Rephotography is the act of repeat photography of the same site, with a time lag between the two images; a “then and now” view of a particular area. The founding work in this style was the Rephotographic Survey project, conceived in 1977 by the project’s chief photographer, Mark Klett and carried in assocaition with Ellen Manchester and JoAnn Verburgv.
This project engaged 120 sites of government survey photographs from the American West first recorded in the 1870s. This project engaged 120 sites of government survey photographs from the American West first recorded in the 1870s. The resulting book was entitled Second View, The Rephotographic Survey Project and it indicated that the potential of rephotography is greater than simply tracking change; it can touch on the experience of time itself.