Join this channel to help fund new documentary videos about old New York: th-cam.com/channels/pkARz4a6YE6rFUrZfRqOWQ.htmljoin. Every new membership helps ensure I have the money to purchase old photographs and memorabilia for future videos. It also means to me that I'm not in this alone and that you're along for the ride!
This is a superb presentation, Jordan. Worthy of showing on a program like _American Experience_ on PBS. Your painstaking research is evident, camera skills admirable, and passion for history addictive. It's also so very nice to hear your slight accent in the narration. I will share this with others!
I'm not from New York but I found this to be extremely interesting. I can't imagine how much work was involved in this project but thank you so much for sharing this. It was very educational and really peaked my interest to see your other films. Thanks again.
Brilliant! I viewed this after looking at your "Before & After" views a la Brainerd. Your attention to detail and passion shows in making history come alive for the rest of us. A Tennessee native, I'm going now to the two Tennessee presentations you mentioned at the conclusion of this montage. Thanks again for your hard work. Brainerd would never have imagined this!
I hope you enjoy both Tennessee Wonderland (my most viewed video) and Tennessee Mountain View! Also here’s my newest project which I believe is one of the greatest stories in New York history: th-cam.com/video/hXM-g-UAJiA/w-d-xo.html. Thanks for commenting.
Thank you, Jordan, for the research on Green-Wood Cemetery. I spent a weekday afternoon walking around it in search of the plot where most of my mother's family (going back 4 generations) are buried. I found it and enjoyed the visit. I'm from out of town but whenever in New York, I try to visit family sites in Brooklyn. So your video was a real pleasure to watch.
Brilliant...love every bit of this video. What I find saddest of all when watching things like this is that every person in the photos is now dead and yet they live on through the recording of their reflected light and the chemistry of silver halide These photo comparisons are almost like having your personal time machine. What I wouldn't give to see a photo comparison from fifty years hence to now and back in the days before the turn of the twentieth century. Well done Jordan...it's folks like you that enable us to see our own history, to gaze back into the past and be able to compare it to our current-day lives. Bravo.
WOW! WOW! WOW! Talk about a great doc. It's so good you can hit the pause button and seamlessly see the ghost like images of the past with the new overlay BRAVO!
What a wonderful project. I can not tell you how enjoying this video was. I do not live in NY, but love history like this and really enjoy your perspectives. I can't imagine the amount of time this took you to put this together. Great work my friend. Take care, thanks for sharing......Darryl, AML.
Sidewalks of New York is so inspiring. The song has a real meaning for me as I played and sang it for my daughter. We are New Zealanders but somehow that song reached our hearts.
I’ve just recently discovered your work here. All I can say is that this is an absolute dream come true for me - I have an insatiable appetite for ‘then and now’ photos of early NYC. THANK you for your incredible work, and I hope that it continues. Bravo.
What a wonderful video! Very well done. I, too, came here from your Tennessee Wonderland video, and I enjoyed it very much, as well. What an immense amount of work you put into this! Not only the photography itself but the research to find the locations and angles. You have an incredible eye for detail. I'm anxious to explore more of your videos. I have a cousin who lives in New York, and I'm going to share this with him, and some of my cousins who are photographers themselves.
Your work is a true labor of love. It's evident in the detail & time you invest into it. I can't begin to tell you how much I adore this tribute. The piece leaves me with a feeling of joint warmth & melancholy.
What a treat...... I enjoyed both of your videos and have a feeling of awe for the work that you put into this presentation..... good day to you.... Sass
I love then and now photo's of all types: cities, countryside, etc. Your work (and time involved) is great. I do have one suggestion though. It would be nice if you could have a side-by-side comparison. No more backing up, freezing, etc. Great job! Keep it up.
Again, thank you so much for sharing these. I really wish that the US would be more like Europe and keep the older buildings. I love to read 19th century diaries online and I can almost feel like I am back in time walking the streets. People were so descriptive when they wrote, I love it. I also noticed that they loved to eat oysters back then and it seems that you see a lot of oyster "restaurants" in old pictures. Hopefully the city of NY will take care of the remaining buildings etc as it would be a shame to lose them.
