For my personal study, I think I want to explore nostalgia and childhood, growing up by the beach and other memories I am fond of. I want to look at archived photos of me as a child, and possibly recreate them in a nostalgic sense.

This idea matters to me because it is nice to reflect on the past, and the comforting sense nostalgia gives. In my childhood I spent a large amount of time at St Ouens beach and it would be exciting to return to my childhood memories through photographs. The nostalgic theme is also drawn into the process of taking the images, not only seeing the final product.

I will begin my project by finding archived images from the beach, and some other memories because I want to experiment with a few locations and memories to see which create the best story and composition. I might edit some of the images to look more archived, e.g. add film filters, grain, black and white, intensify the colours to make them look old. I will then visit the sites multiple times at different points in the day to get different lighting, areas and be inspired by new things each time.

My first thought is to produce a photobook, that tells a story in an ‘order’. I want to experiment with different layouts and opacities to create interesting compositions, rather than just the images presented on their own. I also would use the photobook to create a theme colour that ties in with the nostalgic sense e.g. pinks or golden yellows.

I am interpreting the theme of nostalgia by reflecting on my past and idealising it. Through my work I might try and portray the feelings of being a teenager living in society today, and show the pressures or body image, social media, and more. This could juxtapose with the ‘happier’ childhood archives. I am unsure if I will create a more negative look on teenage life, or if I will show a positive side. I will develop my ideas as I take the images and work out the best outcomes. Some artists that I have found and will take inspiration from are Rinko Kawauchi, William Eggleston, Maxi Magnano, Julia Kurland and Marco Kahold. I will shoot places and people as my main subjects and possibly some objects in the studio such as childhood bears or toys. I might take some photos of myself to show the change, but from a low perspective to emphasise my growth from childhood. Most of my images will be outside due to the fact that natural lighting will play a key role in my images, as I love the golden haze in the sky that winter sunsets create. My images will hold the aesthetic look, but some might be staged to create the Julia Kurland images. I would like to use some text in my book because I think it adds to the sense of nostalgia. I would probably use my handwriting and scan it, with the content being how I feel about the childhood, or writing that I did as a child. I could use a combination to show the change.

For editing, I am going to use Lightroom Classic for my basic edits, then further my editing in Photoshop. This will make a difference because without further editing in Photoshop, I won’t be able to create the nostalgic hazy look, or add anything into the shot. I might experiment with AI or inserting other shapes to add a childish sense to the photos.

This week I am going to take some initial photos to help me start off my project, even if I don’t end up using them, it will help lead me toward better ideas.