Photography Article Rephotography: Dear Photograph|Photography Artist Statement

Rephotography is the practice of taking a picture of the equal person, location, or scene over a period of time. In a preceding submit, I shared recommendations for seasonal rephotography and how to create a university of the identical scene across all four seasons. In this put up, I?Ll share a way for developing a rephotography shot inside a unmarried photograph.

Rephotography: Original image from Easter 1988.  Rephotographed in June 2011.

These shots are powerful and attention-grabbing, with their ability to demonstrate exchange as well as connectivity between people and throughout time. This concept of rephotography in a unmarried photograph became popularized on the web website and Tumblr Dear Photograph and greater recently by New York photographer Christopher Moloney, who has been applying the concept to movie stills shot in New York City.

The concept is simple, but the execution may be tricky. The first step is finding vintage pics of an identifiable place that you can revisit. (The collection of images on this post were all taken at my childhood domestic.) You also need to set up a visible connection among the unique image and the modern area. This works best if some detail of the original photograph maintains outside of the frame and into the contemporary phase.

Rephotography: Original picture from 1989. Rephotographed in June 2011.

In this rephotography of the swing set, there is a visible connection between the threshold of the play shape in the authentic picture as it leads into the relaxation of the play structure these days. This type of rephotography is maximum convincing if you could re-establish the exact identical angle and attitude of the authentic photo as viewed towards the present day region. While the historical past within the swing set image does no longer perfectly align, the massive growth of the timber in the middle ground obscures this misalignment.

Rephotography: Original image from September 1988. Rephotographed in June 2011.

Rephotography: Original image from August 1989. Rephotographed in June 2011.

You also can create a chain of such pix throughout a single vicinity by either gathering vintage photos all taken at the equal area or with the aid of beginning your personal series of latest photos in a set region. These original pix were taken a yr apart and display subtle adjustments within the historical past, together with the planting of the background left tree and the different vegetation.

Rephotography within the fashion of ?Dear Photograph? May be a captivating manner to revisit vintage locations and capture a feel of exchange and continuity in a unmarried photo. While such pics can take some making plans, the quit result is nicely worth the attempt of scouting via vintage photos.