Disneyland, a Film Camera, and a Dark Room

August 15, 2019

Introduction

As a student at University of California, Irvine, I have full access to the department’s photography labs. So, for the past roughly 4 months I took full advantage of this opportunity to learn everything I could about photography.

I can’t accurately guess exactly how much time I have spent taking photos and developing them in this time frame, but I can easily estimate above 10 hours a week. This brings me to a surprising 160 hours of practice, far more than I thought I would accomplish at the start. I’m proud to say my passion got the best of me.

The Project

The project was about learning. Learning more about controlling the camera- sure. Learning to capture beautiful images- you bet. But, more than that, I wanted learn about my subject of choice, Disneyland.

Disneyland is an an incredible sensory experience. All of Disneyland is expertly crafted. The architecture, props, colors, and lights all play a large role in creating that “magic” feeling Disneyland is so popular for. This is why I, often when in conversation with friends and peers, call it the “real Museum of Modern Art”. The wealth of talented artist’s work on display in one physical location is an extraordinary feat. If aliens arrived with questions about what is this thing we call “art”, you could bet your space-cash that we would take a stroll down Main Street.

This project was about taking a closer look at how Disneyland provides such an incredible visual experience to it’s guests. This question has always fascinated me as an artist. When visiting the park, I find the amount of artistic information all around me to be near overwhelming. I decided to use black and white photography as a way to slow down and take a closer look at the visual information. My goal was to study particular aspects of the park’s environments, and develop an understanding of how those unique aspects contribute to the larger picture.

What I Learned

More than I can express in writing. The primary lesson was a nuanced understanding of the impressive way in which each land (frontier-land, etc.) delivers a unique story to visitors through thematic architecture, lighting, and color palettes. Further, I learned more than I thought I would about the practice of lighting an environment. This is because I spent hours each weekend staring at environmental details, looking for: where lights are placed, what is being lit, color of light, brightness, light covers, and so on.

As a bonus, I seriously nailed down some crucial techniques of photography that I lean on before every shutter click. From how to control aperture and shutter speed, to modes, to varying lens millimeters and types.

I even learned how to chemically develop film and photos- old school style!