Recreate a childhood memory in a photograph.​ Think carefully about the memory you choose and how you’ll recreate it. You’re free to approach this task in any way you wish.

1. Does the memory involve you directly or is it something you witnessed?
2. Will you include your adult self in the image (for example, to ‘stand in’ for your childhood self) or will you ask a model to represent you? Or will you be absent from the image altogether? (You’ll look at the work of some artists who have chosen to depict some aspect of their life without including themselves in the image in the next project.)
3. Will you try and recreate the memory literally or will you represent it in a more metaphorical way, as you did in Part Two?
4. Will you accompany your image with some text?
5. In your learning log, reflect on the final outcome. How does the photograph resemble your memory? Is it different from what you expected? What does it communicate to the viewer? How?

It might be interesting to show your photograph to friends or family members – perhaps someone who was there at the time and someone who wasn’t – and see what the image conveys to them.

Chosen image

I have chosen to reproduce this image for a few reasons. One being that unfortunately I don’t have many childhood images to choose from! My mum and dad were never particularly adept with a camera and being before the days of the camera phone, image taking seemed few and far between. This was quite a turbulent time in my life where I was going through puberty and also my parents had divorced a year or so earlier. I was quite mixed up emotionally and had turned to music to relieve a lot of my worries and concerns amongst other things. From this point in time in my life music has helped carry me through many tough times and kind of this image kind of symbolises my change attitude toward music. I am still a massive fan of music today and it continues to be a source of comfort, guidance and inspiration. At the time when this image was taken my love affair with all things rock and metal was in full swing and I was mad on anything from Iron Maiden to Metallica to heavier stuff like Sepultura and even some more extreme Metal (hence the mullet!). To cut a long story short, I tried to replicate a haircut from a bass player in a band called Anthrax, Scott Ian, who had shaved head around the sides and had long hair at the back. I know, I still don’t know what possessed me, but I think by the time this image was taken it had started to grow back (thankfully!) I still enjoy some extreme metal today, although many would probably wonder what the noise actually is. I have a really open mind when it comes to music and love anything from dance music and house to stuff like Nick Drake. I would like to think this open minded attitude will eventually be reflected in my photography, if it is not already. I will try my best to recreate the scene but the holiday room sofa may prove a problem! I want to recreate me in the scene lying now as I did then, half asleep and with a bit of a hangover by the looks of it.

Set-up

Contact sheets

Final image

Reflection

On reflection of the image and its process I am quite happy with the final result. The most challenging aspect was that I was model and photographer, but I did want myself in the scene as I like the way this type of image draws on time passing and the feeling that evokes. Initially I did struggle to get the right angle as I was hoping from position to behind the camera and this was difficult. I wanted tot get the best angle as I could in terms of reproduction but this perhaps would have been easier if I had chosen someone else to pose or press the shutter. Thought the images have obvious differences, there are may similarities and for that I am quite happy. The speed light I used has created a very different lighting situation and the quality of shot obviously carries very different aesthetics. I don’t feel that my reproduction needs words, as in reality it really is just a then and now, but from my point of view quite a personal picture interpretation. Situation obviously plays a part also as I was holiday in the initial image so to create that atmosphere in terms of the aesthetic is quite difficult, the poor quality sofa I obviously slept on is sadly omitted. For me this is a more personal exploration than anything an its pleasing to see how photography can play its part in exploring oneself and the history we have been a part of. I don’t feel that the image is largely any different from the one I had set out to produce and I had a clear vision of what I wanted early on. The project itself could evolve and take other directions and I have contemplated using my son as model to reproduce the shot, this is something I may pursue. I think the single light setup went ok, my thoughts were to have it quite high over the subject, but it has created some quite harsh shadows, a larger soft box may have helped with this. Overall fairly happy but it does also show that going further in terms of reproducing props does help for that more realistic look to the final image. It may also be worth adding that during the many times I looked at this image I would never have thought at 44 years old I would be reproducing it! Interesting times indeed.

I quite like this image and is probably my favourite of the project. It perhaps would have been more dynamic and interesting if I was posed in the position holding the picture. I suppose this image has a more morbid feel, perhaps of death. It certainly evokes different feelings than the first colour reproduction.