The Eternal Chess Game

Pirates of the Caribbean in Magic Kingdom has always been a favorite of mine.  Often times it was the first ride that I would beg Mom and Dad to go on.  POTC is one of those rides that no matter how many times I ride it, I never get tired of it.  Like many of the larger attractions the imagineers spent a lot of time transforming the area into the world of a pirate.  If they didn't spend so much time would the ride itself be as fun?  I think so.  By adding in all the other touches it really completes the effect.  From the moment you hear the music when you approach to when you enter and start seeing all the detail that went into the waiting areas; the excitement builds.

One of my favorite details is the eternal chess game played by two long departed prisoners.  I'm not a huge chess player but evidently the game the two prisoners are playing is a stalemate.  The number of people who go on the ride and look at that scene and recognize that the game can't be won is probably small.  The fact that someone took the time to set the game like that is really a statement of how invested the imagineers are in adding depth that most don't even realize is there.

I can still remember asking Dad to lift me up so I could see into the dungeon.  Rach can attest that I still make a point to stop and look down.  I even scratched up my expensive flight sunglasses on our honeymoon trying to catch a glimpse.  Now that I have better camera gear and a lot more knowledge one of my goals was to get a picture of the game playing duo.  I knew going in that I didn't want to use external flash because the integrity of the scene wouldn't be the same.  That meant cranking the ISO up and using the bars on the windows as a kind of makeshift stabilizer.  It took a couple tries to get one that was as sharp as I wanted but in the end I went home with a keeper.

Undoubtedly on our trip next year I will shoot these two again.  Hopefully I can bring a tripod or figure out a way to get a shot using a lower ISO so there isn't as much noise.  A new D4 would be really helpful as the low light capability far exceeds my current camera but somehow I doubt that taking a picture of two skeletonized chess players will be enough to convince Rach to let me spend $6,000.