Hold an old photograph in front of the place where it was taken, and two journeys briefly occupy the same view. A doorway lines up, a tree has grown and the people in the print remain in their own moment. Christian Carollo’s Past Present Project makes that meeting of times the heart of a travel series.

The project began in 2012 after Carollo found photographs from his grandfather’s travels. The early collection revisited places around the United States, using the old images as a starting point for new journeys and new photographs.

Older family photograph held in front of the same garden setting
Older family photograph held in front of the same garden setting. Gallery attribution: Christian Carollo.

The family connection gives the project its meaning

This is more than a puzzle about finding an exact camera position. The earlier picture tells Carollo that somebody close to him once stood there and thought the view worth keeping. Returning becomes a way of paying attention to that person’s experience.

The 2015 project coverage describes the initial connection with a photograph from Winchester Bay, Oregon. The later comparisons show how a small family discovery can become a sustained creative idea.

What changes, and what only appears unchanged?

In the paired scenes, buildings provide useful anchors. A window or roofline may remain recognisable while signs, vehicles and planting change. The viewer can notice both continuity and difference without being told that a place has stood still.

Matching a photograph also involves camera position and framing. A slight change in height or lens can make a street look wider or a building seem farther away. That does not invalidate the comparison; it simply means the images are a thoughtful recreation rather than a precise survey.

Try a small family version

Choose one photograph with a location you can identify and a subject that is still accessible from public space. Ask relatives what they remember about it before setting out. A date, a shop name or the reason for the visit may be as valuable as the picture itself.

Christian Carollo aligning an older camera portrait with his own reflection
Christian Carollo aligning an older camera portrait with his own reflection. Gallery attribution: Christian Carollo.

Take a copy rather than a fragile original. Look for a stable feature to line up, then move only within places you are allowed to stand. If the original position is now private, blocked or unsafe, make a nearby view and explain the difference.

Keep the new photograph honest

Record when you made the recreation and what you know about the older image. If its date is uncertain, say so. Avoid removing all evidence of change just to make the pair look more similar; the changed details are often what make it interesting.

Keep a wider photograph too, without the old print in the foreground. That gives future family members a clearer record of your own visit and may help someone repeat the exercise again.

For another approach to earlier and later views, see our Manhattan photo comparison. For a diary built from the present moment, try five-second travel clips. Carollo’s project offers a particularly warm reason to revisit a place: sometimes the next journey begins in a box of photographs at home.