Tuesday 13th – Thursday 22nd September: Travels In Time Talks

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60 UNIQUE REMAKES OF W.S. THOMSON’S IMPRESSIVE LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHS

Since October 2021, photographer and history researcher Estelle Slegers Helsen has been visiting the Lochaber area, wandering in the footsteps of the Scottish landscape photographer William S. Thomson. The result is a series of approximately 60 remakes of black and white and colour photographs Thomson took in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. She has also collected stories by talking to local people along the way and asking them about the changes that have occurred over the last 70 years. In September, the Belgian photographer, who has been living in England since 2018, will return to the area to share what she has found within the Lochaber communities.

“In October and November 2021, and in April, May and June 2022, I visited about 100 locations in Lochaber, an area of the Scottish Highlands with a mix of well-known tourist hotspots and almost forgotten places,” says Estelle Slegers Helsen. Not all of the locations Thomson captured in the 1940s to 1960s could be photographed again. “Often, conifer plantations created after World War II or naturally occurring deciduous trees obscured the view or made it impossible for me to stand in the exact spot. Sometimes the weather was so bad that waiting even more than half a day for some decent light was pointless.” Despite that, as a true tree lover and accepting the Scottish weather for what it is, Estelle is very pleased with the result.

As part of the Travel in Time project, the Lochaber series has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund and the West Highland Museum in Fort William. Estelle is now returning to the Lochaber communities. From 12 to 25 September 2022, she has scheduled a series of talks, revealing results and giving the stories back to the people.

As a taster. “The scenery of the locations Thomson captured remains: the mountains and hills, the sea and lochs helped me find the exact spots. Some old features are still in the same place. No general conclusion can be made; some views have hardly changed, while another had a complete makeover. Many remakes show ‘modern’ features. Most striking is the disappearance of areas of croft land, triggered by years of social and economic change, which has seen them turned into campsites, dotted with dwellings or just left barren.” Crofting has disappeared as a traditional Scottish way of life and survival.

 

Estelle: “Most people I talked with are proud that they have spent their entire lives in the township or the village where they were born or that they finally returned to their roots after working in cities such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The elder Highland folk are wedded to their culture and embrace the (Scots) Gaelic language and Highland traditions, hoping younger generations will trigger a renaissance.”

A real danger is the continuing pressure of tourism. “It is a double-edged sword,” Estelle understands that “Local communities depend on tourists visiting their area, but cottages and houses become self-catering facilities, disrupting local life. Most people I interviewed believe that the government needs to step in.”

To conclude, Scotland in 2022 is still as beautiful as it was 70 years ago. From mid-October, the old pictures and the new remakes will be published in newspapers, local community papers, the project website www.travelintime.uk, and the West Highland Museum’s website, highlighting the past, present and future of the Lochaber area. A 64-page booklet inspired by W.S. Thomson’s Let’s See series is published with 30 side-by-side “then and now” photographs, and is on sale in the museum, and village shops, craft shops and information centres in Lochaber and online.

Schedule of talks:

  • Tuesday 13th September 2022 – 7 pm – Astley Hall, Arisaig – Admission free
  • Wednesday 14th September 2022 – 7 pm – Shielbridge Hall, Acharacle – Admission free
  • Thursday 15th September 2022 – 7 pm – Salen Hall, Salen – Admission free
  • Friday 16th September 2022 – 7 pm – Kilchoan Community Centre, Kilchoan – With local support from the Ardnamurchan History and Heritage Association – Admission free
  • Saturday 17th September 2022 – 7.30 pm – Lochaline Village Hall – With local support from the Morvern Heritage Society – Admission free
  • Monday 19th September 2022 – 7 pm – Strontian Parish Church – With local support from the Sunart Heritage Group – Admission free
  • Tuesday 20th September 2022 – 7 pm – Salvation Army Hall, Glen Nevis Place, Fort William – Hosted by the Fort William Photographic Society – Admission free
  • Wednesday 21st September 2022 – 7.30 pm – Ballachulish Village Hall – Admission free
  • Thursday 22nd September 2022 – 7 pm – The Leven Centre – Kinlochleven – Admission free

About William Sutherland Thomson

William Sutherland Thomson MBE (Glasgow, 1906 – Isle of Skye, 1967) was a Scottish photographer who roamed his beloved country. As a proud and entrepreneurial Scotsman, he published books, booklets, calendars and hundreds of postcards depicting Scotland in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. During his life, he lived in Glasgow, Kirkwall, Fort William, Corpach and Edinburgh.

 

About Estelle Slegers Helsen

Estelle Slegers Helsen (Belgium, 1965) is a photographer and history researcher who has contributed to various social and cultural projects. Her passion is connecting people to each other, their roots in the past and present, and the beauty of life itself. Travel in Time is her latest project, revisiting landscapes, streetscapes and seascapes from the past. She has been living in the UK since 2018.

This project has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.

For more information, contact Estelle Slegers Helsen: 07943 166 441 and info@newtraces.uk

These events have been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.