Levuka 1875 and 1997 1, a photo from Eastern, South

Photographer's Note

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Now I may get into trouble with the moderators for this one.
A little history will explain. In the 1870s my great grandfather and his 3 brothers (and their father as well) were amongst the first professional photographers through the Pacific Islands.
Their main base to start with was the then capital of Fiji, Levuka, a whaling port on the small island of Ovalau. Later there were studios in Tonga, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island.
In 1997 I spent some time trying to take equivalent photos to what my great grand father took.
The 2 photos in this collage were taken from the top of the same hill, the bottom one by my great grand father in about 1875 and the top one by me in 1997.
Some buildings survived cyclones and time to be in both photos - the red roofed one in the centre foreground for one.
Photos in the 1870 were all taken on glass plates and the ones from Fiji have now been given by our family to the Fiji Museum in Suva.
My mother's parents were born in Fiji and as my mother was their eldest I am now in possession of the main photo book that was produced in Fiji. I am currently getting it restored.
I'll come back to Fiji again in a week after I return from a trip to our highest mountains (The Snowy Mountains).

Fis2, johnjmoe, burmaman, holmertz, Royaldevon, pierrefonds, jhm, ktanska, papagolf21, quovadis, ChrisJ, ikeharel, macjake heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

Silvio1953 (221695) 2020-11-16 23:35

Ciao Ian, great idea to paragone old and new photo by same POV, only few difference after 122 years, in your photo splendid light, excellent clarity, fine details and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Fis2 (170839) 2020-11-17 0:37

Witaj Lan!
An excellent set of photos.
The comparison is impressive!
Interesting place, nice view.
Good presentation.
Warm regards.
Krzysztof

burmaman (1336) 2020-11-17 1:23

What a treasure you have, Ian!
And what a great idea to follow your grandfather.There seem to be less houses but more trees now,except around the pier in the distance. Both are good photos, very nice to compare.Regards,Ronny

holmertz (102760) 2020-11-17 1:25

Hello Ian,
This post is too interesting for the moderators to have any objections (I hope). It's quite a surprise to find so much remaining after more than 120 years. I'm looking forward to seeing more "then and now" views like this. Most of us can only make comparisons over a few decades, so this is fascinating.
Best regards,
Gert

Royaldevon (85932) 2020-11-17 1:38

Hello Ian,

I can think of no better way of using photography!
Here, we have undeniable changes over a period of more than 100 years! It is quite a remarkable pair of photographs!
I am pleased that the natural vegetation is still in tact!
The boats have definitely changed but the other changes do seem minimal.
You must be elated to have such documentation!

I hope the book is safely restored for you.

Have a good trek,
Bev :-)

mkamionka (74509) 2020-11-17 2:22

Hi Ian,
that is so cool to be able to compare a relatively fresh photo with such an oldie. To be honest for me 1997 sounds like an archival photo already :)
Fiji is certainly a place I would like to visit someday but since I cannot afford to go even to Australia, I suppose there is not much point to hope for Fiji.
Great reportage, fantastic historical comparison,
M

lousat (139308) 2020-11-17 3:42

Hi Ian,you're very very lucky to have an old archive from your grandfather,and it's great to show us something from this with this lovely comparision. Some house is still there as i can see,great idea for a very original post,i like it! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

dta (98848) 2020-11-17 5:36

Hello IAn ,
What an interesting comparaison ! And what a treasure from your ancestors !
In the B&W version , we can see typical thatched roofed huts , large vessels , but a few has cange in this place .
Excellent.
Regards

pierrefonds (114516) 2020-11-17 5:37

Hi Ian,

The difference of time can be seen between the two photos. It has an historical value comparing when it was taken. It is important to remember what happened in the past. Well done, have a nice day.

Pierre

jhm (211736) 2020-11-17 5:43

Hello Craig,

You did excellent with the old picture addition
One of the most beautiful panorama views.
Nice colours and black and white in background.
An excellent depth and perspective image too.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

ktanska (44790) 2020-11-17 8:09

Hi Ian,
This one is very interesting. Surely worth presenting. The photos of your great grandfather are surely unique. And you did a good job to search just the right location.
Kari

worldcitizen (16086) 2020-11-17 10:46

Hello Ian,
What a fascinating family story, and a great then-and-now set of photos. I like these kinds of photo comparisons, and it's amazing that you have family photos from the 1800's to share with us. I've spent some time examining the photos to see the similarities and differences. Take care!

Tue (92442) 2020-11-17 13:43

Hello Ian,
I am glad to see the photo has survived the moderators so far and of course it should. The aim of the site is to learn about the world and isn't it exactly that what these two photos do, even though you obviously didn't take the 1875 version yourself. Great idea to show your version with the one your great grandfather took, what a fantastic thing to have been able to be in his footsteps more than a century later.
Lars

emka (158204) 2020-11-17 21:16

Hello Ian, What a fascinating story! I suppose that it was the line of the family of your mother. Amazing that it was possible to take such a photo in 1875. Interesting comparison. The pier is gone but the building with the red roof is still there. The sailboats in old photos are much nicer. What a jewel you have. Maybe when you go to Fiji, you will take photos of Levuka 2020.
I posted (in WS) my father's photo from 1910. But this one is much older. Magnificent post.
My great grandfather was born in in 1870.
Best regrads Malgo

papagolf21 (152607) 2020-11-17 23:57

Bonjour, cher Ian,
Cette superposition de photos est excellente.
Une présentation qui mérite les éloges.
Félicitations.
Amitiés.
Philippe

BennyV (34748) 2020-11-19 5:56

Very intersting post, Ian. Comparing the two shots is both fun and instructive. There seems to be more activity in the old days. Great post, tfs.

Benny

quovadis (5711) 2020-11-22 21:49

Hi Ian.

An amazing story behind these two photographs linked to your close family shows the early times of the photo trekking professionals in Pacific Islands. Even though the images were taken over hundred years apart in time, the resemblance of the area looks pretty close. I bet, if you decided to take your photo in B/W the gap would be even smaller. Anyway, thanks for sharing and, I wish you a safe stay on Fiji.

ChrisJ (171878) 2020-11-24 6:32

Hi Ian

We've seen plenty of images comparing the same place in different seasons, but it's rare to see the same place in different centuries! Looks better in 1997. The forest was clear-felled in the 19th century and people have now realised that cyclones dumping heavy rain on bare hills cause landslides, erosion and muddy water. Enjoy the Snowy Mts!

ikeharel (113411) 2020-11-25 23:26

Hello Ian,
You will not have any problem with the mod's, because nobody would assume you were there in 1875...
Good idea to post the two comparable eras, only minor changes between the two pic.s, we do not get many posts from this place on TE, so it is a superb documentray to the TE community.
Well scanned and show us more.
Have a nice trip to the mountains.
Ike

macjake (98456) 2020-11-26 22:44

Hi Ian
oh man, this is just too good. love these same location shots where its a huge time lapse in between. looking at the bottom shot, its cool seeing the old ships. even better is the family connection you mentioned! awesome post! cheers
Craig

jmdias (115230) 2020-12-02 8:05

ian

a marvelous treasure in photos. nice views comparing the two different ages and we can enjoy, hunting the differences. we can see the same structures in some spots and much more palm trees nowadays. a fabulous post. TFS.

take care
jorge