This is absolutely exquisite! I can't imagine how many hours of splicing and editing this took you. Your videos are some of the most interesting and amazing on You tube. So many emotions in me are pulled and stretched. Happiness, sadness, elation and excitement. Just so beautiful. No words can even come close to describing the essence that your videos capture! Beyond words!
+How Brown Thanks so much. In a way I made this 30-minute video for myself so I can watch it for years to come, and I'm glad to see so many other people have enjoyed it as well.
I saw your work on "Tennessee Wonderland" and that led me to this link. I couldn't quit watching the video, so it makes me wonder why with all the folks that live in NYC that you don't have many thousands of views by now. It seems sad, especially given the obvious amount of work you put into this project and your love for the subject material. I think the past and history in general is often just "left in the past" for all time because it's just not as interesting as "today" or "the future". This is a sad indictment of our country...to remember our past is crucial to our future. Plain and simple. Thank you for your hard work and dedication with this effort. As an amateur photographer, you've given me another avenue to explore as an outlet for my work!
Thanks for watching. You probably don't have an hour to spare right at the moment, but check out this clip from my other documentary 'The Sidewalks of New York'. Begin it at 14:55. th-cam.com/video/hXM-g-UAJiA/w-d-xo.htmlm55s. The clip I have in mind ends around 17:57. The Coney Island photos you'll see in those three minutes are shot by the same photographer: George Bradford Brainerd.
Jordan, thanks for the invitation, this was a wonderful project! Coincidentally, I spent some time in Brooklyn in the late 60's - 70's, my parents and extended family hail from there and I graduated from Pratt Institute in the 80's. It sure has changed even from my time when it was pretty rough. Unfortunately I am not crazy about the new gentrified, corporate and generic direction the city has taken, but that's a whole other story and it is not only a New York problem, it's global. More to the point, I know art when I see it and I recognize a passionate artist as well. I think you did a great tribute to George Bradford Brainerd, probably the most comprehensive of it's kind and it deserves more attention. You might want to see if WLIW or some other public TV studio would be interested in airing it. This would interest many people, from photographers, historians, artists, to New Yorkers in general! Anyway I'm sure George would be touched and honored to see you torched on for him.
Well, Jordan, I took your advice and watched this video. And it was again fascinating. Great work - and so professionally done! By the way, the red leaves in the intro are stunningly beautiful. I could watch that short sequence again and again.
I absolutely loved your film! I love history and looking at the before and after photos of New York was fascinating to me! Thank you for making this film :)
Was born and raised in NYC but never saw most of these locations.....This video is really made well and the photography beautiful. Thankyou Mr. Liles.....Walt in Miami
I'm impressed. I grew up in Staten Island, but was born in Manhattan, and my entire family was from Brooklyn. We moved to Great Kills in S.I. from Richmond Hill Queens when I was just turning 4 years old. That was 1970. I saw Staten Island Change. I went to Brooklyn often, and became a truck driver at 18, so I have a strong attachment to Brooklyn from since I was young. Carroll Gardens is my favorite neighborhood, but I know just about every part of Brooklyn, and the entire city. I once picked up garbage near Prospect Park, and happened to pick up John Turtorros trash, and actually spoke with him at length. This is an excellent presentation of an in depth study of then and now in NYC. The background music was perfect, and the narration was thorough, but not overdone. Everytime that I watch a movie filmed in N.Y. I always try to see if I recognize the street, or location of the scenes. This tribute to George Bradford Brainerd was excellent!
Thanks Christopher. You've already done so much by watching all 30 mins of this video, but if you're interested you might like this: vimeo.com/185720386.
Great insight for people like Me who have been ignorant about how New York and the People built New York for it to be enjoyed by people to be enjoyed without thinking of the hardship those workers went through.
Wow!! What an amazing video you put together! Let alone you pretty much got all the spots to match (which boggles my mind considering there were no street markings in the old photos ), you also measured them to match each other. I have lived in NY all my life and enjoy old , historic, nostalgic pix but you took this to a whole new level. I am in awe!
