Looking into the past shows old streets

June 26, 2009 8:53 AM

A photographer who wanted to show how much high-streets have changed has accidentally created a internet sensation.

Jason Powell struck on the idea of holding an old photo where it was taken, and then taking a new photo of it, showing it with its modern day surroundings.

The resulting images have been viewed over 250,000 times and hundreds of fans have started creating their own "Looking into the past " images.

Jason, 30, started taking the photos in Leesburg, near Washington DC, where he lives and gets the original images from the Library of Congress.

"I was searching around for a way to illustrate the phrase "modern day equivalent," and my original idea was to do a typical then/now shot," he said.

"After I printed the source imagery for my first test shots of my hometown from the Library of Congress, I went out to shoot the photographs and flashed on the idea.

"Looking at the result, I immediately fell in love with it and decided to do a series of them."

Jason added: "The thing I like most about this project is how it connects the present to the past. Any time I'm in an area that has had something interesting happen in its history, I always feel a connection to that time period, and these photographs do that in a visual way.

"It really hits home when you realize how much has changed in the 150 years since we've been taking pictures."