desymbol: Then & Now: Russian Photographer Shows How 9 Children Changed In 6.5 Years

How did people explain how they looked when they were young before photography? It seems like you would carry an image of your younger self in your memory forever, but it would get blurry with time. Thanks to perks of modern life, we don’t have to worry about it and we usually have more photos of ourselves than we probably need. A photographer from Novosibirsk, Nikita Khnyunin, tried to capture the changes we go through over time by taking black and white portraits of kids in a similar setting.

The sentimental series started when he wanted to document an important milestone in his little brother’s life—one of his last school lessons. Caught up in the moment, he realized that it felt familiar and he had previously photographed similar portraits of the class, then fifth-graders, for a school album.

During the traditional last bell event, he brought archival images and tried to recreate them to capture the changes these kids went through in over six years. Here is a collection of then-and-now photographs where the same people stand side by side at two ages.

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This is the photographer’s younger brother

Image credits: etojiviefoto

“The idea came up in 2016 when I decided to photograph my brother’s last days of school. Seeing some familiar faces, I remembered that I had taken some photos in 2009 of those pre-teens. So I decided to photograph them again and compare how much they have changed in those 6.5 years. We are changing imperceptibly and I think it is important to document these changes,” the photographer told Bored Panda.

Image credits: etojiviefoto

“Here’s visual proof that shows how quickly time passes. Everybody changes and matures right before our eyes, even though we feel like we haven’t changed at all. It’s impossible to stop time; all we can do is to try and capture these moments on camera.”

Image credits: etojiviefoto

In the meantime, his brother has already graduated from university. Perhaps it‘s time for another update? Have you ever compared your fresh pictures side by side with your younger self? Let us know in the comments how much you’ve changed!