honorable mention
Miranda Hayes united kingdom
title
I thought I had killed my sister.
When I was ten I thought I had killed her. She was a baby and I accidentally dropped her. I watched as her lips turned blue, and listened as the ambulance came. She came home later that day and was absolutely fine. But in the hours between, waiting to find out, I contemplated what it meant to be alive, and what it meant if she had died. The knowledge of mortality screamed at me, and it has never left me. Living with this knowledge, concreted, everyday, from such a young age shaped me. I fear death, it preoccupies my mind a lot of the time, and photography helps disarm it.
So when I was sixteen and was given my camera, my baby sister was ten, and I photographed her.
Photography is my tool and my therapy. It helps me to make sense of everything. When I lay in bed and my fears, desires, and regrets keep me awake at night, I transform them into photographs in my head. I am compelled to photograph how I feel and the things that happen around me, to embrace the magic of photography. It is my best friend and confidant. I would be lost without it.
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entry description
When I was sixteen I was given a camera. I fell in love with black and white darkroom photography. The first thing I wanted to photograph was my sister.When I was ten I thought I had killed her. She was a baby and I accidentally dropped her. I watched as her lips turned blue, and listened as the ambulance came. She came home later that day and was absolutely fine. But in the hours between, waiting to find out, I contemplated what it meant to be alive, and what it meant if she had died. The knowledge of mortality screamed at me, and it has never left me. Living with this knowledge, concreted, everyday, from such a young age shaped me. I fear death, it preoccupies my mind a lot of the time, and photography helps disarm it.
So when I was sixteen and was given my camera, my baby sister was ten, and I photographed her.
Photography is my tool and my therapy. It helps me to make sense of everything. When I lay in bed and my fears, desires, and regrets keep me awake at night, I transform them into photographs in my head. I am compelled to photograph how I feel and the things that happen around me, to embrace the magic of photography. It is my best friend and confidant. I would be lost without it.
about the photographer
My name is Miranda. I was born and live in Brighton. I have different part time casual jobs to pay rent but whenever I can I do my photography. I only work in black and white, and use film and traditional darkroom methods. My work is mostly about myself, about my experiences and how I feel. I’ve had wonderful, terrible and weird things happen to me throughout my life. Photographing it all immortalises the good, is therapeutic for the bad, and helps me make sense of the weird. Even though much of my work is about trouble and strife, don’t get me wrong, I really love being alive. When I was 16 I was given my camera and we just click. It is my best friend and confidant, I’d be lost without it.back to gallery