You can't bring back the past. But you can recreate it. And when you do, take a photograph and submit it to the subreddit r/PastAndPresentPics. Everyone else does.
Whether it's a quirky childhood memory, a romantic teenage moment, or an honorable ancestral tribute, these guys welcome it all.
To give you an idea of how to pull it off, we at Bored Panda hand-picked a selection of the best posts we could find on the subreddit and even managed to have a friendly chat with its staff about everything that goes on in this wholesome online community.
For more similar content, check out our similar publications from before here and here.
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There are two people running r/PastAndPresentPics — the founder u/NateTrib as well as the moderator and CSS u/enfrozt. Luckily, both of them were kind enough to answer a few questions for us.
"If you sort the subreddit by 'Top' you'll notice our most popular pictures are from 2 years ago, 7 years ago, and 4 years ago," u/enfrozt told Bored Panda. "The subreddit has been around for a long time, and some of our front-page posts were from quite a while ago."
"Recently there was a post that I'm really fond of," the moderator added. "It features a past-and-present picture of a person that is a cub scout to eagle scout. Really cool to see them grow and still have the same outfit."
According to u/NateTrib, the fan favorites are photos recreating a past photo where the person tries to nail every aspect, including the background, the pose, and the outfit.
"Shout out to my dad who still had his same shirt 25 years later when we did a family Christmas photo recreation!" u/NateTrib added.
"The subreddit is pretty niche so when someone takes the time to do a legit Past And Present Pic, the community definitely shows them love!"
Couple At Woodstock 48 Hrs After They Met And 50 Years Later
Me As A Baby Wearing A Ridiculous Wig vs. Me At 21 With The Hair I Ended Up Growing
Currently, the subreddit has 62.2K members. u/enfrozt thinks people are so interested in/entertained by other photo recreations because we all have a soft spot for nostalgia. "Whether it's walking down the road of your childhood neighborhood, the smell of your mother's homecooked food, or eating an ice cream from the shop near your house that tastes the exact same as when you were young, memories from the good times can spark positive emotions," they explained. "I think the older we get, the more we reminisce about the 'good times,' the fond memories of growing up."
40 Years Later...
My Mother Made Me The 2 Year Old Outfit And The 39 Year Old Outfit
My Sister And I Graduating Headstart vs. Us Graduating College
The moderator thinks this quote from Andy Bernard is very fitting when talking about r/PastAndPresentPics: "I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them."
"Partake in a hobby, learn a language, practice an instrument, visit a country," u/enfrozt said. "It's never too late to do that one thing you've been putting off, make every day matter."
On The Left Was Mother In 1980. Now In 2014, Her Daughter.
My Son And I Planted Our Faces On A Copier, Then And Now
My Parents Took Pictures Of Us Asleep In Weird Positions When We Were Kids. We Recreated The Photos As Adults, But Just Look Like A Bunch Of Drunks!
u/enfrozt highlighted that the subreddit has infrequent posts, but the ones it does are usually really good. So it's not about quantity but quality. "I think the subreddit is a perfect sweet spot between a small enough community to not attract too many trolls, and large enough that we get content. Our little corner on Reddit has a great community."
If you're lucky to have any old photos lying around, the moderator highly suggests to try and get your family and friends together and reenact your pictures. "You can create some new memories from the old ones," they added. "See where you are today from where you came from and have a laugh or two while doing it!"
From A Ten Your Old Cub Scout To A 27 Year Old Eagle Scout (Even The Hat Is The Same. Go Braves!!!)
Biff Got What He Deserved After Almost 35 Years.
The actor grew up to look just like it was predicted in the 2nd installment. Great job by the makeup artists
My Wife And I During A Dance In Sixth Grade And Then On Our Wedding Day
Only A Few Months Apart.
For My Mom’s 60th Birthday, My Brothers, My Cousin And I Recreated A Photo From My First Day Of Kindergarten.
I Came To This Courtroom With My Class In Kindergarten. Today, 14 Years Later, I Finished My Internship With The Judge In The Same Courtroom.
My Grandpa In The Middle With His Sister Annetta On His Left With Their Best Friends 1927 vs. 1992
They Were Neighbours Since The Birth, The Photo Was Taken On The Bride's 3th Birthday By Her Parents
Steve And Robert Irwin Feeding The Same Crocodile 15 Years Apart
It's still wonderful to see how secure and loving Steve was with every animal. You can see here that Robert is more afraid and cautious of the croc, while Steve is just happy and enthusiastic (and probably a little careless).
15 Years Later And We Still Have That Mall Photo Shoot Swagger!
My Grandma And Dad 1966 And 2020
This Famous Photo Of A 12yr Old Afghan Girl And Her 18 Years Later (Photo By Steve Mccurry)
The photographer (Steve McCurry), attracted to this child's (Sharbat Gula) eyes, approached her teacher. He convinced the teacher make Sharbat remove her hijab and look at him - both actions generally condemned in her culture. Sure, it's a good photo. But we have to remember this child was terrified because she was instructed to ignore her cultural norms and basically disrobe for the camera. It's appalling ethics from the photographer. I don't think any art, no matter how good, should force and capitalize on the vulnerability of children.
My Sister Got Married Over The Weekend, So We Recreated This Gem From Our Childhood
She's just beautiful and I know y'all will both cherish these pix. Lol
I Found An Old Pic Of Me Playing Computer Games. As It Turns Out I Haven't Changed Very Much
My Dog, In The Same Spot, At 1 Year Old And 11 Years Old.
My Mom Holding Me 1979, My Mom Holding My Daughter In The Same Dress 2019.
15 Years Of Anniversaries. Can You Tell When It Stopped Being Taken With A Digital Camera And Began Being Taken With A Phone?
Same Beach, 25 Years Apart.
Passing Down The Baby Express To My Own Son
Every Five Years From 1982-2012, Five Men Take The Same Photo At Their Cabin At Copco Lake In California. They Plan On Adding A 2017 Photo This Summer.
My Grandma’s Lebanese Passport Picture From 1955 (Left) And Me In The Present (Right). Christmas Gift To My Dad Last Year
17 Years Apart - 2004 Cicada Brood —> 2021 Cicada Brood
My Daughter, Age 2 In 1998 On The Left, My Granddaughter, Age Two In 2019 On The Right
My Boyfriend And I Discovered We Had Matching Photos As Ninja Turtles-Obsessed Preschoolers. We Knew What Had To Happen Next.
Picture On The Right Went Viral Recently. 33 Years Later The Same Protagonists Recreated It
Tony Hawk Around 1983 And Earlier This Year At Sanoland In Cardiff, Ca
Excuse me, kid, but did anyone tell you that you look like a young Tony Hawk?
My Son's First Days Of School, K-12
He's Come Such A Long Way. Much Love For Steveo
Still smoking, or is that a carrot stick, can't see with where the photo is cropped
Note: this post originally had 91 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
I can't get enough of these!!
I'm sorry to say but these re-creation photos are just stupid looking beyond belief.
The comment below the title is "you can't bring back the past but you can recreate it" you CAN bring the past back if you have Alzheimer's
I can't get enough of these!!
I'm sorry to say but these re-creation photos are just stupid looking beyond belief.
The comment below the title is "you can't bring back the past but you can recreate it" you CAN bring the past back if you have Alzheimer's