Photo Swap

For our first assignment we were asked to take in pictures of ourselves growing up and swap them with someone we didn't know very well. We were then asked to analyse our partners photographs and report back to them on what we discovered. I swapped with textiles student Judith who gave me 5 photos of her and her friends. I looked at each picture in turn and wrote down my thoughts about her influences, tastes and situations.

The first was a picture of her sitting on a step with ice cream all over her face aged about 1. She looked happy and was smiling so it seemed to me she had a very happy childhood. She looking away from the camera and I thought this may have been an indication that she was a bit shy but when I met up with her she told me she was actually a bit of a poser! She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt so I thought this could have been taken in the summertime and later came up with the idea she might have been on holiday as her top said 'Florida' on it. She was also busy playing with a Minnie Mouse purse and didn't seem very aware of the camera so I thought this might mean she was focused and not easily distracted.

Awwww aint she cute?!

The second photo was a picture of her with a girl who I thought could have been her friend or sister in a backgarden. (Judith later told me it was her neighbour in her backgarden.) She looked like she was all dressed up for a party in a pretty dress and had obviously been told she wasn't allowed to play in the sandpit! The other girl was sitting in shorts and t-shirt in the sandpit having a great time and Judith was outside pointing and looking upset. I think she thought it was unfair and I think she would have remembered that feeling and has grown up with a good sense of fairness and likes to treat everyone equally.

The next photo was of her outside with some friends. I thought it could have been taken in a school or nursary playground at some kind of event. It reminded me of my sports day at nursary where we all got an apple and our parents came along. Although I could tell this wasn't sports day as the girls were dressed in dresses. Her and one of the other girls had a packet of golden wonder crisps and seemed to be standing in a line which was what made me think it was an event and not just break time. Again she was smiling and surrounded by friends which made me think she was a happy and sociable person but she was hiding behind one of her friends and that indicated to me that she could be quite shy. But then again maybe she was just standing in a line! When I met up with her she said she was never really shy but infact chatty and could be quite bossy - so I got that all wrong! She said it was taken at nursary at an event or fundraiser but she couldn't remember what for!

The forth photo was of her and 2 friends at some kind of music festival - possibly T in the Park? They were on the campsite so had obviously stayed for the weekend. This made me think that Judith wasn't too into her looks, that she was confident and fun loving. She had her hair back and probably hadn't showered for days! And she was still having a great time. She was really into her music and had a similar dress sense to her friends which made me think she was close to them and they were quite heavily influenced by each other.

The last picture I thought was taken in school and shows Judith with a group of friends. I assumed these were her best friends from school and recognised another girl Paula who also does textiles. They had obviously known each other a long time and were friends before coming to uni. I assumed it was St Andrews day as they were all wearing tartan and it was taken in school as the wall behind looked as if it had a history timeline on it. Her and her friends all had a very similar dress sense which made me think they were all very alike and influenced by one another.


Sorry the pictures are a bit fuzzy but I'm useless with technology and couldnt figure out how to work the scanner! ha

When I met up with Judith to hear her analysis of me she was spot on with what she said. She mentioned that she thought I was a girly girl who had gone through a tomboy phase as I had short hair and was wearing trackie bottoms! She also thought I was an animal lover which I am - and I'm a vegetarian. She thought I had quite a large family with lots of cousins but I don't think it's particuarly big - I have 5 cousins altogether. She also managed to recognise my best friend Mel from a picture when we were wee and a picture taken just last year. I don't think there was any big revelation about myself but I realised its quite amazing how much someone can tell about your life from a few snapshots.