The summer is over and it is back to school on Monday. This summer has been atrocious in terms of weather, almost every day it rained. I feel I haven’t accomplished half of what I planned at the beginning of the break. One thing I did finish was this project.
I found this old book in the local little library.
Wakefield in Old Picture Postcards by John Goodchild ISBN 9028848231
As I was unwilling to go camping in the rain, I decided to use this book for a project to pass the time. I used Google Maps to find some of the photo’s locations and take new ones. I made a map and off I trotted when there were breaks in the rain.
Most of the places I already knew, the others took a little bit more effort to find. I used a few different cameras and films, using up tail ends of rolls.
I didn’t recreate all the pictures in the book or even all the ones I made placemarks for. I created enough for this blog post and my own peace of mind. If you want to see more old images of Wakefield, I suggest you find a second-hand copy of this book published in 1990.
Here are my results.
Well, that was actually fun. I got a few strange looks wandering around with a book and a camera, but I often get strange looks when out with cameras.
I completed a couple of other projects over the summer. I will post them in all good time, but for now, I have decided to take September off. The blog will have a short holiday while I adjust to the new school year schedule. I will restock my draft folder ready for October and refresh my mental health by also reducing my interactions on social media for a while. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
What a brilliant idea. I might poach it for something local to me, also in West Yorkshire. Loved looking through the images. Thank you.
Thank you for the comment, and it is hardly my own original idea, so feel free to run with it as you wish 😀
I love the project and your results!!!
Thank you. I have another book about yorkshire villages, but the weather wasn’t good enough to try that one this summer. I might make it an autumn project.
A genius post, indeed! I’ve seen a couple of “then and now” photo books about specific US cities or neighborhoods that pair up 1900-ish images with current ones … but your “swipe the arrow” presentation is much more effective. Many thanks for creating and sharing this.
You are welcome and thanks. To be fair, it was a WordPress block that made it possible. I was surprised at how little Wakefield had change in some areas…but how totally it had in others. An either, all or nothing approach.