hybrid

Bridging the past: hybrid images of London

The Museum of London released 16 gorgeous and ghostly images of London today merged with London of yesterday to mark the launch of its revamped app. To celebrate the Bridge exhibition, which runs until 2 November 2014, the museum has continued this historically creative adventure by releasing 16 images of London's bridges, spanning from present to past. Tower Bridge c. 1903–10, by Christina Broom

The original images, which are all part of the museum's photography collection, were shot in the 19th and 20th centuries. Their photographers include: Henry Grant, Henry Turner, Sandra Flett, Christina Broom, Roger Mayne, and George Davison Reid. They depict Tower Bridge c. 1903-10; the demolition of Old Waterloo Bridge c. 1934; Albert Bridge c. late 19th century; London Bridge c.1937; and the view of London’s skyline from Tower Bridge c.1930, among others.

Richmond Bridge late 19th century, photographer unknown

Francis Marshall, curator of the Bridge exhibition says: 'Contrasting historic shots with those of today allows us to see how the city has changed over time. Or in some cases, how it has remained the same.'

A Windy Evening on London Bridge c. 1937, by Henry Turner

You can see all of the images at the Bridge exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands. It's free!

Charing Cross Railway Bridge, late 19th century, unknown photographer

Heading Back to the Future with your portraits

Lali, 1978 and 2010 in Buenos Aires

Take an old portrait and recreate it: same people, same place, same look. Sounds like fun, if a bit of a challenge, no? It’s the sort of thing that would complement ‘Dear Me’ (writing to your 16 year old self) or tweeting your 16 year old self, perfectly. It’s also what Argentinian photographer Irina Werning has been up to recently. It’s her project, Back to the Future.

As she says, she loves old photos and she’s a nosey photographer. So this is the hybrid: ‘…it’s imagining how people would look and feel if they were to re-enact them [old portraits] today.’ Well, I’m charmed and rather inspired by the quirky results.

Flor, Male, and Sil in 1983 and 2010, by Irina Werning

In fact, I know precisely which photo of me I’d like to try to recreate. I’m seven years old and I’m standing on the bonnet of a car, halfway up the road leading to the summit of Monte Corona, taking a photograph. It was the holiday when my father taught me how to use an SLR. Perfect!

Take a look at the rest of the Back to the Future project gallery on Werning’s website.