Combining Images in Photoshop for my Little Me | Big Me Collection

One thing I really love to do is imagine how my adult self would interact with my child self. Creating these "Little Me | Big Me" images allows me to visualize my feelings.

I carry my inner child close to the surface in my daily life. I keep her in my mind and heart while I explore. What would she see? Would she notice the crow in the tree looking down at her? Would she revel in the beauty of Springtime? Would she stop and take a photo of the small spring bulb that is peeking through the dirt? 

In this image, I was in Coal Harbour on a summer day. I love to swing whenever I can. I can't resist a swingset! I think it's because when I was in elementary school, our favourite game to play at recess was called Swing Tag. We would all dash outside as soon as the recess bell rang to be the first to grab a swing. Such a fun game! The swingset I played this on at school is still there. 

To this original image of my adult self, I added photos from my childhood. These photos were taken by my dad and my maternal grandfather. Both loved to take photographs! I guess I got my love of photography from them. I am so fortunate to have so many photos of my childhood and am very grateful for the fact that they always had their cameras with them. 

They usually shot on slide film and my mom had boxes (and I mean BOXES) of slides in her basement. When I was a child in the 70s, we would all get together as a family on a Friday night and pull out the slide projector to enjoy a new reel on the screen. What a great way to spend time together as a family. I often remember the warm feeling of watching my grandfather in the darkened room clicking the remote and the sound it made as it advanced through the slide wheel. 

In 2008, I bought my mom a digital slide scanner and she spent a couple months digitizing their collection. This is my most treasured possession - the thousands of images from the 1940's all the way up to the 1980's. I love to see the world through the eyes of my grandfather and my dad. What did they find interesting? What did they stop to take a photo of? I can see my grandfather had an interest in cars and boats. He loved fishing and camping. He loved to take photos of my grandmother in front of beautiful scenery. She didn't seem to mind being his model. :) However, as is usually the case with photographers, there are not many pictures of my grandfather - he was always the one shooting. 

Here are a few of the images I have created so far. It really is a fun way to play around in Photoshop with combining images. I hope this has inspired you to do this as well!