Photographer Alex Bartsch spent three years extensively researching and re-photographing the settings featured on vintage reggae record covers in their original locales.
The series is called Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves in London, focuses on a collection of over 50 reggae record sleeves filmed in London between 1967 and 1988.
Bartsch claims that he identified and photographed the covers in their original places following years of investigation and collaboration with Al 'Fingers' Newman of One Love Books. The record covers are precisely aligned with their surroundings when held at arm's length, decades after the album cover images were shot.
In an interview with the PetaPixel website, Bartsch noted that the photos capture the passage of time and give insight into the history of reggae music in the United Kingdom, which he describes as a largely ignored yet vital aspect of the country's popular culture and musical identity.
The picture series is now a book including interviews with persons involved with the album somehow, whether it was the original artist, photographer, designer, or someone from the record company. Excerpts from these conversations accompany each shot. On Foundation, Bartsch is steadily releasing each image as an NFT.