Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, people are now able to share and restore vintage photographs to their original glory, and then some. Seeing old photographs brought back to life allows us a glimpse into the past and see how far we have come.
There is something unique about the feeling we get from seeing how time has changed society’s landscape, whether it be in large scale political change or the simple change that one person once made by leaving a bike chained to a tree for decades. So, with that in mind, here are 17+ awe-inspiring pics that show the power of time.
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“Coal miners heading to work, 1900s”
And I bet you thought your commute to get to work was bad? Well, just be thankful you weren’t a coal miner in the 1900s!
“My Great great Grandfather Johan Hætta in 1883, and me, 137 years later. Gramps colorized by me.”
This is like a glitch in the matrix. It is amazing how genetics can preserve a person’s visage throughout generations.
“Teenagers dancing and socializing at a party, 1947.”
It is strange seeing a teenager’s party without a single red cup or beer pong game in sight! Quite refreshing really.
“A kid chained his bike to a tree in 1954, this is it now”
In an article for Vintage News, a retired King County deputy sheriff, Don Puz wrote about how he had left his bike in a swamp as a child and forgotten to go back for it. The article reads:
“‘ I never liked the bike. It was like a tricycle, but with two wheels. It had hard rubber tires and skinny little handlebars,’ Puz says. Puz says eventually the family moved to a home near what became Sound Food, but which then was a swampy area. ‘We liked playing there, catching polliwogs. We’d get into ponds and mud. It was a good place,’ he says.Sometime in the mid-1950s, says Puz, he forgot the bike in that swampy acreage and never bothered to get it back. […] Then, in 1995, when visiting a sister still living on the island, she took Puz to see the local landmark. ‘The first words out of my mouth were, ‘That’s my bike!'”
“1 year ago I finished this 70 inch treehouse tortoise and last week I got the key for my own art studio.”
This just goes to show what you can accomplish with enough time and effort. The detail on this painting is incredible, and I’m sure this will be something that this person will cherish for a long time.
“A Mother Reads to Her 6 Year Old Child through a Basement Window during a 1949 Polio Epidemic Quarantine”
With the terrible rise of people refusing to get vaccinations for their children, it is important to remember how dangerous and horrific Polio, and other diseases that have been controlled with vaccinations, can be.
“For the past 3.5 years I’ve lived 5500 miles away from my nephews. Whenever I traveled for work/fun I would send them a postcard.”
This person who posted this wrote that their brother had sent them this photo to show how they cherished each of the postcards he had sent. Even after the immense time spent separated from their family, these two little people really show that love can conquer time.
“Jersey Shore, 1905 (colorised)”
Now I wish that I could go to the beach dressed like that! I hate getting burnt, so wearing a suit to the Jersey Shore would help to eradicate that fear.
“I graduated 10 years ago and have used CPR three times which is three times more than I have used calculus.”
This person wrote that they had found this man lying by the side of the road, and couldn’t find his pulse. They stayed with him for five minutes doing chest compressions while waiting for the ambulance to turn up, and saved his life. Five minutes can seem like nothing, but in a pinch such as this, it was the difference between a man living and dying.
“Progress is great but some things never change.”
This is another example that comes across as a glitch in the Matrix. While some places become unrecognizable over the passage of time, there are some things that never change. Only the rocks by the side of the river have altered (oh, and the car obviously).
“The Wire Has Worn Into This Rock After Years Of Hikers Walking Over It”
I wonder how many boots must have trodden on this exact spot to cause this level of erosion. We don’t always take the time to think that every step we make impacts the planet we exist on.
“Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip 1947 – 2007”
This one really is amazing. The fact that she still has the same broach on it a wonderful little touch to tie these two timeframes together.
10 Years Sober
The person who posted this wrote, “I posted about being 9 years sober and having custody of my son. Well, today we share 10 years sober and my boy is 10 years old.” They also went on to explain that there is hope for anyone struggling with addiction. There is always time to turn your life around, never feel like it is too late.
