For the themes seek and observe I have decided to explore into my family’s past. I have chosen to focus on my grandmother and grandfather’s relationship and life, and how it has changed over time. They moved to Jersey around 1974 after having my mum and her twin sister. They lived here ever since, until my grandfather passed away in 2005. My gran still lives in the same house they were living in at the time. I want to present the loss, but also the happiness they had as a couple. I will photograph my gran now and juxtapose it with archived images to show the change. I’m going to photograph objects that mean a lot such as wedding rings, old treasures and memorabilia.

Here are some of my images and their meanings so far:

This is one of my best images from the shoot. It sets up the scene of where my gran spends most of her time, and emphasises her as a main subject. This could suggest that there is no one else here with her.

This image has a main focal point which is her engagement and wedding rings. I like this images because she is playing a solo game, however she still has my grandad with her through her rings.

This is a key image that displays the story. It is a basic idea, but I really like the composition, and the way it shows a connection between them still. I could place this near an archived image of them both, which shows the change. Using archived images is my way of seeking into their past.

When composing this photo I wanted to make it clear that there was only one person using the bed, and I only lit up my grandfathers side to use light for the meaning. My grandfathers portrait is on the neat side, and my grans side is untidy. I think there can be a lot of emotion created from this image because it leads the story on, and somewhat shows loneliness. The loss of my grandfather is definitely emphasised.

This is an image of an elephant my grandfather bought my gran. One of their favourite things was elephants, and they would buy each other elephant gifts if on holidays.

This boot has been on the stairs for many years, and I asked my gran about it. She said they bought it on a cruise, inspired by the nickname their friends husband had named their wife. I don’t know if I will include all of these images of objects, but they do hold a story of my grandparents. For my photobook I may put quotes from voice recordings of my gran about these stories.

This is a hawthorn tree, which grows outside my gran’s house. My grandfather was intrigued by it and enjoyed watching it blossom in the spring.

“When the hawthorn opposite the house came into blossom, Pops used to always get very excited because he would say, “springs here!”, and looked forward to the better weather coming. It was like the end of winter for him. And the bush has just bloomed the other day.” – my gran