Thanks Jason! I was interested in "before and after" photography after seeing some other photographers post their projects. I noticed that most of them stopped short of trying to make sure camera placement was as perfect as possible. I like their projects, but I didn't understand the rush in getting their projects done. So the idea for my project came from me wanting to find the oldest possible photos of New York that haven't yet been scooped up by some giant corporation (for them to charge ridiculous licensing rates), and then take those copyright-free photos and shoot a bunch of comparisons as a way to pay tribute to a forgotten photographer. I wish I could do the same where I live now in San Diego, but unfortunately some local institutions have locked down high resolution versions of all old photographs, holding them hostage unless you want to pay licensing fees. I understand local institutions need money to stay alive, but I disagree that hiding history is the only way. Maybe one day I'll do another project like this one!
Loved this video I love see pictures of old Brooklyn and nyc...the school that you took a pic of that’s crumbling is no longer there I live in the neighborhood it’s been there as long as I could remember it’s now an empty lot
Jordan Liles... Thank you for the fantastic images and the stories behind them. I love this type of work. I'd love to see more of these for the rest of the city, especially Manhattan. I can watch them all day long. I wish you can do my hometown. Ha!
+Mick Obrien Thanks Mick. I'm working on a new project about old New York now, not really about before/after photos, but more about a subject that really interests me in a big way. I've spent a few months researching and gathering materials, kind of in a manic way. I'm hoping it comes out really good. It'll be a few more weeks/months before release.
Thank you for this, usually I hate gentrification and all these people coming into my childhood home (no offense) and changing everything up and thinking "Brooklyn is better thanks to us" I wish more people like you lived in Brooklyn and embraced it, i shed a few tears, the fact that you only been here for 5 years and took every little detail down to the moment when you were in greenwood just to sit and look at the view made me happy. You are probably more Brooklyn than me I was born in 1992 and Im from park slope and live 6 blocks from the cemetery. I could only imagine had you been born in Brooklyn! you are amazing dude! great attention to detail must be a virgo haha?
Ha. Not a Virgo but I am glad you enjoyed it. The trailer for my biggest project yet releases likely this week. It's about New York, and the story is incredible. I've been working on the film all year.
Thanks. That's very true. History also has a lot of stories that can help guide us in the future. One such story is that of the song "The Sidewalks of New York" and the life of Al Smith. Feel free to watch my biggest project yet: th-cam.com/video/hXM-g-UAJiA/w-d-xo.html. Have a good one!
Wow Jordan, this one is even better than your other fantastic documentary---if that is possible. I mean like you make them so flawlessly professional AND with such a good taste in sounds and background music when you add on any. Excellent. Thanks. Are you a professional filmmaker? If not, then you know where the arrow is pointing. Oh, let me not forget: I am impressed by your logical style of thinking and how you use details in the photos to reconstruct the setting of an event. You must be a good chess player. So you at the chess tables in Washington Sq. Park by the NYU
I like that photo #7, to the left you can see a small tree that in the present day photo is now a large tree, as well as the addition of several background trees, and that the decorative stone fence is still there with some minimal ware. Shows the passage of time very well.
Wow, this was great. I'd love to see more of these, and for other cities as well. I've often wished i could go "back in time" to see a location i was in as it was centuries ago. Videos like this are the closest i'll get, loved it!
Thanks for the explanation how you took the photos. Absolute stunning! Interesting to see a building mentioning ''Ferry market, est.1640''. That is from the time New York was called New Amsterdam! ''Binnen Falls": The word 'Binnen' in Dutch language means 'inside'. A small remain of the old Dutch time? : )
I grew up in New York City and enjoyed your video. I lived the first 20 years of my life there (1960-1980). Love your work! Actually made me a little nostalgic for NY. I rarely feel that way towards any location I’ve lived in. In your descriptions, you mention that from the angle of the shadows you can sometimes determine that it was either early morning or late afternoon. You can take it a step further. For example, Photo 14. Court Street runs NNE-SSW. The camera is facing NNE, and the shadows are pointing NE, so the sun is SW, so it is setting. Late afternoon! Also, having the sunset occurring that far to the south suggests that it was near the winter solstice, or 22 Dec. I entered the location and date in suncalc.net. With the vector of sunset overlaid on a street map of Borough Hall it can be seen that the vector of the shadow as it appears in Brainerd’s photo correlates nicely. Judging from the lack of snow on the ground, it may be possible to narrow down the specific year the photo was taken by searching meteorological records of the timing and quantity of snowfall during December in the years between 1872 and 1887. That’s more of a long shot, I think. I don’t know much about snowfall or snow removal efficiency from 1872-1887. From 1960-1980 is was sporadic - some years with a white Christmas and some years not. Some years with little snowfall and some years with blizzards. And getting the streets cleared was the city’s responsibility. Clearing the sidewalks was up to businesses/residences where the snow fell.
