Cancelled - Hold Still

Hello, is that Niaz? Yes, good afternoon. Hello, very nice to chat to you. I just want to say a huge thank you for sending in your photograph. We thought it was fantastic. Thank you so much for basically selecting the photo. I was thrilled to take part in it. You've clearly got an amazing interest in photography. It was really, really inspiring. I thought the briefs were really good. Rummy is sitting right here with me. Rummy, hello! I feel I know you so well just by looking at the photograph. I think it's so important you know that your mum's really highlighted how much young people have been affected by lockdown and all the disruptions that you had with work and with school and everything. How's it been for you and your friends? Has it been a difficult time? It's been quite difficult. In my last year of school, I went through my A-level, which is kind of what the photo relates to. The photo was actually taken on the day that was supposed to be my last day of A-level. Instead of that pretty weird feeling at the end of school, sort of feeling like you can celebrate at the end of the year exams and sort of a period of your life being at school and things, and a new phase of your life, none of you have been able to do that, have you? We had a virtual graduation, which was very strange. It was a bit odd. Very strange. But it's been okay. We found it was really important, and I think the judging panel too, to tell the story of young people because obviously there's been so much disruption, but also making sure and highlighting the support that they and you all need as well, and not to forget that as well. How do you feel young people are managing with all this change? William and I are really interested in mental health. How do you feel it's affected everybody? To be honest, with mental health, it hasn't been great. A lot of them have struggled. But I think it's weird because I think people have become more open about it because it's so common now that people are going to struggle with it, and it's natural to struggle with it in these circumstances. Absolutely, yeah, because everyone's sort of experienced something together in a way, so there's no shame in talking about it, and that's what we've been really keen to do is break that stigma and try to start conversations around mental health, which it's great to hear that people are a lot more open about it. And tell me, is your mum a very good photographer? Does she take lots of photographs of you, or is this one moment in time for you as a family? Yeah, she takes a lot of photographs all the time to the point that sometimes they don't get any. Actually, I think I was in a really bad mood that day. She had to bribe me with pizza. And Niaz, what inspired you? What made you want to try and be part of this particular project? How did you hear about it? Well, I've come to photography quite late. I just completed my MA at LCC. Oh, wow. So I sort of keep a lookout, and I read all the magazines, and I heard about it, I think, on Instagram, and I had actually been going around London just photographing the city, and at first it was quite inspiring, but then it became quite boring because it all just looked the same. And then when this came, I just thought, I really want to take part. And there were a couple of shots I had of different scenes that could have worked, and I just thought, this is one, you know, the young, the story of sort of this class of 2020. I just felt that it had been overlooked, and I thought, you know what, it's best to just maybe send this in. So that was the story behind it, and I was actually shocked when it got picked. And compositionally, it was fantastically composed as well. Thank you very much. I need to get some tips off you, obviously. Not at all, not at all. But when I showed it to one of my tutors, I was so nervous. I said, it's actually been picked. Well, thank you both. No, we're really keen to highlight the different experiences across the nation, and it's been lovely to chat to you both today. Thank you so much. It's been so lovely speaking to you. Thank you. Best wishes to your family. Romy, good luck with your studying. Thank you. Take care. Bye-bye.