December 26th, 2015 – Boxing Day. For many in the Calder Valley, this date isn't associated with post-Christmas sales or festive cheer, but with the raw, relentless power of nature unleashed. From Todmorden to Brighouse, a catastrophic wave of flooding swept through communities, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. My hometown of Sowerby Bridge was right in the heart of it, the rising waters transforming familiar streets into raging torrents. I remember grabbing my camera then, driven by an instinct to document the unfolding disaster, capturing a small, raw collection of images that spoke volumes about the scale of the destruction.
Fast forward three years to December 24th, 2018. With a quiet morning stretching ahead, a thought struck me: what did those same areas look like now? How had the valley healed, or had the scars of that Boxing Day still lingered? Armed with my original photographs and a sense of curiosity, I decided to revisit those precise locations. It wasn't just about taking pictures; it was about tracing the passage of time, comparing the stark reality of devastation with the slow, often painstaking, process of recovery. This return journey offered a unique perspective, a visual dialogue between past and present, revealing the resilience of a community and the enduring power of memory.
Clicking any of the images below should open a link in another window to my Colin Green Photography store on Zazzle.
