Looking into the Past
To all the new visitors arriving from wordpress ‘freshly pressed’…welcome! This is Pillar Box Post, a collection of inspiration, as well as a few bits of my own. This post features some amazing photography from the flickr group, ‘Looking into the Past’. You can see more about the individual photographers via the links, or feel free to explore… Thanks for stopping by!
image by Bu Yourself
image by jasonepowell
image by 4Durt
Warning, nerd alert. How great is this flickr group called ‘looking into the past’? When I was a kid, I spent way too much time with my nose in a book of vintage postcards from my hometown. I think it was in commemoration of 200 years and it was full of black and white postcards/pictures from around our town. They also threw in a few big events, like when their was a parade with elephants in the early 1900’s. I looooooved looking at a building, seeing where it was taken and then figuring out where it was in town. It was pretty much fifty/fifty that either I paid more attention to some gorgeous old building I’d walked by nearly every day without notice (but now knew there was a tunnel that connected it to another building…) or I’d pass by the ugly 70’s building, knowing that there had been a beautiful mansion there but it was destroyed by a fire a hundred years ago or something…
image by jasonepowell
image by Ben Dayhoe
image by jasonepowell
image by Tinflower
image by jasonepowell
I actually find normal black and white postcards relatively boring, but when you know an area and can compare the two I think it’s amazing. Who wouldn’t want to notice the bars on the third story windows of your local pizzeria ( because it used to be a prison…) or develop a deep loathing for the sixties government who tore down fabulous churches to put up concrete monstrocities….ewwwwww. So, with that in mind who wants to love this flickr group with me? And by love I mean go to the library and spend all my pocket money on postcards so I can submit some of my own?!
Trackbacks
- Working with Keita Morimoto / a piece by Ibai Acevedo. « Gabriel Rojas Hruska's Blog
- Look at the past: A class project? « Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub
- uberVU - social comments
- Looking into the Past « Blog Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Nerang
- spotlights « light bulb moments
- Walking Through Time « The e-Astronomer
- London Sketchbook « Pillar Box Post
- London Sketchbook | Latest News India | Education News | Technology News | Entertainment News | Business News | Sports News
- a day of play » Blog Archive » Look Into The Past.
- Spare roll(s) of film… « Pillar Box Post
Pillar Box Post 
these are great!
how cool! check this out (also published today, coincedentally):
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/william-bostwick/architecture-design/historic-nyc-google-maps-goes-jazz-age
That’s brilliant, Laura! Thank you for sharing…I love aerial photographs (at least of places I know). Things take on a whole new look.
I really like these! Beautifully done!
x
All amazing, but the fourth photograph (woman sitting) is a killer!
These are really great! Very artistic.
Great idea and mighty photos!!!
มันคือความแตกต่างของเวลาสำหรับโลกที่มีความเจริญมากขึ้น
good god. this is brilliant.
I have seen these before somewhere. Stumble Upon, I think. I love this! 😀
Nice picture!
wow, this is so inspiring! I love the way that you have matched up the pictures exactly! I too am guilty of spending my childhood in books of historic photos – i was fascinated by the whole idea of change an d history – I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed of – we were definitely cool kids! I would actually love to do the same as you have – find today’s version of the photos and compare them – so interesting! Did it take you a long time to trace the address and then match up the picture?
check out my blog!
http://www.urbanoptimist.wordpress.com
thanks for sharing!
keep pondering!
lovess
Luna
xxx
Hi Luna…Sadly, these photographs are not my own, merely inspiration from the flickr group based on the premise. I do plan on attempting some of my own, so I will definitely let you know if there are any tricks or struggles (of which I’m sure there will be!) to lining them up.
-Brittany
Great idea!
Oh, I love it. What wonderful and romantic thing to do.
Fantastic! The sixth one blends in so well it took a moment for my brain to digest it.
Kinda deja vu…
Ah! I remember now. It’s like the Smooth Radio ads…
hxxp://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/24/commercialradio.radio
Oh yah, I thought those were good! I think (and I emphasize the word think, before I start any scandalous rumours) that there was a flickr type group that had started doing those…which then was translated into an ad campaign. But dont’ quote me on that!
awesome, actually holding up the old pics instead of going Photoshop makes it so much more interesting to see.
I agree! I definitely prefer the hand and the actual photo in the shot! If it lines up with something (like an old wheel with a new car) all the better!
cool…..
Love this kinda stuff. Reminds me of this. It’s evolution baby!
Wow, thats really powerful stuff. I’m sure most areas we live/walk/work have had sad and happy events…but putting it into an image really hits home. Thanks for sharing!
Wow this is such a great idea for a post! I love how you fit all those old pictures into current scenes. I’m just getting into photography so stuff like this is great inspiration!
