DAVID C. ELLINSWORTH

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PHOTOGRAPHER

Todays Gone By


i have recently become fascinated by images from the past; not from professional photographers per se, but just everyday snaps from whoever was carrying a camera with them to document their life. what they (and you) may not have realised at the time of capture was that these photographs could potentially become important from a historical perspective, and enjoyed by so many in decades to come.

in this modern world nothing really stays the same for very long, and so photographs become powerful links to our past. even a simple photograph of a street from the 1980s can instantly place us within our own memories of that era, be it through the cars of the time or the fashion, or even that street not existing anymore due to demolition and redevelopment. 

i therefore decided to start a photography project capturing compositions from my local area where all traces of the modern era are eliminated from the frame, thereby almost tricking the mind of the viewer into thinking the photo was perhaps taken a long time ago. my hope is that as well as acquiring an interesting collection of images it will be a valuable compositional exercise for an alternative way of looking at the modern world, seeking out  "vignettes" that remain as physical links to decades gone by. for that extra authentic feel it is my aim to capture most (if not all) of these images on film, rather than digital which i feel would be too clinical for the scope of the project. 

i hope you enjoy this collection of images, which in time will continue to expand in numbers. click on any image to view in full screen.