+Brooklyn3955 Thanks! I have a new New York project in the works right now. It's not about before/after, but rather is about something very interesting in New York's history that never gets talked about. Coming in the future!
Jordan, great video. I wanted to add to something to your information. You mentioned that Photo #13 and Photo #14 19th century picture is either taken early in the morning or in the evening. If you think about it, you can tell when it was taken based on which direction you are pointed. The sun rises from the east and sets in the west. Based on where you took the most current pictures for photo 13 and 14, if you use your compass or you know which direction you are pointed towards, you can get a good idea if its in the evening or morning.
Well done, Jordan! As a boy growing up in Newark, my mom and I would often go to Manhattan and Brooklyn just to walk around on the weekend, usually on Sunday. I would have very much liked to have embarked on a similar project, such as you have done so masterfully here, for my beloved Newark. Your technique in "fading/transition" from the "old world" photograph into the new one, of a particular site was excellent! Congratulations on a great and masterful piece of art work!
Mr. Liles, congratulations on your excellent work ! We share the Great Smokies, NYC environs and now Southern California in common. ( Green-Wood Cemetery and Prospect Park were among my haunts throughout the 1980's ). History of the built environment is fascinating - Google Earth and Maps-Streetview, as well as Bing Maps Birdseye View are my constant resources. I'm a huge fan of your videos on TH-cam and am pleasantly surprised to now discover your fine photographs. The depth of your research, commitment and patience are testament to the high caliber of your work. I look forward to seeing more and remain subscribed.
I love your videos! I'm interested in the history of abandoned places, and history in general. Please continue your explorations and hopefully you will do a then and now on Denver, CO some time :)
Join this channel to help fund new documentary videos about old New York:
th-cam.com/channels/pkARz4a6YE6rFUrZfRqOWQ.htmljoin. Every new membership helps ensure I have the money to purchase old photographs and memorabilia for future videos. It also means to me that I'm not in this alone and that you're along for the ride!
It's so nice there are people like you who have the interest and take the time to put something like this together! Spectacular! Fascinating!
Wow! What a fascinating project. The superimposition of the past with the present is mesmerizing!
This is a superb presentation, Jordan. Worthy of showing on a program like _American Experience_ on PBS. Your painstaking research is evident, camera skills admirable, and passion for history addictive. It's also so very nice to hear your slight accent in the narration. I will share this with others!
To see what you see and to share such a beauty is necessary the kind heart that you have!
Congratulations!
I'm not from New York but I found this to be extremely interesting. I can't imagine how much work was involved in this project but thank you so much for sharing this. It was very educational and really peaked my interest to see your other films. Thanks again.
Thanks for watching! If you do indeed check out my other films, I recommend this one: th-cam.com/video/hXM-g-UAJiA/w-d-xo.html.
Thank you very much Jordan.
This was excellent! I'm not. New Yorker, but the photos and history, music were perfect.Well done! I will surely check out more of your work.
I made the mistake of checking out this video when I was late for work. I had to watch the whole thing and, well then, I was really late for work.
By far... these types of videos are my absolute favorite. I don't know why. Your film is exceptional.
Brilliant! I viewed this after looking at your "Before & After" views a la Brainerd. Your attention to detail and passion shows in making history come alive for the rest of us. A Tennessee native, I'm going now to the two Tennessee presentations you mentioned at the conclusion of this montage. Thanks again for your hard work. Brainerd would never have imagined this!
I hope you enjoy both Tennessee Wonderland (my most viewed video) and Tennessee Mountain View! Also here’s my newest project which I believe is one of the greatest stories in New York history: th-cam.com/video/hXM-g-UAJiA/w-d-xo.html. Thanks for commenting.
Thank you, Jordan, for the research on Green-Wood Cemetery. I spent a weekday afternoon walking around it in search of the plot where most of my mother's family (going back 4 generations) are buried. I found it and enjoyed the visit. I'm from out of town but whenever in New York, I try to visit family sites in Brooklyn. So your video was a real pleasure to watch.
