Main Street Emporium at Walt Disney World
Dry Goods, Notions, and Toys
The Emporium on Town Square at the end of Main Street USA in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, as seen during the 2019 Band and Chorus Disney Trip.
According to the sign, the Emporium sells dry goods, notions, and toys. But most of us know it as a souvenir shop. It is one of the first things you see when you arrive at the Magic Kingdom, and one of the last things that you see before you leave. I would say that is clever, but it is actually just good planning. Who doesn’t want to buy one more thing to remember their day before they leave?
Besides buying something, I like the architecture of the building. Of course, I like all of the architecture of Main Street, because it makes that era seem like such a happy time. Plus, I like the period decor inside the store, too. Sometimes I forget to look at things like that in my rush to get through there and avoid the crowds, but it is pretty cool if you stop to take a look, just like so many things at Walt Disney World that are better on closer inspection.
In this photo, I like how you can see past the Emporium to some of that other Main Street architecture that I mentioned above. Everything is full of color and fun there. And I love the blue sky, too. We could use more happiness and blue skies these days.
Different Times
During our current crisis, stores have changed greatly, which is a sign of the different times we are living in right now. People rush out to find meat and toilet paper. Other stores that do not offer essential items are closed. Online shopping is increasing, although you have to wait longer for many nonessential items.
But this will not last. Shopping will once again be something that we do for fun and leisure, instead of trying to get the last of something before someone else does. We may not have had the happy, simple times of walking up and down a Main Street for shopping fun in quite some time, but I believe that shopping will once again not be something that is done under stress.
Shopping is just another one of those simple pleasures that we sometimes take for granted, but that we will once again be able to enjoy someday.
It might not always seem like it at the present moment, but better times are coming. Simpler times. Fun times.
Bible Verse
We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. - Romans 5:3-5
About the Photo
From time to time, I find a photo processing style that I like, and then I end up using it on several photos until I move on to something else. This photo uses the same style that I first used in the recent Glass Beach photo. And not to spoil anything for you too much, but at least a few of the upcoming photos will use a similar style, since I already have them processed and ready to go.
I like the slight dreamlike look here. To me, that sense of dreaming of something better fits in well right now. And then there is the simple fact that I like it. This Emporium photo has some slight modifications in technique from the previous photo. But the main difference comes in color temperature because just using the same settings did not look quite right here. That is why I don’t like to just blindly use presets. They are a good starting place, but I like to make modifications to each specific photo. What works well on one might not work well on the next one. It takes a little more time, but it is worth it.
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Aurora HDR. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens
Date: March 9, 2019
Location: Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida
