Social Memories

2013 saw ‘Selfie’ named as word of the year, even making it into the Oxford dictionary. This made me think: photo-sharing social media platforms were initially used to capture individual moments, such as your cat on top of the Christmas tree or your mate’s car entirely covered in wrapping paper. Evidently, they’re still used for this, but we’re now seeing montages and time-lapses and ‘one second every day’ clips filling our feeds as people try to capture memories not just at one moment in time, but over time.

Here are my favourite moving memories of the last year:

>> Instagram Films

This year, Thomas Jullien took on an imaginative project: stitching together 852 individual Instagram shots to create one amazing short film which takes you from Paris to Sydney. “I wanted to create structure out of this chaos,”Jullien writes on his Vimeo page. “The result is a crowd-sourced short film that shows the endless possibilities of social media”. Explore the project here.

>> Oldies go “Up”

This adorable couple celebrate 61 years of marriage by re-enacting famous scenes from the movie “Up”. A lovely idea which gives me the same feeling I get when I see elderly couples holding hands (an uncontrollable case of the ‘ahhhhhhh’s): this unashamedly showcases their love for one and other. See the whole project here.

>> Pregnancy progress

Last year Argentinian photographer Sophie Starzenski took to what she does best (photography, for anyone not sure) to snap moments throughout her pregnancy. Shown on Behance, the intimate collection showcases 40 weeks of progress, resulting in her lil one (son, Simon) as the final shot. A ‘selfie’ of a different variety, Starzenski manages to warm the hearts of her audience by inviting them to share in her special experience. View the series here.

Mary Helen Bowers, a New York City Ballerina, has been a dancer since the age of 15. In a similar, but more athletic style to Starzenski’s, this graceful series of stills documents her pregnancy, and her dancing talent (balancing on one leg when 8 months pregnant – impressive!), via Instagram. Follow her here.

>> The “Nawww” factor

I was born in the 80’s (thanks for the love Calvin Harris) when digital photography and social media hadn’t yet been born. Instead I have to reminisce over actual prints of photographs and video recordings, if I can find a VCR player. So I’m sure these children will be grateful to their parents for using the tools now available to document their early years. Or maybe not, when they get used as bribery in their teenage years.

First nomination for the “Nawww” award is Sam Cornwell, a dad who lovingly captured one second from every day of his son Indigo’s first year on planet earth, showing the transition from a tiny tiny baby to a little boy. Watch the video here.

Recognising the interest for this sort of project, and creating a similar project himself, dad Cesar Kuriyama developed the app “One Second EveryDay” allowing you to create a video like this of your own. Take a look here.

And next… lifestyle blogger Jessica Shyba. When the mum of three brought home a pup, she didn’t expect just how close the bond would become between the small dog and her youngest son Beau. The pup in question, ‘Little Theo’, was adopted from a dogs’ shelter, and after an unsettled beginning in his new home found a peaceful sleeping position snuggled up to Beau. This series of photographs, shown on Shyba’s blog ‘Momma’s Gone City’ has created quite a following on Instagram. View them here.

Finally, another Mum with a sleepy boy. Queenie Liao takes adorable photos of baby Wengenn napping in scenes that have been carefully crafted around him to create imaginary fairy tale adventures. While the baby was asleep, Liao photographed him traveling to faraway lands, castles and clouds, taking part in a circus act and even collecting stars. View the whole series here.

Words by – NJ

[Imagery courtesy of Thomas Jullien, Design Taxi, Sophie Starzenski on Behance, Mary Helen Bowers on Instagram, Sam Christopher Cornwell on Vimeo, Jessica Shyba on Instagram & Bored Panda] unshaven girl микрокредит займзайм на киви без процентовзайм 30 тысяч займ денег на яндекс деньгизайм пенсионерам до 75 летзайм блиц