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Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Heads or Tails Tuesday



This week's Heads or Tails Tuesday offers the choice of:

Heads - Old;

Tails - New.

Feeling spoilt for choice, I had trouble picking one, and was going to skip Heads or Tails this week. But earlier this morning, I was browsing the Pioneering Photography section of a local website, Swansea Heritage Net, when I had an idea for this week's Heads or Tails. What I saw inspired me to create a hybrid post, consisting of both old and new. I came across some early images of local scenes, dating back to the 1850's, and realised that I have many images in my own collection, of the very same scenes. (As this post is educational in nature, I hope the local authority, the City and County of Swansea, who own the Swansea Heritage Net site, will not object to me using some of their images, under the fair use doctrine. However, if anyone from the council sees this and does object, I will be happy to remove the post).

First up are these images of Three Cliffs Bay. The first one dates from around 1853, and shows the natural arch in the rock face, which separates the neighbouring beaches of Three Cliffs and Pobbles. It is possible to pass through the arch from one beach to the other, although a rocky, weed-filled stream runs through the arch, which can make the walkway very slippery.



Here's my image, taken about eight months ago, of the same scene.



Here's a close-up view of the arch. It doesn't show up too well on my image, above.



This image of mine, also dating from about eight months ago, shows the very same location, with a clear view through to people on the next beach.



This image of the Neolithic monument known as Arthur's Stone, was taken around 1856.



My image of the same location, taken at a slightly different angle, dates from last year.



I suspect this view of the area commonly known as the Mumbles, was taken from Oystermouth Castle, and shows the fishing village of Oystermouth as it appeared in the 1850's.



I took this next shot in 2006, from the grounds of Oystermouth Castle, where I suspect the 1850's shot was taken from.



Here's the same location, snapped in 2006, which essentially shows the same scene as the 1850's image, but taken from the shoreline, rather than the hill on which the castle is perched.



I think the old versus new pics of Mumbles/Oystermouth show the greatest change, as the village has been considerably developed during the last 150 years or so. I hope you find this comparison of old and new images as fascinating as I do. Happy Tuesday!

15 comments:

Dragonstar said...

Lovely comparisons. They really tell a story, both of the development of the village and of photography in general!

jenn said...

What a great idea for a post! I love the pictures. Comparing the old and new was fun. You can see change, but then things are so much the same!

smarmoofus said...

Wow, that's amazing! I'm really impressed that you found old shots taken from virtually the same points of view as your new ones. It makes me want to go through photos I've taken and see if I can dig up historical archive photos of the same scenes. How very cool!

I'm up, too!

Lifecruiser said...

What a wonderful idea to compare those photos! AWESOME!

I love old photos - and to see the changes like this is a rare opportunity.

I love to see the dresses of the people there, the buildings that have popped up - and that the rock has fallen down!

Excellent post :-)

Never too old to travel

Barb said...

I echo what others have already said.. Great comparative shots, and how very interesting!!!

Can you imagine spending a day at the beach dressed as those ladies were???

Rambler said...

ah both the set of pics look awesome

Unknown said...

Great idea comparing old & new! :-)


Mine is up!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing the comparison of the photos. :)

I wonder if you would like to do a tag? If you have done it before, feel free to leave me a link so I can visit. :)

TAG

Serena

Misty DawnS said...

This is a really awesome post! I loved comparing the old and new photos!

Chris E said...

Hi Sian,
Can't see any problem my end at all.
Do you think it is only affecting feeders as when I look at my sites normally I can't see anything wrong.
btw - http://thepigslip2.blogspot.com has now changed address to thepigslip2007.blogspot.com

Chris

chris said...

Hi Sian
I think it is just some cretin who has used up the old domain names I have given up.
My new blog is http://thepigslip2008.blogspot.com
and I have changed the names on my older blogs too
Thanks
Chris

Siani said...

Phew - that's a relief, Chris. I was horrified and thought some low life spammer had completely deleted all your stuff. I'm so glad your blogs are safe - many thanks for letting me know. Take care.

Chris E said...

They may be safe at the moment, but you got me scared now - wish I knew an easy way I could back everything up

Anonymous said...

I'll be putting up some shots of Arthur's Stones with three generations of the family - gives added interest to the earlier/later theme.
When you mentioned the stream inside the Three Cliffs passage, I was suddenly there !
Great sequence.
A.

Secret Agent Mama said...

Truly interesting post, Siani! :D

 
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