Hi Sandy,
Sadly these photos are not my own work, just a flickr group of inspiration for a technique that I find fascinating. It’s always great to find the sort of style you would like to accomplish so that you have a bit of focus and a ‘goal’ to work towards…even if you end of deviating from that course. Good luck with the photography!
-brittany
haha, awesome!
Very Nicely done. Inspires me to try the same technique on Old Mumbai (Bombay) photos I have.
That would be fantastic! I’d love to see them if you get around to it…
-Brittany
Nicely done!
That’s so cool!
“Gonna take a Sentimental Journey,
Gonna set my heart at ease.
Gonna make a Sentimental Journey,
to renew old memories…”
You have given me an idea. Hold up a photo of the once woodland paradise, in front of a WalMart.
so good
I’m literally blown away. Nice work!
it’s fun and beatiful !
The comments on this post seem to prove that old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”, eh? You mentioned the flickr group, yet people are giving you all sorts of props for pics you didn’t take! They must be so captivated by the pics that they are not really taking in your words!
I hope that people will click through to the entire gallery because my favorites are the turn of the century lady out walking her bunny rabbit on a leash in a park complete with man-on-horse war memorial and the one with the young boy setting off a rocket with the arch of an outdoor theatre shell in the background (fascinating to contract the decorative detailing on it, then and now).
Thanks for spreading the word about this flickr group. Would be fun to get more people taking photos and contributing to community appreciation of “then” and “now” changes.
So true! I put on extra messaging just to be clear that they weren’t my photos, put links to the photographers and the flickr group mention and yet… I guess everyone has been bamboozled. Thanks for reading! I too liked the rocket…there were so many that I liked! I really do want to give this a try, but I’m sure it’s much harder than it looks!
Excellent photos!! Really nice work.
Fantastic collection, i really love it. reminds me of a book about Paris that i have where they have an old shot on one side of the page and the other plate is a modern image of the same shot.
Love these, thanks.
jules
these are AMAZING! I’d love to do something like this for my grandparents. They would love that. Talk about fantastic work, I’m so impressed.
You might like my latest blog- check it out and comment if you get the chance!
http://wp.me/pq3cW-e8
Jordan
WOW! That’s all I can say… these pictures were really really good! I loved how I could see the new, but still get a feel for the past. You did an EXCELLENT job with your post!! I will be stopping back again.
Love it!! I am so going to go find some old post cards tomorrow and try this!!
awesome. very well done.
This is just fantastic.
Good work 🙂
this is beautiful! love it! 😀
I can only add the word magnificent – please more!!!!
Nice work. This is something new for me. Very interesting. What inspired you to make art like this?
WOW! Absolutely phenomenal!
This is just great… pretty neat work
This is so cool!
wow………………..its’ romantic wonderfull
this is amazing…REALLY. iv always wanted to visit LDN.
very nicely done. excellent.
woah i love this
Fantastic.
very awesome,
smart post.
so nice and awesome!
WoW,wonderful!
amazing! sure you have a lot of patience while mixed and search all those pictures. Once again im impressed 😀
Ooo…patience isn’t one of my strong points, which is why i’m a bit worried about taking on this project. Sadly, I cannot claim credit for these existing beauties. They are from a selection of talented photographers from the flickr group, looking into the past. Definitely worth a look…
Brittany
Wow, cool idea
Hi there – these photos are amazing. Thanks for posting. I wonder if there are any shots like this of Edinburgh, Scotland. Id love to see them
http://www.edinburghselfcatering.org
Charlotte,
Hmm… I haven’t seen any off the top of my head, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t out there! Failing that, you should have a go and let us see the result! I went to the local library to see about finding some information/photos yesterday but the local studies section wasn’t open…boo. To be continued…
Brittany
*NOTE….I just received this link from another reader about a new Edinburgh project that you might be interested in… http://www.walkingthroughtime.co.uk/ It’s pretty cool stuff!
thoroughly enjoyed these. great idea 🙂
This is awesome : )
These pic’s are great! What creativity and visual appeal. THANK YOU!
paul
love this!
Hi:
Grea work…so inspiring
I liked your layout…I wonder if I can share it on my blog:
http://hellochichaoua.wordpress.com
all the best,
Aziz
beautiful
Someone here has already said a thousand words to be enough to express my delight over what I see on your photos. So I’ll say only that it is a great project and great work. Really! I love it.
Wha,awesome post
You must like this
http://tinyurl.com/y9pqgdw
Awesome pictures!
I have never seen photos like these before. To me these photos are brillant. Very cleverly done and a wonderful way of showing the past in the present. It is like looking back in time. It comes into my mind the idea of taking a picture now of myself or other family members in places we used to visit as a child and match the photo side by side. To see the historical change. Thank you for sharing.
