How can you use historical photographs to document changes over time in a site?

Historical photographs can be a valuable source of information for landscape architects who want to understand the past conditions, transformations, and stories of a site. They can reveal how people used, shaped, and perceived the landscape over time, and how natural and cultural forces influenced its evolution. In this article, we will explore how you can use historical photographs to document changes over time in a site, and what benefits and challenges this method entails.

Find expert answers in this collaborative article

Selected by the community from 3 contributions. Learn more

1 Why use historical photographs?

Historical photographs can help you create a landscape biography, which is a narrative that traces the history and meaning of a place from multiple perspectives. By comparing historical photographs with current images, you can identify the physical and social changes that occurred in the site, and how they affected its character, function, and value. You can also use historical photographs to communicate your design vision and goals to clients, stakeholders, and the public, by showing them the potential and significance of the site.

Add your perspective

Daniel Hundven-Clements

Hundven-Clements Photography providing architects with phenomenal still & motion imagery of their constructions, helping them win awards & new business.
Report contribution
When considering historical photographs with an informative commercial end goal, don’t forget you can be the commissioner for the production of the historical images. If you are looking to convince potential clients that your design input has improved the quality of a specific environment, plan ahead. Urban landscape design projects often take years until completion, so make sure high quality reference images of the site are captured prior to development.

Like

2 How to find historical photographs?

When searching for historical photographs of a site, there are many sources to explore depending on its location, scale, and prominence. Archives and libraries, for instance, often have collections of historical photographs documenting the local history, culture, and environment. Museums and historical societies may also have exhibitions and publications featuring relevant photographs. Additionally, online platforms and databases such as Historypin, OldNYC, and WhatWasThere offer access to historical photographs from different sources and periods. Lastly, private collections and individuals may possess historical photographs of a site; you can contact them directly or through intermediaries to request access to their images.

Add your perspective

3 How to analyze historical photographs?

Careful and critical analysis of historical photographs of a site is necessary to gain a better understanding of the context, content, and comparison of the photograph. To understand the context, you need to know when, where, why, and by whom the photograph was taken, as well as its original format, quality, and condition. To understand the content, you should examine what the photograph depicts in relation to the site's physical and social features, including its topography, vegetation, structures, activities, events, and people. Additionally, you should pay attention to the details such as colors, textures, shapes, patterns, and symbols that convey meaning and emotion. Comparing the historical photograph with other sources of information like maps, drawings, texts and oral histories can help verify its accuracy and relevance. Additionally comparing it with current images of the site can help observe any changes or continuities that occurred over time.

Add your perspective

4 How to use historical photographs in design?

After analyzing historical photographs of a site, you can use them to inform and inspire your design process. They can help you identify the site's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, so that you can define your design objectives and strategies accordingly. Historical photographs can also be used to restore, enhance, or reinterpret the site's historical features, values, and meanings, as well as incorporate historical elements into your design. Doing so will create a sense of continuity and identity while also engaging the site's users and visitors. Ultimately, engaging with the past helps to invite people to discover, learn, and appreciate the site's history and stories.

Add your perspective

Daniel Hundven-Clements

Hundven-Clements Photography providing architects with phenomenal still & motion imagery of their constructions, helping them win awards & new business.
Report contribution
If you commission a photographic site documentation, analyse where the best angles can be captured once the site is transformed and focus on these before the development begins. This approach will provide you with a cohesive image narrative explaining how the site has improved, before / after images. A very effective tool for convincing clients you provide site value.

Like

5 What are the benefits and challenges of using historical photographs?

Using historical photographs to document changes over time in a site can have many benefits and challenges for landscape architects. It can enrich their understanding of the site's history and context, enabling them to create a more informed and sensitive design. It can also enhance their creativity and innovation, and help them generate new ideas and solutions for the site's challenges and opportunities. Additionally, it can improve their communication and collaboration, allowing them to build trust and rapport with their clients, stakeholders, and the public. However, it can be time-consuming and costly to find, access, and analyze historical photographs, as well as difficult and subjective to interpret and compare them. Moreover, it can be challenging and controversial to balance the preservation and transformation of the site's historical character, potentially leading to resistance or criticism from different groups or interests. Additionally, legal or ethical issues may arise regarding the use and reproduction of historical photographs.

Add your perspective

Daniel Hundven-Clements

Hundven-Clements Photography providing architects with phenomenal still & motion imagery of their constructions, helping them win awards & new business.
Report contribution
It is vitally important that you obtain copyright usage permission from the owner of the images. Just because they are potentially older images does not mean that they can be reproduced freely. Depending on the nature of the image the owner may be happy for it to be reproduced free of charge with only a credit. However you should always be prepared to pay make a monetary contribution if the image will be used for commercial activities. Failing to identify the owner and publishing an image can legal to extensive legal action and significantly increased payments compared to a standard usage licence fee.

Like

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

How can you use historical photographs to document changes over time in a site?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Why use historical photographs?

2 How to find historical photographs?

3 How to analyze historical photographs?

4 How to use historical photographs in design?

5 What are the benefits and challenges of using historical photographs?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Landscape Architecture

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Landscape Architecture

More relevant reading

How can you use historical photographs to document changes over time in a site?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Why use historical photographs?

2 How to find historical photographs?

3 How to analyze historical photographs?

4 How to use historical photographs in design?

5 What are the benefits and challenges of using historical photographs?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Landscape Architecture

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

Explore Other Skills