To Blend or to Slide? Creating a Digital Comparison of London’s Built Heritage Past and Present

Our final project for Digital Public History is upon us, and I’m torn between two directions, whether to blend or to slide?  

My goal for this project is to create a digital “before and after” comparison of London’s built heritage that is no longer in existence.  The current research I am doing on the old Victoria Hospital in London, as well as the walking tour “Paved Paradise” I discussed in my first blog post, have been the inspiration for this project.

Initially, I wondered about the possibility of an augmented reality experience. “Paved Paradise” was a fantastic tour, led by costumed actors who brought the stories of buildings long torn down and forgotten to life. But what if it was possible via an app on your phone to see what the building would have looked like in its original state, at its original location?  While I would still like to see this happen in London, especially in the locations where parking lots prevail, this will not be doable within my allotted time and means.

I am currently conducting research on the SOHO area of London for our Public History project Hear, Here. The old Victoria Hospital was a major part of this community since 1875. In 2013, demolition of the hospital buildings began. The following photo is an aerial view that shows the hospital in its entirety in January 2013, prior to the demolition: 

Aerial view of the Victoria Hospital. Photograph by Mike Henson, the London Free Press, January 23, 2018

An excellent source I have consulted during this process is the book So Long South Street by Ryan Craven with photographs by Matthew Trueman. The book features historical text and Trueman's photos of the hospital during the demolition process, and is a tribute to the essential role the hospital played within the SOHO community.

Photograph by Matthew Trueman. http://www.matthewtrueman.com/#/pier-1/

With the work of Craven and Trueman as inspiration, I am aiming to document stories of London's lost heritage in the SOHO area, like the Victoria Hospital, through an online digital, visually striking comparison of the before and after images. One possibility to do this is using Wordpress. You can install plugins such as ‘Image Comparison Slider’ in Wordpress to upload two before and after photographs. This feature allows you to take the two images, juxtapose them beside each other, and then using your mouse slide and compare them side by side.  The GIF below is an example of an effective before an after from Image Comparison Slider:

GIF from https://wordatom.com/add-image-comparison-wordpress-post/ 

Wordpress is not the only way to approach this, and below is a link to other before and after comparison sliders I've been exploring:

https://ourcodeworld.com/articles/read/263/top-5-best-before-and-after-image-comparison-slider-jquery-and-javascript-plugin

Recently, however, our Digital Public History class received training on the programming software Processing 3. This program was simultaneously complex and fascinating, with potentially limitless possibilities. Experimenting with the "Examples" feature, I noticed a “Blending” mode which allows you insert two different images, scroll over the image with your mouse, where they then ‘blend’ seamlessly from one to the other. This could be another possible method of comparison, as well as an interesting way to weave the before and after images together. The illusion and effect could be powerful, with the past image appearing and disappearing like a ghostly mirage. 

    

Screenshot of "Blending" feature from Processing 3

However, the stark juxtaposition and contrast created with 'Image Comparison Slider' may be the right direction for the purpose of this project. Regardless of blending or sliding, the key to success will be how well the two images line up with each other, in order to get the clearest representation of how the building appeared in its original state versus its modern reality. This stage in the process may prove very challenging, but I will be posting again about all the successes, difficulties, and (lets hope not...) failures of the process. To be continued!