Brilliant...love every bit of this video. What I find saddest of all when watching things like this is that every person in the photos is now dead and yet they live on through the recording of their reflected light and the chemistry of silver halide These photo comparisons are almost like having your personal time machine. What I wouldn't give to see a photo comparison from fifty years hence to now and back in the days before the turn of the twentieth century.
Well done Jordan...it's folks like you that enable us to see our own history, to gaze back into the past and be able to compare it to our current-day lives. Bravo.
WOW! WOW! WOW! Talk about a great doc. It's so good you can hit the pause button and seamlessly see the ghost like images of the past with the new overlay BRAVO!
What a wonderful project. I can not tell you how enjoying this video was. I do not live in NY, but love history like this and really enjoy your perspectives. I can't imagine the amount of time this took you to put this together. Great work my friend. Take care, thanks for sharing......Darryl, AML.
Sidewalks of New York is so inspiring. The song has a real meaning for me as I played and sang it for my daughter. We are New Zealanders but somehow that song reached our hearts.
I’ve just recently discovered your work here. All I can say is that this is an absolute dream come true for me - I have an insatiable appetite for ‘then and now’ photos of early NYC. THANK you for your incredible work, and I hope that it continues. Bravo.
A Masterpiece! Nice sunny shots. Fine 🎶musick. Thank you.
What a wonderful video! Very well done. I, too, came here from your Tennessee Wonderland video, and I enjoyed it very much, as well. What an immense amount of work you put into this! Not only the photography itself but the research to find the locations and angles. You have an incredible eye for detail. I'm anxious to explore more of your videos. I have a cousin who lives in New York, and I'm going to share this with him, and some of my cousins who are photographers themselves.
Carol Carpenter Thanks Carol!
This is a fascinating observation. You deserve much credit for this enchanting look at NYC in vastly different eras.
Your work is a true labor of love. It's evident in the detail & time you invest into it. I can't begin to tell you how much I adore this tribute. The piece leaves me with a feeling of joint warmth & melancholy.
What a treat...... I enjoyed both of your videos and have a feeling of awe for the work that you put into this presentation..... good day to you.... Sass
+sass clenaghen Thanks Sass.
Fascinating work!
Massive respect for your breathtaking artistry. I am indeed awestruck.
Sincerest thanks!!
I love then and now photo's of all types: cities, countryside, etc. Your work (and time involved) is great. I do have one suggestion though. It would be nice if you could have a side-by-side comparison. No more backing up, freezing, etc. Great job! Keep it up.
Again, thank you so much for sharing these. I really wish that the US would be more like Europe and keep the older buildings. I love to read 19th century diaries online and I can almost feel like I am back in time walking the streets. People were so descriptive when they wrote, I love it. I also noticed that they loved to eat oysters back then and it seems that you see a lot of oyster "restaurants" in old pictures. Hopefully the city of NY will take care of the remaining buildings etc as it would be a shame to lose them.
This is absolutely exquisite! I can't imagine how many hours of splicing and editing this took you. Your videos are some of the most interesting and amazing on You tube. So many emotions in me are pulled and stretched. Happiness, sadness, elation and excitement. Just so beautiful. No words can even come close to describing the essence that your videos capture! Beyond words!
This is absolutely extraordinary!!
Congratulation!! You put a lot of hard work in putting this together so skillfully!!!!
Amazing work! Thank you!! 👍
As a traveller i adore NYC,This is a fantastic video and i cant wait to watch your sidewalk video,Fantastic work,You should be extremely proud....John
Fantastic work Mr. Liles...
+How Brown Thanks so much. In a way I made this 30-minute video for myself so I can watch it for years to come, and I'm glad to see so many other people have enjoyed it as well.
Bravo Jordan, subtle & poignant .. well done.
I saw your work on "Tennessee Wonderland" and that led me to this link. I couldn't quit watching the video, so it makes me wonder why with all the folks that live in NYC that you don't have many thousands of views by now. It seems sad, especially given the obvious amount of work you put into this project and your love for the subject material. I think the past and history in general is often just "left in the past" for all time because it's just not as interesting as "today" or "the future". This is a sad indictment of our country...to remember our past is crucial to our future. Plain and simple.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication with this effort. As an amateur photographer, you've given me another avenue to explore as an outlet for my work!
