Remixed photos bring Murray Bridge’s past and present together
Darren Archibald, of Turn 8 Photography, blends old and new photos to create striking images.
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Darren Archibald is bringing Murray Bridge’s past back to life, one old photo at a time.
The photographer from Mount Gambier found himself in our neck of the woods recently, working his bank job by day and at a loose end after hours.
So he decided to practise a hobby of his: matching historic photos with the modern-day locations where they were taken.
The result was a series of stunning images showing how much Murray Bridge has changed – and how much it hasn’t – over the past hundred years.
Most of the historic photos he used came from the State Library of South Australia.
“I print out the photo and try to use reference points to line them up,” he said.
“You sit there and go ‘that’s about right’, take a photo or two; take a step to the left, take a photo; take a step back, take a photo...
“Once you’ve got about 20 different photos, then you layer them on top in Photoshop and blend them.”
It worked best on an overcast day, he said: “a lot of old photos, being black and white, have a white sky, which blends in better (with clouds) than a bright blue sky”.
Facebook users were quick to point out any mistakes he made.
But sometimes it was hard to get just the right angle, he said, particularly if a building had been substantially remodelled over the years – like the Eudunda Farmers shop now occupied by AC Care.
Mr Archibald was inspired to try the art form in April 2020, after seeing a photo on Facebook of English NHS fundraiser Captain Tom Moore superimposed against a black-and-white column of soldiers.
“Since then I’ve thought ‘we’re going there for a holiday’, ‘we’re going there to see some friends’, so I thought ‘I’ll see if I can find some (old) photos and do that at the same time’,” he said.
His images have since struck a chord with people in towns all over South Australia, and earned him publicity in print and on the radio.
For a photographer who usually shoots at motor sport events, the variety has been welcome.
“You get the comments, ‘that’s amazing’,” he said.
- See more of Mr Archibald’s photos: www.facebook.com/turn8photography.
Search the State Library of SA’s photo collection:
