Photographer Follows Late Grandparents’ Footsteps All Over America

Poring over a box of his grandfather’s photographs before going on a trip up the Oregon Coast, photographer Christian Carollo had an idea.

“What if I could replicate my grandfather’s photograph 30 years later?” he wrote. So he did just that, and The Past Present Project was born.

Armed with dozens of his grandfathers photos and his grandmother’s detailed travel journals, Christian has spent the last three years replicating his grandparents’ cross-country trips all over the United States, resulting in this delightful and rather poignant photo series.

Louisiana.

Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans | February 1978 & April 2014.

Jackson Square in New Orleans | February 1978 & April 2014.

Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie | February 1978 & April 2014.

Cafe Du Monde | February 1978 & April 2014.

Mississippi.

Stanton Hall in Natchez, Mississippi | September 1974 & April 2014.

South Dakota.

Cedar Pass Campground in Badlands National Park | May 1981 & October 2013.

Needles Highway in Custer State Park | 1973 & 2013.

California.

Golden Gate Bridge | April 1979 & May 2015.

Lucia Lodge in Big Sur | April 1979 & May 2015.

Fishermen’s Grotto in San Francisco | April 1979 & May 2015.

Groveland | April 1979 & May 2015.

Valhalla Pier in South Lake Tahoe | June 1981 & May 2015.

Yosemite National Park.

Tunnel View | April 1979 & May 2015.

Yosemite Entrance | April 1979 & May 2015.

Virginia.

The Market Square Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg | February 1978 & December 2014.

New Mexico.

Old Mesilla | April 1979 & October 2014.

White Sands National Monument | April 1979 & October 2014.

See more of Christian’s unique work here and on Instagram.