When I launched We Were Inverted, I compiled a folder of coaster and park photos I’ve taken over the years, all organized by park. I had photos from several different cameras and cellphones I’ve had over the years. Still, I always knew I was missing some of my older shots. All of my photos were not at my disposal when this site went live and that upset me. What made it worse was that some of these photos were ones I knew featured some stellar shots and included some now defunct coasters.
Two of these photos (below) were ones that many of my friends loved when I shared them to my original Facebook account years ago. People liked them so much I decided to submit them, with several others, to the Roller Coaster Database (RCDB). They were published immediately and I felt like I had truly joined the coaster enthusiast community at the time. Sadly though, until now, those watermarked, scaled down versions of those photos were the only ones I had from those sets. That changed yesterday.
Rescuing an Old Hard Drive
While planning a brand new blog series for We Were Inverted yesterday, I was inspired by the series’ subject matter to go on the hunt for an old hard drive. Maybe, just maybe, that where these photos have been hiding all along. They sure weren’t on any of my newer back ups or CD’s/DVD’s from the last few years. I kept my fingers crossed.
I pulled the old drive and inserted it into an external drive cabinet. It popped up immediately, but with one problem. It read as “inaccessible.” There was data there, but I just couldn’t get to it, no matter what I tried.
After following a few links on Google, I thought I had my answer, but still, no luck. I then found a program that would scan the drive and allow me to back it up to another drive. I gave it a try since the scanning portion was free. The scan took a while since hard drive is about 15 years old and not as fast as today’s SSD drives.
When the scan completed, I saw numerous file folders, some featuring names of different amusement parks. I clicked to preview some of the files inside and… Jackpot! I had just found the photo sets from the two trips above as well as visits to other places such as:
My Elation
You have no idea how happy I am to have found these photos. I’ve already posted a few other shots you don’t see here on Coaster Appreciation Society (CAS) before writing this blog. I knew people there would appreciate a blast from the past, even though it’s only from 10-15 years ago. Still, that’s enough time to lose some of the rides pictured throughout my collection. Rides like: Speed: The Ride, Volcano: The Blast Coaster (top), Shockwave (bottom), Great American Scream Machine, Rolling Thunder, and Big Bad Wolf.
Then there are the shots of Comet at Hersheypark prior to Skyrush and the Great Nor’Easter at Morey’s Piers painted entirely white. These snapshots in time bring back so many memories – memories that I will be sharing with you soon in a new blog series. Also look for them on the site’s social media accounts. I can’t wait. More information about that blog series will be coming soon. I think you’ll love it too. I’ve already shared what it will be with Chris D. and he loves the idea and can’t wait to see the different installments.