Excellent. I love these time capsules that show the exact same scene over the passage of time
Thanks for watching. You probably don't have an hour to spare right at the moment, but check out this clip from my other documentary 'The Sidewalks of New York'. Begin it at 14:55. th-cam.com/video/hXM-g-UAJiA/w-d-xo.htmlm55s. The clip I have in mind ends around 17:57. The Coney Island photos you'll see in those three minutes are shot by the same photographer: George Bradford Brainerd.
You are amazing !!
I grew up in Brooklyn (a little after Brainerd's time) and found this presentation amazing. Thanks for the time and effort.
Thanks for watching, Barry.
Love this and the pictures are so clear that you are drawn into the New York of then and now!
Thank you for taking the time to make this..magnificent!
Jordan, thanks for the invitation, this was a wonderful project! Coincidentally, I spent some time in Brooklyn in the late 60's - 70's, my parents and extended family hail from there and I graduated from Pratt Institute in the 80's. It sure has changed even from my time when it was pretty rough. Unfortunately I am not crazy about the new gentrified, corporate and generic direction the city has taken, but that's a whole other story and it is not only a New York problem, it's global.
More to the point, I know art when I see it and I recognize a passionate artist as well. I think you did a great tribute to George Bradford Brainerd, probably the most comprehensive of it's kind and it deserves more attention. You might want to see if WLIW or some other public TV studio would be interested in airing it. This would interest many people, from photographers, historians, artists, to New Yorkers in general! Anyway I'm sure George would be touched and honored to see you torched on for him.
***** Thanks Richard. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Well, Jordan, I took your advice and watched this video. And it was again fascinating. Great work - and so professionally done! By the way, the red leaves in the intro are stunningly beautiful. I could watch that short sequence again and again.
Very well done
Thank you for that very professional presentation. I only wish old photography were able to capture the detail we take so much for granted today
Bravo
dude ur awesome i really enjoyed it thanks for making it :)
greeting from pakistan :)
Thanks!
Well, this is what i call interesting. Good job Jordan. Like.
I absolutely loved your film! I love history and looking at the before and after photos of New York was fascinating to me! Thank you for making this film :)
Was born and raised in NYC but never saw most of these locations.....This video is really made well and the photography beautiful. Thankyou Mr. Liles.....Walt in Miami
Fantastic job! Thank you so much for making this spectacular work available to all of us. You are truly a gifted artist!
Your updated version of Photo #28: I see what you did there! Gotta love Street View!
Congratulations on your phenomenal research and photography. Thank you for sharing this!
Very nice. Great narration.
Stephanie C Great voice.
Loved this version with the locations and extra information. Great job. I'm on to the next documentary!
amazing Mr Jordan, truly enjoyed the dedication you put into this work of art. So many great facts, I thank you sir.
Great vid, I really enjoyed it, watched a few times. very interesting
Wonderful exhaustive work a consummate professional. Jordan Liles. Bless.
I'm impressed. I grew up in Staten Island, but was born in Manhattan, and my entire family was from Brooklyn. We moved to Great Kills in S.I. from Richmond Hill Queens when I was just turning 4 years old. That was 1970. I saw Staten Island Change.
I went to Brooklyn often, and became a truck driver at 18, so I have a strong attachment to Brooklyn from since I was young. Carroll Gardens is my favorite neighborhood, but I know just about every part of Brooklyn, and the entire city. I once picked up garbage near Prospect Park, and happened to pick up John Turtorros trash, and actually spoke with him at length.
This is an excellent presentation of an in depth study of then and now in NYC. The background music was perfect, and the narration was thorough, but not overdone.
Everytime that I watch a movie filmed in N.Y. I always try to see if I recognize the street, or location of the scenes.
This tribute to George Bradford Brainerd was excellent!
Thanks Christopher. You've already done so much by watching all 30 mins of this video, but if you're interested you might like this: vimeo.com/185720386.
excellent job . thanks for sharing !!
I really love your videos great work!
This was fantastic to watch :) Loved it!
+Mathias Hoho Thanks Mathias!
Great insight for people like Me who have been ignorant about how New York and the People built New York for it to be enjoyed by people to be enjoyed without thinking of the hardship those workers went through.