David
http://www.TheWonderTechnique.com
If I had five thumbs, I would give five thumbs up!
These are amazing and truly inspiring – looks like its time to dig some old photos out and go location hunting with the digital camera! It’s interesting to see how buildings and locations have changed over time, but what catches you the most is the photos of people: brining the past into the present!
http://beingisbewildering.wordpress.com/
Wonderful idea! Looks great.. in a way this shows the connection between the past and the present!
WOW!!!! I always try to picture the architecture and scenery around me as is was back in the day. This is so fun! Don’t you wish you could step through the picture into the past? I know, I know…dorky….but fun to think about about! It’s the sci-fi time travel geek in me that appreciates these photos the most. Thanks for posting them! Groovy.
I deeeeeeeefinitely would love to step into old surroundings. I think about it a tad more often than I should in fact! How dissapointing that you can’t…next on my to do list is to build a time machine. I’ll keep you posted on its progress.
Brittany
This is ridiculously brilliant!
Very good.
WOW! These are so lovely!
http://takomura.wordpress.com
You did a really great job with those. Must have been tricky to match them up so perfectly. One even had half the old care and half a new one behind the photo. Excellent. 🙂 I take rural exp. photos. I seldom see old postcards or photos but will watch for them now.
Hi Laura,
I have already become much more attuned to spotting old pictures to use, just in the last couple of days. I agree with you that it must be super tricky to line up (probably want makes them so interesting) but I cannot claim credit for these. They come from a variety of photographers in the flickr group, looking in the past! Its definitely worth checking out!
Brittany
Great idea and magical photos 🙂
They look great
Genius. Nice to see something different for a change.
Inspiring and unique idea. Way to go!
Fantastic! Gotta love Flickr
Lovely really.What a simple but creative idea!Great pictures by the way!-http://journeywithnaphill.blogspot.com.
que chidas fotos!!!!!
These pictures are so cool… i love how you can see how much times have changed through the then and now. Great work!
1. Wow.
2. No, seriously. WOW!
3. I loved this. I am such a sucker for mementos and capturing moments and reflecting/looking back {my dorky lovefest of a blog will tell you that}, so this is right up my alley. Super glad to have stumbled upon this.
oh nice..thanks for sharing..
i like the one with a lady in black clothes sitting ❤
These are great 🙂 I love old photographs.
You might be interested in these two web links that I have on favourites which are much in the vein:
http://refotografie.blogspot.com/
http://willwiles.blogspot.com/2009/12/london-in-2010.html
Nickie,
Thanks very much for those two links, very relevent and interesting. I was a bit sad to see the photos from refotographie…that large pedestrian lane is so much prettier than the tramline!!
Brittany
Lovely pictures. You might want to know that a project in Edinburgh is combining GPS and historical maps in an iPhone app, so you can walk through town and see where you would have been a hundred and fifty years ago. Its called Walking Through Time
Wow, thats fabulous! Thanks a lot for sharing that…now I just have to get up to Edinburgh. A “sacrifice” I’m willing to make…
Brittany
Fabulous idea & fascinating photographies! I am deeply impressed.
Greetings from Austria/Europe
Michael / LitterART
Very cool idea, I love it! I’ll have to try it myself!
that is reallie neat, some of the pictures look as if they haven’t changed much from the past.
what an awesome idea (:
This is really exciting! I’ve never seen anything like this before. I spent the last week in Belgium and found a photo album of vacation photos from a family’s road trip around Europe in the 1940’s, just after WW2. I think I’ve just figured out how to use them, thanks to you 🙂
this is a piece of ART !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
beautiful, interesting, brillant
congratulations
Patricia*
Great photos!
i love the 7th photo
Clarissa
(:
This is so cool!
Fantastic Idea!
Ahh, these pics are great!
WOW! What a great idea. Loved the cars between the scenes. Great group, terrific idea. Will shar it at my blog.
http://carrosantigos.wordpress.com/
Congratullations, Nik.
this post is amazing. I love love love it!!!!!
I look forward to seeing many more of these types of creative posts 🙂
check out my blog if you wish: http://www.12baroriginal.wordpress.com
cheers,
Tasha
cool!! really amazing photographs! 🙂
Those pictures are amazing! I love them!
It is so neat to see something new! I have never thought of holding an old photo at a current sight. Really enjoyed your post! Wondering how I could apply this concept to gardening?
That is unbelievably cool! I love them.
This is fantastic and so creative.
It’s amazing how fast the world has changed.
I loved the clarity of these pictures. can anyone tell me how did you do that!!
Thanks. I like that style of photography, combining different eras. Really gets the viewer thinking and engaged which is what you want any photo to do.
cool! 🙂
Amazing work ! most liked. congratulate !!
Ha ha that is funny and interesting. Love it!
10/10 🙂