Then and Now

Our camera club has a number of summer ‘challenges’ to keep us occupied during the summer months, and today I set about completing one of them. ‘Then and Now’ is a case of choosing archive shots from the club website, and attempting to take the same shot now. 

I’ve chosen two - one of Colwyn Bay’s pier taken in 1923 (my main), and another of Llandudno beach and seafront (in extras). 

The pier shot’s  not too challenging - it’s just that it actually no longer exists! Opened in 1900, initially it stood proudly, dominating the beaches here, but by the time we moved here in the 1970’s, it had become a rundown eyesore. 

Eventually, in 2018, demolition started - to the relief of many of us, but the consternation of the ‘Save the Pier ‘ supporters. Sections were, however, saved and restored, and a 45 m pier was constructed  using the original cast iron balustrades and with replicas of the Pier's original lamp standards. Opinions vary as to the attraction of this truncated pier - the origami was 230m. Apparently there are plans to extend it and build a new pavilion, but who knows when this will be. 

So taking the ‘Now’ shot of the pier is fairly easy - lining up the truncated version with the full. The tide is out in today’s photo, giving a sense of a vast deserted beach - but there are people there! Of course, the lines of deckchairs with their formally clad inhabitants clearly denotes very different times. 

The letter photograph dates from the mid 19th century and is the oldest photo in our archive. I love the boats hauled up in the beach and the men sitting on them - clearly not fishermen, or if they are, not in their ‘work clothes!’ 

Trying to find the exact spot from which to take the shot is far from easy; many of the buildings have changed and there are far more on the Orme itself, and the presence of trees obscures the buildings I’d hoped to focus on. In the end, it’s the profile of the Orme that guides me. There are, of course, so many differences. The beach used to extend almost as far as the buildings, but now they’re separated by a road and wide promenade which now in August is packed with tourists.  I’m still not sure I’ve found the best viewpoint and may well return next week.