Depicting the Passage of Time

[Craig]

I'm looking for a creative way of showing the passage of time using two or more photos of the same subject taken at different periods of time.

For example, I would like to illustrate the evolution of the New York skyline based on these two photos.  Would a very slow, gradual transition be most appropriate, or is there a mask effect that might help illustrate the passage of 70 years in these photos?

Thanks for any ideas and examples of how you have depicted the passage of time in your slides.

-Craig

[Barry Beckham]

I think the two images will probably do that almost on their own given that one looks older. The older one already has a sepia tone and that should work well to convey age.

Try a page transition from bottom to top and see how that looks, but check out the page options in other directions too. 

[Jean-Cyprien]

Hi Craig,

Try to do something like the example (rapidly made).

See also some example

http://golem13.fr/paris-1900-se-superpo ... e-present/
http://golem13.fr/70-ans-liberation-de-paris/
http://golem13.fr/crue-paris-2016/
http://golem13.fr/vietnam-looking-into-the-past/

 

Old_New_NY.zip

[Craig]

Thanks so much, Barry and Jean-Cyprien.  Barry, as you suggested, page curls provide a nice effect in visually connoting a sense of passing from one era to another (along with the sepia quality of the older photo, as you pointed out).  I am experimenting with the curl-related options to accentuate the transition.

Jean-Cyprien, I appreciated your demonstration example, and the montages on the golem13.fr website were wonderful...they provide terrific inspiration and I hope to emulate some of those effects.

Thanks again!

-Craig

[Barry Beckham]

Craig

I think Jean-Cyprien has a point. Photoshop, if you use that program, has a powerful  tool called auto align and while I have used it and been amazed by it, that was generally with two pictures taken in quick succession. However, Jean-Cyprien's suggestion made me think.

There doesn't seem to be a good reason why Photoshop and auto align cannot work its magic on two pictures taken years apart, worth a try. Place the two pictures as a layered stack, select them both and choose auto align, then ok.

[Tonton Bruno]

It seems that the two photographies have been not taken with the same angle of view and from the same location.

I tried to align the two towers in the left and the differnce of syze is obvious.

[Barry Beckham]

Then a manual align via the distort tools in Photoshop may offer a second best option

[Tonton Bruno]

36 minutes ago, Barry Beckham said:

Then a manual align via the distort tools in Photoshop may offer a second best option

Did you try it ?

Could-you show us your result ?

I tried it and my result was very poor.

[Barry Beckham]

No, I haven't tried either method, because I am wrapped up in other things at the moment and I would expect the author to have higher resolution images than were posted. So, if anyone is going to have the best success, it may be him. Having said that, if he doesn't have PS then its rather a waste of time anyway