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80 Fascinating “Old Photos” That Show You How Much the World Has Changed

Umito November 16, 2024

Take a photo has never been easier than today. You can swipe up on your cell phone, take hundreds of photos in just a few minutes, and almost instantly upload them online for others to see. And while the convenience and accessibility of being able to document our lives is incredible, knowing how much work it took to develop movie in the past makes photos from a century ago even more special.

A page dedicated to celebrating history photography is Photos of yesteryear on Facebook. This account shares digitized versions of photos from the late 1800s to the 1980s. So have fun scrolling through these historic panda photos, and be sure to vote for the ones you’re glad were captured decades, even a century, ago. And keep reading to find a conversation with Ed Padmore, founder of Vintage photo lab!

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

To learn more about the fascinating world of photography the pastwe contacted Ed Padmore, founder of Vintage photo lab. Ed was kind enough to chat with Bored panda and explain why it is so important to preserve these old photos.

“When I started Vintage Photo Lab, I was lucky enough to still have three grandparents. Today, I don’t have any more. Their generation was the first to experiment with affordable cameras, and Although many families have photos from before this time, it was this period where modern family photographic history began. The baby boomer generation followed them and had even more options: cheaper cameras. , instant cameras (Polaroids), and even home video cameras As travel around the world became more affordable and common, families were eager to immortalize their new lifestyle (and perhaps humbly brag about it). of the Jones’ neighbor).”

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

“My generation (Generation X) came along, we had “real” cameras and developed prints, but we also experienced the transition to digital,” Ed continued. accidentally became the creators – and keepers – of what were printed, not digital, photographic keepsakes that tell the stories of our recent family ancestors.”

“All stories and information are stored in the brains of parents and grandparents, and if we don’t record this information now, it will be lost forever,” explained the photo expert. “We all sat and listened to Grandma say ‘…and that’s your great aunt Mabel, she was an acrobat and married the master of the ring and ended up touring the continent’, or something something like that. Humans have been telling stories for centuries, and now it’s no different.

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

We also asked Ed what we could learn from these vintage photos. “So much! They’re actually very different. And if you think about the difference between then and now, it’s even more stark. We all have a camera in our pocket now. You could walk down a few steps today, and several people have captured it, shared it on WhatsApp and posted it on Instagram Every photo back then was planned, or at least thought out and more thought out just by the very nature of having to have a camera with you (. which is not common), have film and have a spare exposure to be able to take a photo in the first place,” he told Bored Panda.

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

“That’s why funny, unexpected, random events in old photos always seem much more magical to me,” Ed continued. “The chances of capturing that moment were infinitely lower than today. Photos also cost the money. Buy the camera, buy the film, develop the film You weren’t shooting randomly, willy-nilly. Which, fortunately, meant less food photos, and certainly less. selfies! So in a way it’s a more honest snapshot through time, because it was more real.

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

But Ed doesn’t necessarily think it’s a good thing that it’s so easy to take photos today. “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t find it ridiculous how many photos we now have accumulated on our phones,” he shared. “We recently did a random survey, and the average was 23,000 people. What are you going to do with all these items? Which ones are people using or doing something meaningful with? If you’re organized, You could order a print of a great-looking special, or print a photo book to commemorate an event like a holiday or birthday. But it’s quite rare for people to be this organized.

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

In fact, Ed thinks it’s a real problem that so many of us have thousands and thousands of photos. “How are people going to pass these images on to future generations? There’s probably a lot of sorting out that most people would want to do before allowing anyone to have full access to their entire camera roll digital But when will we get there? Have people made arrangements to allow their loved ones access to their digital lives? Some people can include passwords to their digital world in their wills, but not all.

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

“And you might want to think twice if you’re hoping Apple will help you get access to a device that’s not yours,” the photo expert continued. “There are actually a lot of sad stories about this and couples losing photographic memories that they can’t access from each other’s phone and cloud accounts. But I suspect future generations will learn a lot more on our daily lives thanks to the avalanche of digital photos they might receive one day There are just more, even if half are photos shared by other people via WhatsApp or random memes that were. topical or even slightly funny at the time, but which may no longer make much sense.

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Ed says he always loved looking at old photos. He is therefore lucky to live in a time when his grandparents did not leave behind 25,000 selfies.

“I like how it feels like a form of time travel. I especially like the everyday photos of real people going about their business, but especially in the 1950s, 60s or 70s,” he said. sharing. “They also reveal a much simpler time. If you look at streetscapes or photos of downtowns from decades ago, you’ll just feel calmer. There are no street signs you indicating not to do this or that, or not to park here, or to park only there They don’t have metal barriers at every intersection because apparently, at the time, they were trusted. people to cross the road in a reasonable manner.

“There are signs and street furniture everywhere you look these days. But I guess it’s just rose-tinted glasses and something that easily gives away my age,” Ed added. “Most of the generations think their childhood was the best, but growing up in the 80s was pretty hard to beat. But maybe only if you grew up in the 80s.”

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Image credits: Old photos

Do you want to dig into the photos your grandparents left behind of pandas? We hope you enjoy browsing this list and please let us know in the comments which images stood out to you. Keep voting for all your favorites, and if you want to check out even more photos from the past, we recommend reading this article from Bored Panda following!