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Twin Blends and Real Shreveport: Part One
- Joel Rodgers
Many parts of Shreveport’s history can be uncovered without the use of books or teachers – you just have to know where to look.
For Mark and Mike Mangham, they use photos to see the past and blend them with current photos.
The twins are from Southern Hills Shreveport and enjoy learning about Shreveport’s history. They have a unique style of uncovering old photographs and blending them and new ones. What they do is amazing and if you look a their blends, you’ll see for yourself.
Shreveport was founded in 19th century by the Shreve Town Company, and the history dates all the way back to 1836.
We caught up with the Twin Blends and talked about their photos and how they got started.
They gather old photos from the archives at LSUS, then blend them with current ones.
“When we first started coming up here we were blown away by all the stuff they had, we had no idea what to expect. The archives have so much history to offer and a lot of people don’t realize how much history we have until you get up here and you see this”, says Mike Mangham.
His Brother Mark agrees, “He told me they had a lot of pictures but I had no idea, they had rows of pictures, boxes of pictures.”
Located on the third floor of the Noel Memorial Library at LSUS you’ll find archives and special collections. A documented history off the region containing over 1.5 million photographs and negatives showing the history and culture of the region, from it’s earliest settlement to the present.
“It’s a snap shot in time and that’s the closest you’ll ever come to going back in time”, says Mike Mangham.
A history lesson that doesn’t come from a book, but rather – told through a lens.
“We’ve had people contact us and say that’s my grandmother and it’s so cool we can bring them to them” says Mike.
Their blends show viewers the evolution of Shreveport by mixing the past with the present.
Many cities like Shreveport didn’t see photography until the 1870’s, to look back further than that, you’ll have to dig harder, and you’ll probably need what the Mangham twins use, a metal detector and a shovel.
In Part II of Real Shreveport Twins Blends: you’ll see and hear stories about what these two find buried beneath Shreveport’s soil.
Also, in part two, hear Mark and Mike talk about about their love for the Shreveport documentary ‘Shape of Shreveport’.
Keep an eye out for part two. Coming soon!
If you’re interested Twin Blends, you can view more on their Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/twinblendsphotography/
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