Man travels across US recreating late grandfather's photographs in beautiful project

Christian Carollo started the project in 2012 after discovering a box of old photographs

Rose Troup Buchanan
Wednesday 12 August 2015 11:24 EDT
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(Christian Carollo)

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A photographer is retracing his grandfather’s journey through the United States and replicating each photograph taken on the trip.

Christian Carollo, a Philadelphia based photographer, started the Past Present project three years ago after finding a box of pictures taken by his grandfather.

Leafing through, the 33-year-old realised that among the international and national locations there was one he would be visiting later that week - the small town of Winchester Bay.

“I wondered, what if I could replicate my grandfather’s photograph 30 years later?” Mr Carollo wrote on his blog.

Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California | April 1979 & May 2015
Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California | April 1979 & May 2015 (Christian Carollo)
Valhalla Pier in South Lake Tahoe, California | June 1981 & May 2015
Valhalla Pier in South Lake Tahoe, California | June 1981 & May 2015 (Christian Carollo)
Cafe Du Monde Worker in New Orleans, Louisiana | February 1978 & April 2014
Cafe Du Monde Worker in New Orleans, Louisiana | February 1978 & April 2014 (Christian Carollo)

After the first successfully trip, the photographer used his grandmother’s journals to carefully piece together each location and the time when the image was taken.

"She told me she's really happy with what I'm doing," Mr Carollo told The Huffington Post.

The project has become something of a way to remember his grandfather Herb Connellan, who died in 2008 at the age of 87, Mr Carollo said.

Meanwhile, his family has grown to love the project that has seen Mr Carollo clock up an estimated 100,000 miles and travel to as many states as possible.

Chapel in the Hills in Rapid City, South Dakota | 1973 & 2013
Chapel in the Hills in Rapid City, South Dakota | 1973 & 2013 (Christian Carollo)
Chinatown in San Francisco, California | April 1979 & May 2015
Chinatown in San Francisco, California | April 1979 & May 2015 (Christian Carollo)
Lower Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park | April 1979 & May 2015
Lower Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park | April 1979 & May 2015 (Christian Carollo)
Lucia Lodge in Big Sur, California | April 1979 & May 2015
Lucia Lodge in Big Sur, California | April 1979 & May 2015 (Christian Carollo)
Needles Highway in Custer State Park, South Dakota | 1973 & 2013
Needles Highway in Custer State Park, South Dakota | 1973 & 2013 (Christian Carollo)
White Sands National Monument, New Mexico | April 1979 & October 2014
White Sands National Monument, New Mexico | April 1979 & October 2014 (Christian Carollo)
California's First Theatre in Monterey, California | April 1979 & May 2015
California's First Theatre in Monterey, California | April 1979 & May 2015 (Christian Carollo)
Groveland, California | April 1979 & May 2015
Groveland, California | April 1979 & May 2015 (Christian Carollo)

Judy Carollo said she “loved” her son’s project. “The only sad part is I wish my father was still alive to see it,” she told the PhillyVoice.

Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania | 1987 & 2014 (one of the few recreated images with his grandfather in - standing centre)
Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania | 1987 & 2014 (one of the few recreated images with his grandfather in - standing centre) (Christian Carollo)

You can see more of Mr Carolllo's project on his Instagram account or his website.

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