When I took these photos of our boys for a prompt as part of the Art & The Heart workshop, it stirred something inside me. I loved the intimateness of them and the essence of childhood they gave. Initially I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that made these portraits different from others I have of the boys. It’s was probably the monochrome palette & kinda film like feel, which is different from what I usually create. But there was something else… our boys are relaxed… there is a sense of comfort… so was it to do with the location?.

This got me thinking about how children feel & act when they are in their parent’s bed. I remember the comfort of it as a child. If I was ill, I would lie in there with the telly on, so cosy and warm… and Sunday mornings were spent around my parent’s bed, cups of tea, reading the papers and me hanging out with my Beano.

Children do behave differently in their parent’s bed. I see it with the photo sessions I do & with the time capsules I create. They turn it into a playground… jumping or making games in there and there’s sensory experience; the feel and the smell is familiar and reassuring creating a relaxed environment.

There’s also the scale of the bed against the child… a small newborn baby laying on the duvet, or a toddler lost in the pillows or an elder child stretched across the length… it shows that moment in time beautifully.

This place is like an island to them; to play, laugh, relax, have fun, be thoughtful & just be… I want to discover how different children react on their parents’ island.

I’ve photographed a few other children already for this project, which I look forward to sharing in the coming weeks. Today I’m also putting the call out to those who might be interested in having me photograph their children and how they explore their parent’s island.

The idea would be I would come and photograph (maybe video too)… exploring this idea and make a series out of it. Please contact me for more details or if you know a family who might be interested, please send this link to them.