Double take

By just moving the cursor over an old photograph, visitors to www.springfieldrewind.com can be transported through time.

Russ Friedewald, a 34-year-old technology consultant and graphic designer from Springfield, started the site two years ago. It now boasts about 100 comparisons of photographs from the Lincoln Library’s Sangamon Valley Collection to the same scenes photographed today.

The Lincoln Home is here, along with the Capitol and downtown street scenes like the 200 block of South Sixth St.

“A lot of the shots downtown are interesting,” Friedewald says. “You can see the changes in the paint and color schemes, the automobiles and the people who end up in the photos whether they like it or not.”

He patterned the project after a similar site he found on the Internet.

“I somehow ran across another site online called the Atlanta Time Machine,” he says. “It’s based on the same principal.”

He also was part of a blog called “Look Back Springfield.”

Sangamon Valley Collection staff members scan the photos Friedewald wants to buy. He takes them out on location and tries to duplicate the scenes as closely as possible, a technique known as “rephotography.”

“I print them off and take them around town and try to match them up,” he says. “I try to match up the closest one in Adobe Photoshop when I get home.”

Springfield Rewind is a one-man operation with Friedewald doing the research, photography and Web design.

The site once boasted nearly 175 comparisons, but Friedewald whittled that number down because he is busy putting together a coffee table book of the best before and after photographs.

He plans to publish the book sometime next spring or early summer, showcasing the best 75 to 100 comparisons.

“I’m not a photographer and not a historian,” he says. “It’s something I fell into on a whim.

“I’m a hobbyist in photography, architecture and history. It’s something that just fell together.”

He says he has enjoyed hearing from people who find his site.

“The response has been fun and interesting,” Friedewald says. “I get a lot of e-mails from people – not only from people who live here now, but from people who move away and it’s a way for them to keep up with changes that are going on in the city now.”

Curtis Mann of the Sangamon Valley Collection says he enjoys reading the comments people leave about the site.

“People have some really good memories to share, and some just want to comment on the nature of preservation here in town,” he says. “I think it’s a great way to showcase our photographs.”

Friedewald says he is always on the lookout for new material.

“I’m always looking for new sources for the ‘before’ shots, so anyone with old photos can email me at russ@springfieldrewind.com.”

On the Web

www.springfieldrewind.com

www.atlantatimemachine.com

Blog has new tricks

When they first appeared, the “personal diary” weblogs were fascinating. Readers were voyeurs, getting an involvement-free glimpse into the private lives of people who were willing to put it all out there for public consumption.

But, for me at least, the hot dog has gone cold. I no longer get much enjoyment out of that type of blog. Most of them are too mundane: “Tonight, I’m studying,” or “Tonight, I’m watching ‘Desperate Housewives.’”

Tonight, I’m yawning.

It takes a more unusual blog – one that either has something to say about this place where we live or about the outside world or one that I can learn something from – to attract my interest. Something like Springfield Rewind (www.springfieldrewind.com) fills that bill nicely.

Russ Friedewald’s blog is not really a blog in the classic sense, if a form of communication so new can even have a “classic sense.” Russ limits his posts to photographs and information. But it’s the way he does it.

The general idea of Springfield Rewind is to start with an old photo of downtown Springfield. Russ then shoots a new picture from the same angle, and maybe even at the same time of day, so the lighting is identical. Then he posts one on top of the other. Simply move the cursor over the old photo, and the new photo appears. You can see instantly how Springfield’s most recognizable landmarks have changed in the past 20, 30 or 60 years.

“It started when I stumbled across a Web site called atlantatimemachine.com,” Russ says. “He did the same thing with Atlanta. I thought if a guy can do it for a city the size of Atlanta, it should be a piece of cake to do it in Springfield. It’s not as easy as it looks.”

Russ started by visiting the Sangamon Valley Collection at Lincoln Library and talking to Curtis Mann, manager of the historic collection. Curtis helped him find some old photos of downtown Springfield, and he even loaded them on a compact disc.

“I think he was just humoring me at first,” Russ says. “Now that he’s seen the project, I think he’s taken more of an interest in it.”

Russ posted that first batch of now-versus-then photos side by side. But the new way of doing it, so that one is revealed when the cursor touches it, is more interesting.

“I just thought that would be an easier way to do it, a cooler way to do it,” he says.

Russ has “zip, nil” photo experience, but he does have a digital camera, which is a necessity for this project. Going digital saves time, since he doesn’t have to develop the film and can compare the old and new photos instantly to see if they match up.

“I take photocopies of the old pictures around Springfield and recreate them the best I can,” Russ says. “I hold up a Xerox and line them up. It’s pretty tedious sometimes. I’ve spent probably two or three hours sometimes getting them lined up.”

Though he maintains several Web sites, this is just a hobby. He also has a family and a job as a consultant for Sentinel Technologies of Downers Grove. So, Russ, how much time do you spend on this hobby?

“Probably more than my wife would like,” he says. “But it’s not that bad. Since gas prices have gone up, I’ve started walking at lunch. I see things then and line them up. Then all the work I do on the site is probably from 10 p.m. to midnight.”

He might have to work until 1 or 2 a.m. now because he is launching yet another page, to be called Springfield Ghosts. This will be pictures of things that are remnants of historic Springfield but are still around; things like the painted Florsheim Shoes sign downtown. Material for this page could be another old, painted sign of something that no longer exists, such as Reisch Brewery. It could be something that was once vibrant but now stands empty, like Pillsbury Mills. Russ hopes to get that page up and running this week.

I love stereotyping people, so let me do that here. I think seniors, the group that would enjoy something like Springfield Rewind the most, are the least technologically savvy and might have the most trouble using it.

So, if your parents or grandparents would enjoy this but have limited technological savvy, find Springfield Rewind on your computer for them and show them how it works. If you have former Springfield residents visiting for Thanksgiving, take a few minutes and show it to them, too.

They will love it.