The recent post about the current re photographic project was interesting. The Klett led project of years ago showed that the land remains largely the same when man does not intervene. I took a LF class to Big Bend National park in Texas and we found a landscape that was harsh and beautiful. It is not uncommon for the temp to hit 120 five months of the year. We photographed a great deal across the Rio Grande in Boquillas Mexico. A wonderful discovery later on was that AA had made the same photographs in 1942. The cliffs and rocks, of course had not changed but ,surprisingly, the trees and cactus were also virtually the same.
I've long been tempted by the idea of searching out the structures that are in some of the most well known photographs. Are they still there? How has the land/cityscape changed around these areas? What does Hernandez look like today? Somebody should be able to post a contemporary photo. Can one still find the building in Strand's Wall Street? How about the vista seen by Stieglitz and others when photographing from rooftops. I recently found( I think) Max Yavnos fire escape Steps off Canal Street. I wasn't looking for it, it just appeared. Could we still see the street where Orkin photographed Youn g American Student? I bet we could even go back and find some of the structures photographed by Fenton 160 years ago. Then there is Atget I would be the first to sign on to a tour that travelled around Paris and Versailles and see the places that he photographed. Has anyone seen these places and structures? On my last trip to Paris I was too distracted by the sights and sounds and bakeries( it seems like every block has at least two) to think about Atget. Where would you go to see if the scene and structures are the same as when photographed years and decades ago?
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