Leaving A Mark On The World
The person who posted this explained, “22 years ago my friends and I walked home from middle school together for the last time and placed these locks on this fence.” Sometimes it is nice to leave a reminder for your future self such as this of the good times you have had. We all leave a mark on the world in some way, this is just a physical manifestation of that fact, which is beautiful.
“Richard and Mildred Loving, 1965. Convicted for breaking the Virginia mixed-marriages law in 1961.”
It is shocking that laws such as these were still in place until so recently. Ultimately, the Court issued a unanimous decision in the Lovings’ favor and overturned their convictions on June 12, 1967.
“Elli was born with tuxedo markings and turned almost completely white in three years due to vitiligo”
According to an article published on Elli’s condition in The Dodo , “Elli was diagnosed as having vitiligo — a rare condition which causes a loss of pigmentation, leading to white patches of skin and hair.” Thankfully, Elli was otherwise completely healthy.
“Iranian woman on a beach before Islamic Revolution 1960”
Such a relatively short amount of time has actually passed for such drastic changes to have taken place in this country.
“Long exposure over a lake”
I absolutely love long exposure photography. Even a relatively small amount of time can produce such absolutely stunning images, it’s like time is painting an image for us on the world’s canvas without even knowing it.
“A customer and his stylist over the years”
I wish I had started doing something like this, I’ve had the same hairdresser for years. I love seeing how the styles and camera evolve over time!
“After winning the world cup, Kelley O’Hara—who wasn’t previously out—ran to the sideline & kissed her girlfriend”
This is particularly moving when you consider that Billie Jean King was the first female athlete to admit to being gay, but only after being outed in a 1981 lawsuit, and back then this severely hurt her image. We have come a long way since then.
“The best-preserved dinosaur ever discovered. Found accidentally by miners in Canada”
This dinosaur is over 110 million years old! However, despite that immense amount of time, you can still make out the marks on the beast’s skin.
“The fact that this city existed in the U.S. over 1,000 years ago is mind blowing”
No matter how much we think that the places we live will exist forever, time will always find ways of forgetting the past in place of the future. It would be amazing to see what this city would have been like in its prime.
“For the last 10 years or so, my family has received a Christmas card addressed to Carl and Lisa. None of us are called Carl or Lisa.”
This person went on to write how they felt that this was the end of an era. Ten years is an incredibly long time to be tenuously connected to someone that you have never even met. The people sending the card obviously felt so too for them to send this card bidding farewell!
“The youth have been cleaning the Mithi River (Mumbai, India) for over a year now. Then vs now”
If you put your mind to a task and dedicate time to that task, you can have a massive impact on the world around you. It is amazing to see people taking time to improve the world around them like this.
“I took a 30 second exposure of a car driving up a hill”
That car must have been going quite a lick to cover that much distance. However, it’s an amazingly atmospheric picture, it really conveys the lonely act of driving at night.
“High school football star had a rape charge against him dropped after sixteen year old confessed that it never happened.”
This man spent six years falsely imprisoned and broke down when the case was moved to dismiss. This man will never get those six years back, and you can feel the power of the judge’s decision right on this man’s face.
“Photo of F-18 Super Hornet 2 jet with a vapor cone forming around it. The cone lasts just tenths of a second.”
According to another user, “a vapor cone forms when the aircraft goes from subsonic to transonic to supersonic speeds”. It is fantastic seeing such a small moment in time captured.
“Not bad for 6 months.”
Good Lord that is one impressive growth spurt! Hopefully, this dog doesn’t double again after the next six months or you’ll have to get him a house of his own!
“Our 1st Christmas together and our 13th Christmas together!”
You can tell that the love felt for one another is still as strong as it was the day they met. It is criminal that dogs must have such short lifespans in comparison to our own. They make every second count though.
“A then(1958) and now(2019) picture of my grandparents”
When this person initially posted the photo, the left image was in black and white. However, a fellow Redditor colorized the image, and this person’s grandmother loved it so much that she was buried with the picture in her hands.
