Past & Present Photography

(images from Springfield Rewind)

Rephotography is a fascinating art form—it is the practice of recapturing the content of historical photographs in present day. The seemingly simple nature of the activity belies the fact that a certain bit of research and exploration is needed to recreate images of decades past.

One of the best examples I’ve found of this endeavor is Springfield Rewind, a database created by the Look Back Springfield project, which documents the history of Springfield, Illinois. The precision in which the photographs match one another is impressive, especially considering that the gap between historical photo and contemporary recreation spans, in many instances, upwards of 80 years.

However, even in examples which are only 30 years removed from one another, it is very easy to see the manner in which the environment (both physically & culturally) paradoxically changes greatly while also steadfastly remaining the same. While stone hewn buildings remain seemingly static, in contrast trees canopy once barren thoroughfares, and monolithic automobiles give way to their more agile contemporary counterparts.

From both an aesthetic and cultural standpoint, I’m always enamored by the large typographic signage of yesteryear. It often seems that large environmental—and slightly quirky—typography is missing from our contemporary landscape.

The encouraging facet of this art form is that one need only possess a camera and the will to scour their environments, so go and explore!

Library of Congress Color Photographs Archive

I have to admit, I’m sort of a history geek. One of my favorite source of historical images is the Library of Congress; aside from their vast array of printed ephemera and documents (the archive spans over 400 years), a favorite collection of mine in the library are the color photographs from the FSA & OWI. They can be found at: Color Photographs from the FSA and OWI.

With over 1,500 high-resolution photographs (often in the glorious 150 MB+ file size range), the archive provides a robust visual history between 1939 and 1945. Aside from their nostalgic appeal and their glimpse into decades past, from an aesthetic level I’m struck by the vibrancy and clarity of the images, which still resonate nearly 70 years after their creation. The archive touches on many subjects including agriculture, construction, heavy industry and manufacturing. However, the images also reflect common everyday scenes—main street storefronts, schools, and holiday parades.