Photographers are historians

This picture was taken last year. I was passing the Midland Hotel in Morecambe and I saw how the old bandstand could be viewed next to the 'new' Midland Hotel. The hotel originally opened in 1933. It closed a few years ago but re-opened shortly after this picture was taken in 2008.

The Midland did not look its best as it was still being refurbished so I focused on the old bandstand. The light also picks out the sign but the reason I am writing about this picture is because times change. I walked past the Midland this morning and the whole area has been redeveloped. Who would have thought that the bandstand would ever be pulled down? Well it is no longer there. Who would have thought a few months ago that a photo of Woolworths would not now be possible but times do change?

I remember one person telling me that I should take pictures of supermarket car parks when they are empty. I know that it is diificult to do this with extended opening times but it doesn't sound like an attractive subject. His point was that times change and in fifty years he feels that supermarkets will be out of fashion. We will be buying our products on the internet, and supermarkets and their car parks will not be needed. With today's technology photographers can become artists, but in the way we store and share our photos, we are also historians.

Happy snapping