Wow!! What an amazing video you put together! Let alone you pretty much got all the spots to match (which boggles my mind considering there were no street markings in the old photos ), you also measured them to match each other. I have lived in NY all my life and enjoy old , historic, nostalgic pix but you took this to a whole new level. I am in awe!
Thanks Jason! I was interested in "before and after" photography after seeing some other photographers post their projects. I noticed that most of them stopped short of trying to make sure camera placement was as perfect as possible. I like their projects, but I didn't understand the rush in getting their projects done. So the idea for my project came from me wanting to find the oldest possible photos of New York that haven't yet been scooped up by some giant corporation (for them to charge ridiculous licensing rates), and then take those copyright-free photos and shoot a bunch of comparisons as a way to pay tribute to a forgotten photographer.
I wish I could do the same where I live now in San Diego, but unfortunately some local institutions have locked down high resolution versions of all old photographs, holding them hostage unless you want to pay licensing fees. I understand local institutions need money to stay alive, but I disagree that hiding history is the only way. Maybe one day I'll do another project like this one!
This is amazing! Beautiful!!
Loved this video I love see pictures of old Brooklyn and nyc...the school that you took a pic of that’s crumbling is no longer there I live in the neighborhood it’s been there as long as I could remember it’s now an empty lot
Jordan Liles... Thank you for the fantastic images and the stories behind them. I love this type of work. I'd love to see more of these for the rest of the city, especially Manhattan. I can watch them all day long. I wish you can do my hometown. Ha!
+Mick Obrien Thanks Mick. I'm working on a new project about old New York now, not really about before/after photos, but more about a subject that really interests me in a big way. I've spent a few months researching and gathering materials, kind of in a manic way. I'm hoping it comes out really good. It'll be a few more weeks/months before release.
this was beautiful... thank you
Thank you for this, usually I hate gentrification and all these people coming into my childhood home (no offense) and changing everything up and thinking "Brooklyn is better thanks to us" I wish more people like you lived in Brooklyn and embraced it, i shed a few tears, the fact that you only been here for 5 years and took every little detail down to the moment when you were in greenwood just to sit and look at the view made me happy. You are probably more Brooklyn than me I was born in 1992 and Im from park slope and live 6 blocks from the cemetery. I could only imagine had you been born in Brooklyn! you are amazing dude! great attention to detail must be a virgo haha?
Ha. Not a Virgo but I am glad you enjoyed it. The trailer for my biggest project yet releases likely this week. It's about New York, and the story is incredible. I've been working on the film all year.
Thank you. I learned a lot today. This reminds me of how times passes, things change, but there is a continuity to life.
Thanks. That's very true. History also has a lot of stories that can help guide us in the future. One such story is that of the song "The Sidewalks of New York" and the life of Al Smith. Feel free to watch my biggest project yet: th-cam.com/video/hXM-g-UAJiA/w-d-xo.html. Have a good one!
Fascinating project and great to watch- Thanks!
Wow Jordan, this one is even better than your other fantastic documentary---if that is possible. I mean like you make them so flawlessly professional AND with such a good taste in sounds and background music when you add on any. Excellent. Thanks. Are you a professional filmmaker? If not, then you know where the arrow is pointing. Oh, let me not forget: I am impressed by your logical style of thinking and how you use details in the photos to reconstruct the setting of an event. You must be a good chess player. So you at the chess tables in Washington Sq. Park by the NYU
I like that photo #7, to the left you can see a small tree that in the present day photo is now a large tree, as well as the addition of several background trees, and that the decorative stone fence is still there with some minimal ware. Shows the passage of time very well.
Beautiful Video very relaxing to listen to.
AWESOME JOB! Congratulations!
This is really wonderful, the images follow by the narration - great job!!
Great work - you really put your time in w/research and effort to get pictures...superb stuff
I live across the street from greenwood cemetery, this is really cool to see
Cool!
Thank you Jordon....great documentary.....good fortune in all your projects....Jack in Surprise,As.
Absolutely fascinating!
Thank you for this very interesting , educational and enjoyable video.
I enjoyed this .....my thanks for posting.
Great video! I love this then & now images and explorations.
Incredible, and eerie!
Ben Makes You Look At NYC From A Different Perspective, I’m Born NYC Born & Raised & It Sure Did For Me
It really seems like much of the charm of downtown Brooklyn has been stripped away.
