Klett’s first realisation for his passion and interest in photography and the history of images came across in 1977 when he co-founded a team t undertake the task of re-photographing work from the 19^th century. This expedition accompanied the Great Surveys of the West. This Rephotographing survey ran through 1979 and , made thousands of images, all with great mathematical accuracy, geography, history and art.

                Klett has been photographing the American West for almost 25 years t re-photograph the sites where various photographers made photographs, these photographers include William Henry Jackson, Timothy O’sullivan and others. His work focuses on mans interaction with the American landscape and by re-photographing these locations after 100 years after the original image was made, it draws the viewer in because we become fascinates with the change and what once was. We compare and contrast the images and Klett bonded with the landscapes because he knew an image maker had stood in the exact same location many years ago.

                Timothy O’sullivan photographed a site in Logan City over 100 years ago (1871) and in 1998, Klett drove down a dirt road that lead into the Mt.Irish Petroglyph District and towards a ghost town where O’sullivan photographed.  Klett begins the day around 7, by setting up a tripod and his 5x4 field camera with a polarograph pack and a copy of the original print of O’sullivans landscape he want’s to re-create. He assumes the vantage point from where the image would have been taken. Klett’s assistant, Byron, begins to locate the area best for the positioning of the camera.

                This book is also a narrative documentary as we see the journey they go through in making these images, the steps they take to create these historical landscapes and the thought and progression that went into the work. 

Fox, W.L (2001). View Finder: Mark Klett, Photography and the Reinvention of Landscape. : University of New Mexico Press.