“Is that a Brownie Hawkeye?” I must have heard that question almost 100 times last weekend. And the answer with a smile was “Why, yes it is!” You may recall from my column a few weeks ago how the Brownie Hawkeye was the camera that my parents used on our first Disneyland visit in June of 1966. I also shared a few views from that trip. So
looking for a way to do something a bit retro for the big weekend, I
dug into one of several closets and pulled out the trusty little black
Melmac box camera. A flash attachment (and plenty of still useful flash
bulbs) that I had picked up on eBay completed the outfit. Film
for this camera is quite another matter. Kodak and other producers of
film stopped offering 620 film some time ago. However, they do still
sell 120 film in both color and black and white formats. A few
enterprising photo supply companies offer that film rolled onto the
older and only slightly larger 620 spools. I made my purchase over the
Internet from B&HPhoto in New York City. Four rolls of film (that’s 8 to 12 photos per roll) and shipping came to a great deal for less than $40. From
the moment I entered the Park on Friday almost until I stored it away
in a locker on Sunday afternoon, that little Brownie Hawkeye was the
catalyst for manyDisneyland memories to be shared by guests as well as
cast members. It even broke the international barrier as I learned in
Spanish that another guest’s father had owned a similar camera many
years ago. A real comical moment occurred when I tried to find
batteries (Two “C” cells power the flash attachment) at the Camera Shop
on Main Street. Those batteries haven’t been carried there for a long
time, as I found out. Today they have all of the popular sizes for the
point and shoot film or digital camera, but not the ones I needed. So,
no flash. Rats! And I had plenty of bulbs on hand, too. Saved for
another day… The last time I had used it to take
photos was back in my senior year of high school. Someone had given me
a roll of Ektachrome slide film and I took a few views of my high
school just to try it out. So I was looking forward to what results it
might yield on this trip to Disneyland. Looking back over those photos
from long ago, the chance to recreate many of those images was an
opportunity too good to pass up. So today I am sharing eight of the
best images from the weekend:
The Disneyland Band welcomes guests just inside the Main Gate!
The Disneyland Fire Department full and ready to depart forthe trip down Main Street!
Why not take the Horse-Drawn Streetcar instead?
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle never looked better!
Last call on the Frontier landing for passengers to board
thepaddle-wheel steamer “Mark Twain” for a journey along the Rivers of
America!
A spin on the Teacups is a must for many guests!
Even the JHM staff gets to have fun at Disneyland! Angela
Ragno on “Jingles” and Jeff Lange on the King Arthur’s Carousel in
Fantasyland. This turned out to be a great
adventure. The camera performed flawlessly, if the flash attachment did
not. It worked so well that I have more photographs to share in another
story for you soon! Thanks to everyone who listened in to the
“Noon Edition” on CBC RadioOne from Regina, Saskatchewan last Friday.
If you haven’t gotten a chance, you can still listen here to
the recorded program. It was a real pleasure to share your memories and
hear from the great folks in the CBC audience, too. Special thanks to
Tim O’Day and Norma Perez (as well as the technical staff) of the
Disneyland Resort Press and Publicity Department for making the remote
broadcast possible.
Thanks
to Chuck Oberleitner for taking this quick view of the remote from
Disneyland. From left to right: Tim O’Day, Roger Colton and Norma
Perez – Live from Tomorrowland!