This man used his grandparents’ photo album and journal to retrace their steps
Armed with his grandfather’s travel photographs and his grandma’s journals, Christian Carollo has spent the last three years following in his grandparents footsteps – literally. After Carollo stumbled across one of his grandfather’s old photographs from Oregan Coast a week before he was planning to visit, he had the idea to compare the change (if any at all) between his grandparent’s photos to the sites now. It led to a passion project entitled Past Presentwith Carollo spending years roaming the United States to visit the places of his grandparent’s vintage pictures. Luckily, Carollo’s grandma kept a detailed travel journal, allowing Carollo to find the exact location shown in the photos.
Carollo writes on his website: “Since I largely have my grandfather to thank for my love of travel and photography, I wanted to honour his memory by replicating the photographs he took from his trips all across America. This is my Past Present to him!”
Here are some of the results so far:
California
Golden Gate Bridge | April 1979 and May 2015
Lucia Lodge in Big Sur | April 1979 and May 2015
Fishermen’s Grotto in San Francisco | April 1979 and May 2015
Louisiana
Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans | February 1978 and April 2014
Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie | February 1978 and April 2014
South Dakota
Cedar Pass Campground in Badlands National Park | May 1981 and October 2013
Needles Highway in Custer State Park | 1973 and 2013
New Mexico
Old Mesilla | April 1979 and October 2014
White Sands National Monument | April 1979 and October 2014
Yosemite National Park
Tunnel View | April 1979 and May 2015
Yosemite Entrance | April 1979 and May 2015
Then and now: Christian Carollo with his Grandfather in 1978
To find more of Christian Carollo’s work visit his website here.
Related links:
The best retro posters from the past
10 great quotes about being a grandparent
Old-school Aussie ads that you just have to watch