Niš, Serbia • A photographic research project

Shadows of Old Niš

A photographic dialogue between past and present, bringing archival images of Niš into the city as it stands today.

Shadows of Old Niš - post office composition
Shadows of Old Niš photographic composition
Shadows of Old Niš photographic composition
Shadows of Old Niš photographic composition
Shadows of Old Niš photographic composition
Archival photograph of NišArchival photograph of NišArchival photograph of NišArchival photograph of NišArchival photograph of NišArchival photograph of Niš
Inside the projectDrag to explore the transformation ↔
The post office todayThe post office finished composition
CompositionOriginal photograph
01 / Research

How the project began.

This cultural and historical photography project began with a long search for old photographs of Niš across different archives. Each image offered a fragment of the city's past: its streets, buildings and the people who once occupied them.

The fortress entrance todayThe fortress entrance finished composition
CompositionOriginal photograph
02 / Rephotography

Returning to the same point.

I revisited the locations and recreated the photographs, carefully matching the original viewpoint and focal length. Finding the same perspective allowed the historical image and the contemporary city to meet within a single frame.

Jagodin original photographJagodin finished composition
CompositionOriginal photograph
03 / Composition

Bringing two times together.

In Photoshop, I edited and aligned the contemporary photographs with the archival images. The resulting compositions bring traces of the past into the present, revealing both continuity and change in the urban landscape.

Pant todayPant finished composition
CompositionOriginal photograph
04 / Public collection

An archive to share.

The complete collection contains approximately 90 photographs. This website presents a selection. Around half of the collection was donated to Wikimedia Commons, making the project available to a wider public.

Concept, contemporary photography and Photoshop compositions by Davorin Dinic. Historical photographs originate from archival sources.

Public life of the project

Exhibitions & presentations

2017 / Wikimedia42 photographs donated to Wikimedia Commons; the project and donation were also presented at WikiLive.
4 June 2016 / NišExhibition at the PozitivNI street festival.
March 2016 / Belgorod, RussiaExhibition as part of the Days of Niš and Serbian Culture.
11 August 2015 / NišSolo exhibition at the Nišville International Jazz Festival.
16 May 2015 / NišSolo exhibition as part of Museums of Serbia: Ten Days from 10 to 10.

Further selections

Enlarged Shadows of Old Niš photograph