It’s crazy how things can change. Some changes happen quickly, while others are super gradual. Either way, though, you may not notice the change until you compare the before and after photos.
And wow, these kinds of changes really do put things in perspective. What’s changed, how that happened, and even why… it’s true what they say. A picture really is worth a thousand words.
“I painted the same picture, 4 months apart.”
It’s true what they say. Practice makes perfect. Spending years, months, even days perfecting your craft can yield some pretty interesting improvements.
While the painting on the left is incredible, the one on the right is out of this world. If that’s how much the artist improved in 4 months, it’ll be exciting to see their work in a year!
“Man’s best friend, all grown up.”
Seeing how little the man driving has changed, it really puts into perspective how quickly dogs age. Much quicker than us humans, that’s for sure. Sadly, that means they live a fraction of our lifetimes. But that just means you’ll have to cherish every day you have with your furry friend.
“Photos taken by climbers atop Mt. Adams when Mt. St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980.”
The way that volcanic eruption completely changes the horizon in such a short amount of time is as impressive as it is scary. It shows the magnitude of an eruption, and makes me really glad I don’t live near any volcanos.
“Man sits at the same spot his grandfather did in 1944 during WWII in Florence, Italy.”
One thing that’s really striking about this image is the way that so little has changed. Sure, some of the buildings on the right side of the top image were destroyed and rebuilt by the time the bottom picture was taken. But the buildings on the right are nearly identical. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
“The Empire State Building in 1941.”
You don’t really need a comparison for this image. At one point, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world. Nowadays, it isn’t even the tallest building in the city anymore.
And the amount of skyscrapers that stand alongside the landmark today are definitely a stark contrast to the short buildings in the 1940s.
“Two paintings based on the same photo, but with 2 years of practice in between.”
Painting can be tricky. While neither painting is bad by any means, the sheer improvement between the top and bottom is amazing. It just goes to show you that, if you keep practicing, you’ll notice improvements over time.
Both of these paintings should be in art galleries!
“This humongous zucchini our neighbor gave us. Banana for scale!”
More of a size comparison than a time comparison, check out how big that zucchini is! It’s got to be at least two feet in length. If you leave your zucchini plants to grow, they’ll produce giant squash like these in no time. They’re almost too impressive to chop up and eat.
“My father (17) in 1978. Myself (27) in 2015. Same guitar: 1976 Yamaha FG-210-1.”
I love it when people recreate photos of their parents from years ago. Maybe it’s just the plaid shirt, but you can definitely see the resemblance between father and daughter.
The fact that this is the exact same guitar – one that was nearly 40 years old by the time the second picture was taken – means that someone took really good care of it.
“The price of wood is getting out of control.”
Sigh . It’s amazing how things can change in such a short amount of time. It wasn’t that long ago that the price of wood was, well, normal. Now, thanks to things out of our control, lumber production has been so dodgy, it’s really hard to buy wood these days. I hope these prices go down again.
“My grandparents 53rd anniversary is today.”
You’d think the biggest change between these two photos is that the couple is 53 years older on the right than they are on the left. But all I see are two smiles that got bigger after decades of marriage. They’re basically the kind of couple we all aspire to be.
“My Grandfather and I in Tokyo, 73 years apart.”
The coolest thing about this image is how much things have changed in the decades since the first photo was taken. Tokyo wasn’t always the sprawling metropolis it’s known to be today; at one point, it wasn’t all that big.
It’s so funny how that one building in the background is the same, and even the tree to the left seems to be the same one in both pictures (but much larger on the bottom).
“Hong Kong’s Kowloon peninsula (1964- 2016).”
Like many cities and regions around the world, Hong Kong didn’t always look the way it does now. But it’s so amazing to see the growth and expansion that happened over the span of around 50 years. It must have taken a lot of hard work to get all those buildings up and running.
“Crawford Notch in New Hampshire, in an 1839 Thomas Cole painting and a 2018 photograph.”
Things definitely changed since that painting was first completed. For one thing, there was no highway. And while most of the landscape has stayed the same, it just feels so different. Not just because of the fact that each of these images depicts a different season.
“My photo in 2017, my grandfather’s photo in 1937. He had a professional camera, I have a phone.”
It’s amazing how much can change in 80 years. The statue itself is pretty much the same, but wow. That camera quality. The fact that a professional camera from the 1930s pales in comparison to the camera in a smartphone today is just mind boggling.
And to think, there are better quality cameras than even that!
“I work with the same doctor that delivered me 21 years ago.”
It’s amazing how you can have a career that spans someone’s entire lifetime, to the point where they’re now old enough to join you. It must’ve been really special for this doctor to work alongside a student who he delivered. As a baby! He’s known her for her entire life, since day one!
“One day difference in Fort Collins, Colorado.”
Weather is weird. One moment, you’re experiencing a warm, mild day. The next day, it’s nothing but snow. And then that snow melts, and it just looks rainy outside. There are some times of the year where you never know what you’re going to get. Everything changes so quickly.
“45 minutes before go-time, and during. Mother Nature had perfect timing.”
The way weather can change on a dime really is something else. It’s great that these newlyweds got to tie the knot in front of such an impressive view, but the fact that they narrowly avoided missing out entirely is even better. Though, the fog kind of looks cool too.
“Before and after of my 8 year project (1972 Datsun 240z Restomod).”
It just goes to show how a few years of hard work can drastically change the look of any old car. I don’t really know a lot about mechanics and car restoration, so I can’t say if this project took longer than average. But it’s still very impressive regardless.
“Evgeny Stepanovich Kobytev. 1941 vs 1945. Pre war and post war.”
To say war is difficult is an understatement. Soldiers come back years later, completely changed thanks to all the atrocities they’ve witnessed. This really puts things into perspective; unless we’ve gone through similar ideals, we’ll never really know what it was like to fight in a war.
“Think globally. Act locally.”
This picture really shows how a few minutes of your time can really change your surroundings. Everything looks better without a pile of trash in the way, so it should go without saying that this kind of work is pretty important. It’s almost enough to make you want to go out and clean your local roadsides.
