this picture was taken (from the decks of the Mark Twain). It feels like we need cataract surgery.
Ah! The surgery was a success. I much prefer that deep-blue sky. Upon viewing this adjusted version, I'm wondering if the Mine Train was, in fact, operational yet? There are no real signs of activity, and there is definitely not a line (notice the sign near the entrance to the queue - I have no idea what that says). There are two or three people who appear to be on the elevated platform - what can I say, I'm confused. I like seeing the pack mules in the lower left, and the Castle and Skyway to the right.
In this early view, I was hoping to get a clear glimpse of the little graveyard that was on the slope below the chapel (trees would obscure it pretty quickly). But... no such luck. There are no tiny tombstones or grave markers yet.
Next is this oddly-composed photo, a little closer to Rainbow Ridge. It looks as if somebody has ignited a bunch of smoke bombs. Probably teenagers!
The color is better - as is often the case, I could keep fussing with it forever. Reduce some magenta, now it's too cyan! Reduce some of the cyan, now it's too yellow! And so, at some point, I just had to make peace with the results, and watch some cartoons (you understand).
10 comments:
Major-
Who needs AI with The Major twisting and turning the 'color dials'-! It works for me and allows for some fine viewing time. (I believe the Order of the Red Handkerchief would be proud).
Thanks for the work, Major.
Before & after pics, I love 'em! It's been a while since we've seen a post like this.
The before pix look like the town of Rainbow Ridge was built on the planet Mercury, 'cuz, y'know, really bright sunlight. 8-\
Ooooh! Ahhhh! Amazing how much you were able to bring these back! I'd never know there was anything wrong with them if you hadn't told us.
"There are no tiny tombstones or grave markers yet." Well that's because the town was just built... no one has died yet!
"Probably teenagers!" And you can bet they were long-haired teenagers, at that! AND, you just know they weren't wearing any neckties!
Wonderful 'bringer-backers'. Thank you, Photoshop! Oh, and thank you too, Major. :-p
Great job, Major! Congratulations on the excellent results!
It looks like there was a graveyard back then, just not on the slope. There appear to be some headstones to the left of the church, mostly in the shadows beneath that pine tree.
Thanks for spending time on these, and sharing them with us, Major!
…..Lilly Munster sings a song on the harp and sometimes the reed parlor organ called “Under the Shade of the Old Pine Tree”….I’m still not sure I can see any tombstones but it’s hard to tell. We know there were there at some point.
Rainbow Ridge is suppose to be a ghost town … a ghost town “with a whole lot of life left in it” and a population of skilled house painters as all the town structures are in immaculate condition!
Great color restoration Major!
Simply astounding! Excellent work, Major!
Great work Major and Disneyland. I'd forgotten how much there was to Rainbow Ridge. Another masterwork of stagecraft and photoshopping.
MS
Beautiful work, Major. Professional quality. Hard to believe that GDB is free!
I think in photo 1, the proximity of the Castle shows the upscale neighborhood. Probably lots of little castles in between.
I like the angle of the second photo, brings out the 3D feeling of the little town.
Thank you!
JG
Nanook, oh man, I should have used ChatGTP! I didn’t even think of it. The final results would look like garbage, but I would have to do NO work.
JB, I’ve heard that a typical day on the planet Mercury can be up to 85 degrees. Unpleasant! I was pretty happy with that first restoration, though I admit that it was not as hard as some other restorations that I’ve had to do… once I put in the darks, the colors were easy to manage. You make a good point about the tombstones. I’ll bet those teenagers snapped their gum rudely too, you know how they are.
TokyoMagic!, aha, I do see some crosses and headstones to the left of the church! I thought I remembered a photo with additional graves on that lower slope, but maybe I recalled incorrectly.
Mike Cozart, if you look at the closeup, you can clearly see some crosses to the left of the church - and there are a few headstones too. I’ve heard audio tracks from old Rainbow Ridge, there were fights in the saloons, singing (in another saloon?), haircuts, snoring… it was a pretty lively ghost town!
Steve DeGaetano, thank you!
Michaeland, considering that Rainbow Ridge is basically “set dressing”, they did a great job with all of the different little building types on that steep hill (and let’s not forget that the hill is entirely man-made too!).
JG, I was thinking of going pro, but didn’t want to be constantly bothered by the paparazzi. So I will toil away in happy anonymity! Now that you point it out, it does look like RR is a suburb of the Castle’s neighborhood. Which I guess it was, sort of!
These photos of Rainbow Ridge give me "Virginia City" kinds of vibes....probably a more quainter one, without casino's and whatnot...or was that Carson City? I don't have too much memory but I liked that those places reminded me of Disneyland. We stopped because my parents enjoyed booze, cigarettes, and slot machines. And I remember the slot machines kind of looked like Olde West cowboys and such...where you would pull on the arm. In any case, it's nice to see Frontierland as Frontierland, and glory bee that we still have pieces of Rainbow Ridge to see, which are delightfully quaint and wonderful...and very close up as you approach the off load ramp. Lot's of sights and sounds. I must have visited when they still had mules as in my minds eye I can see the ticket book that says "Pack Mules"....I wonder when that was...I was kind of off to another place with these sights of Frontierland, and I didn't get to appreciate them until much later in life: like now. The Magic Kingdom Frontierland I think with the car thingy might actually be more cohesive (don't shoot me) as it may block a Tiana Town splat in the middle of an Adventureland and A Big Thunderland....I never really got it...seemed odd to see a lush green log flume at the end of the more "modern" WDW Frontierland with a dusty rusty train ride next to it. But I think out there they enjoy such things (?). Of course, I'd rather see a river of course, and a paddle wheeler, and rafts, and canoes...and to that point: Employee Canoe Races: "poof gone"...or maybe it goes to Epcot to "Race to America" in the lagoon.....? Hmmm....Thanks Major!
Major, Nice work! The comparison reminds me of those before and after pics in the ads for certain sunglasses, especially those with polarized lenses. My cousin once wore her sunglasses all day at Disneyland to protect her sensitive Midwestern eyes. Then she complained about how dark the rides were inside. ;)
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