Spaceship Earth in Epcot at Walt Disney World in Color

A colorful view of Spaceship Earth at Epcot in Walt Disney World to make up for a gray, cloudy, overcast day.

Okay, so you probably know that Spaceship Earth doesn’t quite look like this. The ground around it, the massive supports, and the crowds of people going this way and that aren’t all a consistent bold gold color, or yellow if you prefer, although they definitely look gold to me here. And the trees are more of an emerald green instead of a faint blue.

So what gives? Well, if you must know, when we arrived at Epcot on that December day, the sky was filled with clouds. Not the interesting kind of storm clouds, either, but rather more of just a gray haze with no texture to it at all. And of course, Spaceship Earth itself is gray, which is interesting on a day when the sky is azure blue, but is rather flat on a day when Spaceship Earth almost blends in with the sky itself. There was some color in the trees and the ground, but not all that much.

My first thought was to convert the whole thing to black and white, but it didn’t look much better, because it didn’t look much different than the original. So then I decided to overlay a color gradient over the black and white version, adding some false color. I chose colors that, at least a little, matched the colors that I would want to see on a sunny day. Of course, it is obvious that the colors aren’t right, and yet in some ways it still looks rather normal. Sort of. Maybe a little? But then who says a photograph has to look normal, anyway.

While I was playing around with all of this, I happened upon another effect while experimenting with the Google Nik Filters, and I came up with this old photo:

It is actually the same photo as above, but it is made to look like an old photo relic from the early 1980s. With just a casual passing glance, you perhaps might not even notice that it is a current photo, although if you were to examine it closely you would probably recognize that the people are wearing modern clothes and not those of antiquity (i.e., 30 years ago). However, the people are just a minor part of the photo, and if I had cropped them out more, you would have an even harder time telling when this photo was actually taken. Nothing like having a little fun with your photos from time to time. Who says they always have to sparkle as if they are new?

And look, there we are at Epcot, with Spaceship Earth and the old Leave a Legacy monuments behind us. Yes, it is somewhat rare to see all three of us in a photo together, since one of us is usually behind the camera. But because we had our friends the Riedels there with us, I handed off the camera to Karen, who gladly took a photo of us, since I had also taken one of their family of four. One of the pleasant things about traveling with trusted friends, besides the obvious blessing of enjoying their company, is that you get some photos of yourself from time to time. Even if we do need more practice on our family photo pose. It was all so new and exciting that we really didn’t know what to do. But don’t we look happy? That’s because we were.

Also, I was trying to be brave with my short sleeve shirt on, knowing that it was warmer in Florida than it was back at home. But the clouds brought a definite chill to the air, making it much cooler than it had been the day before. So I eventually had to give in and put on my jacket. At least it still wasn’t freezing, though.

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! - Psalm 133:1

About the Photo

I talked a good bit about how the main photo for this post was created already, so there really isn’t that much more to say. But if you don’t believe me when I say that the original version was rather boring and flat, take a look at this before-and-after version to see the change:

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
Date: December 20, 2016
Location: Epcot, Walt Disney World, Florida