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REPHOTOGRAPHY

Braeside

Braeside

New member
Yes apparently rephotography is a word. :)

I have a very interesting book of photographs taken in the late 19th century by Erskine Beveridge who was a wealthy owner of a Dunfermline Linen Factory, and a great photographer of Scottish places.

So many of the places the captured on his glass negatives have changed completely in the 115 years since, so it is wonderful that his photos have survived and are preserved by RCAHMS.

Yesterday I visited the location of one of my favourite photos of his taken in 1885 at Boarhills in Fife. It was my first visit there and I may return to attempt a better "rephotograph". I didn't get the position or height exactly right and lacked some photogenic youngsters to be positioned in the right place ;)

And no, I didn't use a plate camera - though I did use a tripod in his honour.

1. Erskine Beveridge's wonderful shot taken c 1885



2. My shot taken in 2011



Note the walls are largely original and even a stone placed at the corner to stop carts from hitting the wall is still there. Some houses have been replaced or extended.

It is still a sleepy wee place, I didn't see or speak to anyone the whole time I was there photographing, which is a pity as I had hoped to.

Only another 400 odd places to visit that Erskine B photographed around Scotland.
 
mathomas

mathomas

Active member
Nice photo(s). Just goes to show that cameras have been capable of tremendous quality for a long time.
 
Braeside

Braeside

New member
mathomas said:
Nice photo(s). Just goes to show that cameras have been capable of tremendous quality for a long time.
Click to expand...
Absolutely Mike, the large format plates must have been super. What amazed me about this collection was the remote places that Erskine Beveridge reached with his heavy equipment. Including the summit of Ben Nevis. He certainly had an artistic eye and composed his photos beautifully. The reproductions in the book are of course even better than the small JPG shown here.
 
jotloob

jotloob

Subscriber Member
That is a great project . I like to work on projects rather than shooting single images . I am looking forward to see more of your rephotographs . B/W is the correct and only medium for that type of shooting . IMO .
Also , that project can be a kind of "studying" a little bit of history and see how mankind has changed his environment .

There are so many wonderful places in SCOTLAND , where I have lived for quite some time . A prerequisite for rephotography is of course the existence of old images .
Good luck with that .

What I found on the net :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/landscapes/what_are_rephotographs.shtml
 
L

Lax Jought

New member
I really like this, I love old photographs from an era that we'll never see again. It's fascinating to see what life was like back then. It's particularly interesting to see what these locations look like today.

There's a book series called "Then & Now" that does this sort of thing, I saw the Beijing one at the book store last week, I've got to go back and get it:

http://www.amazon.com/Beijing-Then-Now-Thunder-Bay/dp/1592237983
 
Braeside

Braeside

New member
Jürgen - Yes I saw the BBC Scotland site on rephotography and it did give me a push into trying this project.

Lax - Welcome to the forum and I hope you managed to get that book - it should be fascinating!
 
mathomas

mathomas

Active member
Lax Jought said:
I really like this, I love old photographs from an era that we'll never see again. It's fascinating to see what life was like back then. It's particularly interesting to see what these locations look like today.

There's a book series called "Then & Now" that does this sort of thing, I saw the Beijing one at the book store last week, I've got to go back and get it:

http://www.amazon.com/Beijing-Then-Now-Thunder-Bay/dp/1592237983
Click to expand...
We have a Denver, Colorado, USA "then and now" book. Very interesting!
 
Tomcollins

Tomcollins

New member
Thanks for posting these images and this idea. What a great project idea for where ever you live. I to am a project oriented photographer and this one is definitely going into the line-up. Thanks again for sharing. By the way, I'm new to this forum (joined yesterday) and this is my first post.
Tom
 
Braeside

Braeside

New member
Welcome to the forum Tom. Wonder where you are located?

Keep us updated on your own project.

As the weather was great, I was out yesterday trying another rephotograph, I chose what I thought would be an easy one and of course it turned out to be almost impossible. The place where the original photo had been taken is now very hard to reach as it involves negotiating a bog, then trying to find a clear view through many trees and saplings that have grown up beside a loch.

Afterwards I spoke to the landlord of the local Inn and he told me that there was once a wooden jetty there and we think that must have been where the original was taken from.

I think I will have to invest in a pair of waders or a rowing boat :D

However, I did have a great time and got a couple of photos of things I had not planned to take. Three swans flew over and I also found a vintage car parked in the street.
 
Braeside

Braeside

New member
This isn't going to be a final image for the village of Kilconquhar, but just a scouting photo for a future rephotograph taken on my iPhone. Bet Erskine Beveridge would be amazed what a tiny camera can do instantly.


 
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