Photographer Recreates a 100-Year-Old Film Showing the Dutch City of Alkmaar

This video is a “then-and-now” comparison showing the Dutch city of Alkmaar in 1914 and in 2014. It was created by Dutch photographer Frits de Beer, Tara Rikkers and Michael de Vreugd, Alkmaar natives who wanted to see how his city had changed over the past 100 years.

Even though Beer grew up in Alkmaar, finding many of the locations in the original movie turned out to be a challenge. Some locations are “gone” now, while others have gone drastic changes that make them hard to identify. Still others could no longer be reshot in exactly the same way, due to buildings and other structures now occupying the place the original filmmaker stood.

After identifying a large number of locations that have remained relatively unchanged over the past century, Beer went out with his Nikon D800 and a Carl Zeiss 85mm lens to recreate the shots. In each one, he aimed to match up the exact angle and framing that was captured in the 1914 film.

Beer tells us they created the film out of a love for their city, and that they hope “in about 100 years someone else would do the same.”