This week, Amy asks us to provide an interpretation in images of “Old and New.” In framing the challenge, Amy writes, “It can be the contrast of architecture, fashion, collections, treasures… in one photo or multiple photos.” You can read her entire challenge post here. These challenges are up to the individual as to how to interpret the goal of the challenge and I often try to put a slightly different spin on the topic just for fun.

For this challenge, however, I decided to “play it straight” and read the phrase “old and new” literally, and in one shot. My first example features the MQ-9 Reaper on the ramp being prepared for flight. The Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that was the first of the UAVs to carry offensive strike weaponry. The 300 mph (483 kpm) weapon can remain airborne for long periods of time and deliver ordinance to a target while the flight crew is tucked safely hundreds or thousands of miles away from harm. The first MQ-9 was delivered in 2001. While that doesn’t seem “new”, compare it to the C-130 Hercules just taking off in the background. The first flight of a C-130 military transport was in August 1954. The heavy-duty hauler first entered service in the United States in 1956 and remains in service today.

The photo above features a “restomod” 1958 Chevrolet Corvette. A restomod is a coined term for an older vehicle that has been refitted with new and modern features effectively making the old car new again. Indeed, most of the physical parts you see in the image above are brand new, and more than that, use technology that didn’t exist when the car was originally manufactured. The mirrors at the bottom show that even the undercarriage of this vehicle has been made new. Looking at the interior, the center console has a flat-screen audio system, the wheels and tires are certainly improved technology from what was originally available to the manufacturer in 1958. Some people don’t like the notion of a restomod as it “bastardizes” the historic value of a classic vehicle while others relish driving an older vehicle with all of the current tech and safety features. I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide which camp you are in.

While we are on the topic of automobiles, I submit this 1950s era design that is essentially new, built in the 21st century. The gentleman standing beside the car, Gene Tweedy, is the builder of this 11/16th scale model Chevrolet which is licensed, fully street-legal, and powered by a four-cylinder automobile engine. This and several other hand-built “dwarf” cars can be seen at the Dwarf Car Museum in Maricopa, Arizona.

The city of Cartagena, Colombia, besieged by pirates in the 16th century solved the problem by building nearly 7 miles (11 km) of defensive walls. Coupled with several other military defenses, the city was considered impregnable from the pirates of the day. The bridge in the foreground leads to one of many openings in the wall that is no longer a necessary defense for the walled city. Juxtaposed in the background is modern Cartagena, highrise apartments, condos, and resorts are located in the Bocagrande area of the city.

In stark contrast to the modern glass and steel architecture in Boston, Massachusetts, the wood and brick style Old South Meeting House in the foreground was the site of massive public protests focused on the British Crown’s treatment of the colonists.  Meetings by revolutionary colonists from 1768 to 1775 led to the American Revolution.

John Steiner