Research - Gathering Old Images

The photo gathering begins!

Looking online I've managed to find quite a lot of good resources for old, historical archives of Sheffield.

This certainly helps make my job all the more easier, and gives me visual ideas just browsing them.

PICTURE SHEFFIELD
http://www.picturesheffield.com/ is a great site, one of the best of the bunch, set up by the city council itself, and containing a vast selection of historical images from many different eras. Here are just a few...

City Hall. 1937.

Midland Bank, Ecclesall Road. 1952.

Moorhead. 1930.

BBC - YORKSHIRE
http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/image_galleries/sheffield_then_and_now_vin_rigby_gallery.shtml

In a section devoted primarily to the Yorkshire region, BBC did a great comparison piece showing old photos from the city, with modern day comparisons from the exact same angle. Kinda like a still version of what I want to do myself! Some of the images they used are here...

Sheffield's Peace Gardens. 1960 & 2009 respectively.

Barkers Pool. 1968 & 2009.

Hyde Park Flats. 1973, 2000 & 2009.

FRANCIS FIRTH
http://www.francisfrith.com/sheffield/photos/

Another big and extensive collection, this one more in a commercial manor though, in that it tries to sell you prints of the actual images! Still, it's nice that the preservation and recollection of such memories are in demand, so much so people would actually pay good money for them. For my purposes, they should be ideal, as it means the images would be of a good quality if chosen for use in my shots. The only problem is they're heavily copy protected, not easily downloadable, and watermarked. Sure, there's way round it, and I can quite easily grab them if I REALLY wanted them, but honestly, if someone goes to that much trouble to keep you from having them, then it's really not worth it. Plus, copyright issues would obviously come into play, and I'd hate to rub someone the wrong way with my work. Anyway, here's a few images I "borrowed" from the site...

Fargate. 1893.

Fitzalan Square. 1902.

Fargate. 1955.

FLICKR
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roger/sets/72157600005239108/

Ah Flickr, the ever reliable! You can always count on it to deliver the goods when you find yourself looking for some sought after resources! This collection in particular, set up by one Roger B, shows many images of Sheffield from between 1905 & 2008. Many are colour too, albeit artificial in many cases, which is a treat for the retinas after viewing so much monochrome, let me tell you!

Here's a few...

Coles Corner. 1908.

Heeley Bottom. 1979.

Following Roger B's album, it led me to the Flickr group "Sheffield Then and Now", which contained even more images from all over the city, by even more of its inhabitants. There was a little too much "Now" and not enough "Then" for my liking, but still, the collection was extensive, and still provided a fascinating look into the ever changing landscape of Yorkshire's finest city.

Given these resources, as well as many others, I am now starting to build up a selection of images which I can use for my idea, and tweak to my liking. When I've got enough on hand, I can start planning actual shoots of these places in modern day Sheffield, and start thinking more about how best to reflect the changing times.