Some things change, some things don't. We don't accept change very well, so we document what things were like *before* change. Some of you know I like to head over to Disneyland every now and then (we're passholders) and just shoot around. I give myself projects and it helps train my photographic eye since it is a target-rich environment. But this last time was different.
They're changing California Adventure - and for the better. The whole park is getting a make over. New rides, old ones taken out, and a general re-theme/re-design/re-thought of the genre. They're going to make it like the Hollywood when Walt showed his first animated movie: Snow White. The whole entrance will go art-deco and be like the Hollywood of '29, complete with a Red Car Trolley. But that means the San Fransisco Bridge is now out of place. So are the murals. And the entrance CALIFORNIA is no longer going to fit. The sun in the middle of the square will be the new location for the Carthay Theater, so it's going as well.
I heard they were going to put up some walls and start demolition shortly after Labor Day, and I *really* wanted to get a good evening shot of the CALIFORNIA letter. You know the kind - drop dead gorgeous indigo blue skies. But that time of day is a very busy time and there's no way I could ever get the shot I wanted. No people, just the murals, the CALIFORNIA, the Golden Gate and the Sun. So I did the next best thing: I headed over to the parks at 5 a.m. in the morning. On Labor Day (so there would be no traffic worries). And with my luck, it was overcast. Well, the blue skies will still be there, they just won't last very long. I got there just before they were coming out of black and shot around. I then set up the tripod, and with only having to wait for a service truck to move out of the way, I shot the letters with the compass in the Esplinade. You'll see how the skies go from blue to grey - in about 10 minutes. But my taks was done.
THEN I head the walls were going to go up around the Sun the following Thursday, so my wife and I headed over on Wednesday. Yup, overcast. Oh well - same thing, but this time, the blue comes right before the black and I had to be quick. I set up and did some test snaps, then started to shoot as light faded. At last the magical indigo appeared and I shot like crazy. I also caught the murals in the day time and night, just in case.
So yeah, I'm excited to see the changes. I'm sad to see the mural go away, but it leaves not because of the craftsmanship but because of very poor planning in the first place. We'll see how it turns out. In the mean time, here's the pictures of stuff that is (as I write this) being torn down:
Esplinade and the CALIFORNIA letters:
http://www.thecalderwoods.org/tom/DCA-100906/
The Sunshine Plaza:
http://www.thecalderwoods.org/tom/DCA-100908/
Enjoy! Comments and criticism always welcome.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
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