Wow, this was great. I'd love to see more of these, and for other cities as well. I've often wished i could go "back in time" to see a location i was in as it was centuries ago. Videos like this are the closest i'll get, loved it!
Thanks for the explanation how you took the photos.
Absolute stunning!
Interesting to see a building mentioning ''Ferry market, est.1640''. That is from the time New York was called New Amsterdam!
''Binnen Falls": The word 'Binnen' in Dutch language means 'inside'. A small remain of the old Dutch time? : )
Very Inspiring. When taking photos and recording my videos I forget how beautiful the background scenes can be. Thank you...
I grew up in New York City and enjoyed your video. I lived the first 20 years of my life there (1960-1980). Love your work! Actually made me a little nostalgic for NY. I rarely feel that way towards any location I’ve lived in.
In your descriptions, you mention that from the angle of the shadows you can sometimes determine that it was either early morning or late afternoon. You can take it a step further. For example, Photo 14. Court Street runs NNE-SSW. The camera is facing NNE, and the shadows are pointing NE, so the sun is SW, so it is setting. Late afternoon!
Also, having the sunset occurring that far to the south suggests that it was near the winter solstice, or 22 Dec. I entered the location and date in suncalc.net. With the vector of sunset overlaid on a street map of Borough Hall it can be seen that the vector of the shadow as it appears in Brainerd’s photo correlates nicely.
Judging from the lack of snow on the ground, it may be possible to narrow down the specific year the photo was taken by searching meteorological records of the timing and quantity of snowfall during December in the years between 1872 and 1887. That’s more of a long shot, I think. I don’t know much about snowfall or snow removal efficiency from 1872-1887. From 1960-1980 is was sporadic - some years with a white Christmas and some years not. Some years with little snowfall and some years with blizzards. And getting the streets cleared was the city’s responsibility. Clearing the sidewalks was up to businesses/residences where the snow fell.
Thank you, this was beautiful!
Great work!
This is amazing. I really enjoyed this, and I look forward to checking out your webpage and other videos.
Amazing, thank you!!!
Simply superb.
incredible work! Thank you
Wonderful work. Enjoyed this very much.
+Brooklyn3955 Thanks! I have a new New York project in the works right now. It's not about before/after, but rather is about something very interesting in New York's history that never gets talked about. Coming in the future!
Looking forward to that. Will save your page Jordan.
Very much enjoyed your work.love the history of New York. I live in Australia and am not likely to ever visit. Will follow up on your other videos.
Jordan, great video. I wanted to add to something to your information. You mentioned that Photo #13 and Photo #14 19th century picture is either taken early in the morning or in the evening. If you think about it, you can tell when it was taken based on which direction you are pointed. The sun rises from the east and sets in the west. Based on where you took the most current pictures for photo 13 and 14, if you use your compass or you know which direction you are pointed towards, you can get a good idea if its in the evening or morning.
What a beautiful documentary thank you for sharing.
Thanks! You might also enjoy my newest documentary, The Sidewalks of New York: th-cam.com/video/hXM-g-UAJiA/w-d-xo.html.
that was fun to watch thank you very much
Well done, Jordan! As a boy growing up in Newark, my mom and I would often go to Manhattan and Brooklyn just to walk around on the weekend, usually on Sunday. I would have very much liked to have embarked on a similar project, such as you have done so masterfully here, for my beloved Newark.
Your technique in "fading/transition" from the "old world" photograph into the new one, of a particular site was excellent!
Congratulations on a great and masterful piece of art work!
Thank you. That's very kind of you to say.
this is awesome thank you
Thanks Cass. I'm glad you liked it!
Mr. Liles, congratulations on your excellent work ! We share the Great Smokies, NYC environs and now Southern California in common. ( Green-Wood Cemetery and Prospect Park were among my haunts throughout the 1980's ). History of the built environment is fascinating - Google Earth and Maps-Streetview, as well as Bing Maps Birdseye View are my constant resources. I'm a huge fan of your videos on TH-cam and am pleasantly surprised to now discover your fine photographs. The depth of your research, commitment and patience are testament to the high caliber of your work. I look forward to seeing more and remain subscribed.
I love your videos! I'm interested in the history of abandoned places, and history in general. Please continue your explorations and hopefully you will do a then and now on Denver, CO some time :)