Smartify is delighted to announce the launch of The Fisherfolk of Cromarty, a community co-created augmented reality experience from Cromarty Museum in Scotland. Bringing the Fishertown area of Cromarty to life through the extraordinary historic photographs of local photographer Willie John Smith.

Many local museums have a photographic archives, and historic images are often among the most treasured objects in their collections. Yet they regularly remain static records of the past, their potential to deepen our understanding of community, place and everyday life largely untapped.

Working with Cromarty Museum, we set out to explore a simple question: could augmented reality and AI animation reveal new ways of experiencing these remarkable photographs while remaining completely faithful to their authenticity?

How the project came about

The project centres on Willie John Smith's extraordinary images of Cromarty's Fishertown in the early twentieth century. They document a way of life that has largely vanished: fishermen preparing for sea, washing hanging between the houses, children playing in the streets and families going about their daily routines.

Rather than creating dramatic historical reconstructions, we chose a lighter touch. Subtle AI animation hints at the life already contained within each photograph. Washing stirs in the sea breeze, children move as they search for their parents, and fishermen prepare their equipment before heading to sea. The movement is deliberately restrained to ensure the photographs themselves remain the heart of the experience.

A collaboration with the local community

The animations were developed through workshops with the Cromarty Youth Café. Rather than telling young people what should happen in each scene, we invited them to study the photographs closely. What could they see? What details stood out? Where might people have been walking? What relationships could they infer between the people in the image?

Those conversations became an exercise in historical interpretation. Small details that adults often overlook sparked discussions about family life, work, childhood and the rhythms of a fishing community. The young people's observations directly informed the final animations, giving them a genuine role in interpreting their own local heritage.

The photographs also became a powerful catalyst for conversations with older members of the community. Looking at the images prompted memories of places, families and ways of life remembered from childhood. Their lived experiences have been respectfully woven into the audio that accompanies each scene, enriching the experience with memories that exist nowhere else.

A vision for how to use archive imagery

Cromarty shows that collections of historic photographs needn’t be presented simply as illustrations of the past. By combining sensitive use of augmented reality with genuine community co-creation, historic photographs become more than archival records. They become shared experiences that engage younger people, capture memories from older generations and bring communities together around their own history.

Much more than a digital experience for one Highland town, The Fisherfolk of Cromarty offers a blueprint for how museums everywhere can unlock the remarkable potential of their own photographic collections in the digital age.

Each version of the tour has been optimised to ensure that you get the best experience. Take the tour in Cromarty, in the streets where it all happened or take the tour at home through the Smartify app to see the photographs subtly come to life through AI animation.

The project forms part of the Highlands and Islands Digital Heritage Network, a pioneering pilot led by The Space and Museums and Heritage Highland, with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. Bringing together nine rural museums, the initiative uses digital innovation to safeguard unique collections, bring stories to life and make rural heritage more accessible and inclusive.