came across this project undertaken by a photographer named douglas levere, called changing new york. essentially he has retaken photographs another photographer, named berenice abbott, took 70 or so years ago. he returned to the original sites, with the identical camera, an 8x10 century universal, at the same time of day and year to reshoot the photographs. the resulting photo’s, when seen beside the originals, are evocative but i also found them strangely unsettling. history is laid bare in a concrete way seldom achieved through simply viewing old photos alone. though intended, i suppose, as a document of change, it’s the lack of change which i found so fascinating. so much has remained the same from a physical standpoint. so many buildings appear exactly as they did in the 1930’s. this effect is amplified by the lack of color which strips away the cosmetics. for me these photos made the inherent feeling of anonymity and personal transience which new york imposes even stronger. whose city am i living in anyway? check them out.