Solved! Re-photo?

[Kanakaman]

I am a volunteer ofr the local historical society and I thought it would be cool to go out and take current photos in the same location of photos taken 100 yrs ago. I was wondering if there were some sort of app that would allow you to see through the 100 yr old image on the viewfinder of the phone. In other words, I would show up at a location where a previous photo was taken and I would load the previous photo up into the phone and when I turned on the camera, the old photo would be somewhat transparent on the screen, so I could try to see the exact same point where it was taken 100 years ago. I have no idea if there is anything like that, or what it would be called. I''ve searched for hours and have come up with nothing. Any ideas or hacks? And once I got the double photo, it probably isn't too hard to make one or the other more or less transparent, so both images could show up on a final product? What product would do that?

 

[webworkings]

Interesting idea. I know a lot of apps, but I do not know of anything like that. I mean there are overlay apps, but they usually have their own images/designs that you put over another image. While that is the gist of what you are trying to do with the images, none of these apps allow you to create your own.

While I get the both images thing, but in the final product, I don't know how good such an image would look. Not with them overlaying each other. While I get the point of it, I don't know how good the final image would look.

Now an idea that might work, but it would mean you would have to have a not static image, would be to have say one photo transform into another photo. Obviously not something you can do with a physical photos, but it could be done on a computer.

Making it so the image started as one, then morphed into the other. Not that complicated to do, if you know anything about image programs.

Sorry don't know of any apps, but do consider the computer version.

Anyone else?

 

[Kanakaman]

Well..... is there a program where I can load some sort of a "negative" image to be seen in the viewscreen of the camera? So for my own use to find the exact point of the previous photo? I wouldn't mind looking through some sort of negative on the viewscreen, to make sure all the markers of the previous photo line up with the one I am going to take? Otherwise looking at one photo and then another it would take forever to find the exact location- and I'd have to take a million pics to make sure I found the exact place. Once I took the photo from the exact location, I am sure I could find some sort of transparency program to blend one into another. And idea what this would be called?

 

[webworkings]

I have not heard of any app that does such a thing.

It would really be something you would have to make, or have made, into a app. Even then, not sure how easily it would be done. I don't create apps. And you would have to have the ability to take up a lot of space on the phone, if using so many images to overlay with.

It might be easier (just a suggestion) to get the layout and dimensions for the original images. What I mean is, the angle, distance from, direction, etc., can be determined from a photo. That would then allow you to position yourself to take the new photo from the same area. However I would not suggest doing this with a phone. Would be better with an actual camera and a tripod.

 

[hang-the-9]

You would need some custom VR and AI work to do this. The app that does searches based on your photos would be similar to what you are looking for.
This type of thing is not simple to do really without a lot of coding.

If you have the old image and know what place it's from, it's not too hard to just go there and take a picture with the same distance/angle/zoom then use an image editor to overlay the two or put them side by side, or do whatever you want. I mean you have to go there to take the new picture, and you need the old picture to compare the photo to, so why is some fancy camera overlay needed? Just use your eyes and take the picture from the same spot.

You are building a rube goldberg machine to take a photo, adding complexity where it's not needed.