17 Before And After Pics That Show How People Changed In 20 Or More Years By Daniel Meadows
Iconic British photographer Daniel Meadows has been documenting the world around him for almost half a century. He calls it celebrating "the felt life of the great ordinary." Throughout this time, Daniel has encountered and captured strangers all over England.
Fiercely independent, Meadows has had a unique artistic journey. He first ran a free portrait studio in Manchester’s Moss Side in 1972. Then he traveled 10,000 miles in a converted double-decker bus, the Free Photographic Omnibus, setting up impromptu portrait sessions in towns and cities across the country's heartland. 25 years later, he decided to reunite with some of the people he met during the 1970s.
The title Now and Then is a perfect reflection of Meadows' work which involved him photographing his subjects across long intervals in their lives. These photographs — children, adults, couples captured in the 1970s and again in the 1990s have made a very important contribution to documentary journalism as a whole.
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May (1919-1995) And Melody "Molly" Gower, 1974 And 1997
An exhibition of his still photographs and moving images will be on display at the Weston Library, Bodleian Libraries, from 4 October to 24 November. The exhibition, providing a retrospect of Daniel Meadows’ work, is taking place to celebrate Meadows’ complete archives coming to the Bodleian Libraries and is supported by the Bern Schwartz Family Foundation.
Florence Alma Snoad 1974 And 1999
The exhibition will feature a set of 34 portrait photographs, arranged in pairs, each depicting the same people separated by an interval of 25 years between the 1970s and the 1990s. It will also include 16 short digital stories made using material from across Meadows' archive — letters, newspaper cuttings, journals, diaries, negatives, contact sheets, and audio recordings — shown on touch screens in a custom-built video-booth.
David (Left) And Mary (Right) Ingram, 1974 And 1998
Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s librarian said, "Daniel Meadows is one of Britain’s national treasures. He is one of our great documentary photographers. His work is both concerned and humane, and engages individuals and communities thoughtfully and sympathetically. His body of work, stretching for almost fifty years, charts major social changes in Britain, but always has the lives and lived experiences of people at its heart. Daniel Meadows: Now and Then through his photographs, videos and other material from his archive, provides Daniel’s unique perspective on British society in recent decades. We are truly honored to have been gifted his archive which will be a major resource for scholars and an inspiration for photographers."
Michael Mcparland (Left) And Peter Mcparland (Right), 1974 And 1995
Christine Stauton (Left) And Christine Laughran (Right), 1974 And 1995
Left To Right, Dave, Maggie And Steve Summerton 1974 And 1999
Lyn (Left) And Stella Brashher (Righ), 1974 And 1999
Peter (Left) And Susie Gatesy (Right), 1974 And 2000
Karen Cubin (Left) Barbara Taylor (Right), 1974 And 1995
David (Left) And Maureen Wade (Right), 1974 And 1995
Martin (Left) And Debbie Pout (Right), 1974 And 1999
Ken Emery (Left) Ed Murphy (Right), 1974 And 2000
Ed looked like you shouldn't leave him alone with your hubcaps in 1974, and 20 years later, he looks like a soccer coach.
Mary Clarke, 1974 And 1998
Angela Hendley, Dot Rooney And Kim Hillman, 1974 And 1995
Robin Jones, 1974 And 1998
Left To Right: Brian Morgan, Martin Tebay, Paul Mcmillan, Phil Tickle, Mike Comish, 1974 And 1995
Phil Thompson, 1974 And 2000
I like that a lot of the subjects are clearly working, lower-middle class...so rarely do people capture their likenesses
Well, death comes for us all, ageing comes to many, but not all
Load More Replies...I would love to see current pictures too, that would be so interesting! (It's been about 20 years, yes?) Also I mean obviously these pictures we have now are interesting too :P
I'm digging the seventies fashion! Reminds me of the eighties song "Life in a Northern Town," by Dream Academy.
Wow, that's amazing to have found those strangers after twenty years!
I saw a documentary a few years ago, and I'm not sure if it was the same photographer, but it was a similar premise -- a British photog had taken a bunch of photos in the 60s-70s or thereabouts, and then wanted to go back and photograph the same people a couple (or more) decades later. The documentary told the lives of the people that he'd photographed, and how they had got on in the intervening years. Some of the stories were very sad, particularly one about a man who ended up homeless and his family couldn't find him. I believe during the documentary they did, but he was a mess, didn't want much to do with them. I wish I could remember the name of the doco.
Wow. People get older. Incredible revelation, bravo
I like that a lot of the subjects are clearly working, lower-middle class...so rarely do people capture their likenesses
Well, death comes for us all, ageing comes to many, but not all
Load More Replies...I would love to see current pictures too, that would be so interesting! (It's been about 20 years, yes?) Also I mean obviously these pictures we have now are interesting too :P
I'm digging the seventies fashion! Reminds me of the eighties song "Life in a Northern Town," by Dream Academy.
Wow, that's amazing to have found those strangers after twenty years!
I saw a documentary a few years ago, and I'm not sure if it was the same photographer, but it was a similar premise -- a British photog had taken a bunch of photos in the 60s-70s or thereabouts, and then wanted to go back and photograph the same people a couple (or more) decades later. The documentary told the lives of the people that he'd photographed, and how they had got on in the intervening years. Some of the stories were very sad, particularly one about a man who ended up homeless and his family couldn't find him. I believe during the documentary they did, but he was a mess, didn't want much to do with them. I wish I could remember the name of the doco.
Wow. People get older. Incredible revelation, bravo