It’s amazing just how recently the events of the second World War transpired. On September 1st, 1939, the Nazi war machine invaded Poland and the world was forever changed. Though it wasn’t all that long ago, most of the photographs we see of WW2 are in black and white. Blogger Sergey Larenkov decided to take these black and white photos and do something a little bit different with them. Using a bit of simple photo editing, he turned these photos into digital time machines.
Sergey’s collection of photos are a meld of old and new. He’s collected numerous photos from major historic battles of WW2, such as the defense of Moscow, and overlayed these locations with present day photos of the same places. The result is a virtual portal into the Second World War, with a “where are they now?” type perspective, but using landscapes. I think it’s fairly safe to assume most of the people in the original photos are no longer with us.
Sergey Larenkov – A Link to the Past
Even if you have little interest in WWII itself, I think it’s fascinating to see how little many of these locations have changed over the years. Sure, the rubble has been swept away, and the bullet-riddled facades patches up, but little else has changed. The buildings are the same, the roads are the same, and in many cases, even the trees seem to be placed like they were. It’s either an impressive feat of maintenance, or a sign that in some ways, the world really needs to modernize.
Whatever your thoughts on the matter, if you’re interested in seeing more of Sergey Larenkov’s photographs, you’ll find more in our Time Travel Through Photoshop article, and even more on Sergey Larenkov’s official blog. He’s been doing these digital mash-ups for a long time, and he’s amassed quite the collection.
