The Photo Surgery of Bobby Neel Adams' "Agemaps"

We were recently introduced to photographer Bobby Neel Adams' project, "Agemaps," which--for the visual aficianado out there--may remind you of Irina Werning's "Back to the Future" series from last year. It's a similar exercise in the meticulous replication of old film stock, lighting, art direction and facial expression--not to mention the freaky effect of looking at yourself today the way you were decades ago.

Adams has a similar goal, but by ripping his subjects' faces down the middle and pairing their adult faces with their faces as children, the contrast is much more striking. There's something haunting about how much a white-haired, seventy-year-old man looks like he did as a young boy, all decked out in his sailor suit and ready to have his photo taken. Adams has several other series that use similar techniques which he deems "photo-surgery."

If Adams' is the type of work that gets you going, feel free to peruse the slew of Alternate Process and Image Manipulation classes we've recently added.

Meanwhile, check out Adams' "Family Tree," a series of portraits of immediate family members (father/son, mother/daughter) that shows DNA at work without the use of photoshop.

-- Perrin Drumm