David Mendelsohn photo of girl in mom's dress Dave Mendelsohn
First image in the long term project of taking a portrait of Liz, in mom's clothing, here at age 5, was taken with a large format camera.
David Mendelsohn photo of girl at age 10 in mom's dress Dave Mendelsohn
Second image in the long term project of taking a portrait of Liz, now at age 10, taken with a a Nikon F3 film-based SLR camera.
David Mendelsohn photo of girl at age 15 in mom's dress Dave Mendelsohn
Third image in the long term project of taking a portrait of Liz, now at age 15, taken with a a Nikon F5 film-based AF SLR camera.
David Mendelsohn photo of girl in mom's dress at age 20 Dave Mendelsohn
Fourth image in the long term project of taking a portrait of Liz, now at age 20, taken with a a Nikon D1X digital SLR camera.
David Mendelsohn photo of girl at age 25 in mom's dress Dave Mendelsohn
Fifth image in the long term project of taking a portrait of Liz, now at age 25, taken with a a Nikon D3 digital SLR camera.

Liz is the daughter of David Mendelsohn’s best friend, and when, at the age of five, she dressed in her mom’s clothes at a dinner party, David’s studio portrait was the result. The image sparked a portrait every five years, and though the hat, pearls and gloves were lost along the way, the dress and background endure, with David the guardian of both.

The first photo was shot in 1988 with a large-format camera. After that, it’s been F3, F5, D1X and D3, with 80mm f/2.8 and 80-200mm f/2.8 NIKKORs playing their part. Five studio strobes, two fired through softboxes, three modified by barndoors, lit the set.

David won’t be parting from these shots. “I’m planning to photograph Liz at 50...but I may be directing from my motorized scooter,” he says.

To see more of David's photography, visit his website at www.davidm.com.