Balboa Park turns 100, Part 3

I'm excited to be able to incorporate a couple postcards from my collection in the series of posts celebrating the 100th anniversary of Balboa Park.

The first one is from 1915's Panama-California Exposition. The second, from the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition, features the 1926 San Diego Museum of Art.

The first two entries of the "Balboa Park turns 100" series can be seen here and here.

strike up the band(s)

Whether it's subtle or pronounced, music is an integral part of the Disneyland experience. I like to stop and enjoy the bands as often as I can, and I can honestly say that it's the times that I stumble upon them when they're marching out (or riding in, as you will see below) that are my most favorite opportunities to watch, listen, and, of course, photograph.

Please enjoy this series of film photographs of the musicians of Disneyland.

Mickey's Toontown, 2015.

Five and a Dime, Disney California Adventure, 2013.

The following five photographs are the results of being in the right place at the right time. I saw the Disneyland Band march around the grotto toward the front of the Castle (closed at the time to prepare for the Diamond Anniversary) and stopped off to the side to see them play. To my right I saw Mickey and the rest of the characters waiting to march out and join the band, and had just enough time to adjust my settings for their entrance. 

All five of these color photographs were taken in February 2015.

The four following photographs were taken in February 2015. On this day the Band played contemporary (in my opinion, at least) songs from Disney animated features, so when the band leader turned to me to ask if I knew the words and I said I didn't, it wasn't because I was shy!

The Dapper Dans.
See them. Love them. Repeat.

Here's what I mean by "riding in". The Mark Twain Riverboat is a thing of beauty itself, but hearing the Band playing in the distance, turning to look, and seeing this? Magical.

Spring 2014.

The Straw Hat Band came out to play on Main Street despite heavy rain. Every once in a while the tuba player would lift the instrument up against the awning, filled with rain water, and make it cascade over the side. I took this photograph with my Diana, a favorite camera to take along to the Park.

Straw Hat Band, January 2015.

Another toy camera photograph, this time taken with a Holga. Click here to see more Disneyland photographs taken with this now retired camera. And also here!

Dapper Dans, May 2013.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the show.

postcards, part 7

This set is an interesting bunch, from a few famous houses to a couple that were very short on details.

Interested in the postcards from previous posts?

Postcards, part 6
Postcards, part 5
Postcards, part 4
Postcards, part 3
Postcards, part 2
Postcards, part 1

after dark

1926 Orpheum Theatre

1927 Tower Theatre

1930 Eastern Columbia Building

Downtown Los Angeles 

1927 United Artists Building, now the Ace Hotel + Theatre at the Ace Hotel

All photographs © Monika Seitz Vega, 2015.

All photographs taken the evening of the 7th Annual Night on Broadway.

Balboa Park turns 100, part 2

This next set of photographs are from the fall of 2010. Each of these are straight out of the camera, unedited. The film I was shooting (I believe it was a roll of Lomography 100 B&W given to me by a fellow I'd purchased a different camera from) had been slightly exposed, resulting in some light leaks + the numbers and guide dots of the backer paper being burned onto the film. The resulting images are among my favorites not just from Balboa Park but from anywhere.

a handful of recent finds

 I picked up the following 5 photographs at a thrift store just before Christmas. I don't come across color photos very often, and was excited to find these couple included with the black & white prints.

"Harrington Elementary School" is written on the back.
I tried but unfortunately wasn't able to find any information about the school or its location.

An undated portrait printed as a postcard

"Nov. '67"

"Mar. '69". The back reads, in red ballpoint pen: Hazy - no shadow. 50 at 8. Anaheim 3/18/69"

Stamp on the back reads "A color print made by Kodak. December 1971"

Balboa Park turns 100

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Panama-California Exposition, which celebrated the completion and opening of the Panama Canal. San Diego's Balboa Park set the stage for the 2-year exposition, establishing the park as a destination for art, architecture, and entertainment. 

Growing up in San Diego, Balboa Park was the destination for field trips, family outings, and when I got older, adventures with friends. It was one of the first places I visited and photographed when I got a "real camera"as a teenager. It remains one of my favorite places, and I visit the park every time I am in San Diego. There are a lot of memories waiting for me there, and it is wonderful to get to revisit them.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Balboa Park as we know it, I'm looking forward to diving back into my prints and negatives to share photographs I've taken there over the years. This is the first of what will be a series of posts of my Balboa Park photographs, which I'll share as I come across them.

The following 5 photographs were taken in February of 2013. The camera I used, a 1950s Argoflex 75, had been high in my camera rotation for a couple of years prior, unfortunately this was the last roll I shot with it because of how severe the scratches were that it'd leave on my negatives, quite visible here. Despite the imperfections, I think these images are lovely.

And just for fun, to kick off this series of photographs, how about Mabel Normand + Roscoe Arbuckle in "Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition"? This short is also celebrating its centennial this year.