In pics: Student users power of Photoshop to create images of him with his younger self

The would-be time traveller spent six months doctoring his favourite family photos (Conor Nickerson)

AN American student has used Photoshop to travel back in time – into pictures with his younger self.

In a project called Childhood, Conor Nickerson, from Massachusetts, spent six months using the image-altering software to seamlessly gatecrash old family photos, and the results are exquisite.

Conor and his younger self on chairs outside — (Conor Nickerson)

Using images dated from 1997 to 2005, Conor describes the updated photo collection as “amusing, strange, and surprisingly introspective”.

“I’m pretty happy with how these came out,” Conor told the Press Association. “It’s pretty fun to think of myself just hanging out with little me!”

Conor is in his third year studying jazz at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, but also works as a photographer in the Canadian city.

Conor with his brother and younger self (Conor Nickerson)

Conor with his younger self on a train (Conor Nickerson)

Last year Conor made a project called Then and Now, which allowed viewers to slide between photos taken in the same place but up to a century apart – and this helped inspire his latest work.

“I got the idea to do Childhood while on spring break from University this year,” Conor told the Press Association. “I was looking through some old family photo albums and I was drawn to a few photos I hadn’t seen for a long time, mostly because they were just nice photos.”

“I thought it could be interesting to do something similar to the Then & Now photos but with myself.”

Conor playing music with his younger self (Conor Nickerson)

“My experience with Photoshop is watching YouTube videos and a lot of trial and error,” said Conor. “There was a lot of going back and retouching, but from start to finish I think the project took about six months of working on it in my spare time.”

Conor and his younger self opening presents (Conor Nickerson)

“My family definitely got a kick out of it, it was funny to see them react to the photos,” said Conor. “I really just wanted to see if I could pull it off and share it.”

Conor and his younger self in suits with sunglasses (Conor Nickerson) — (Conor Nickerson)

So, what next for this intrepid photographer-come-musician-come-time-traveller?

“Right now I’m back to schoolwork and some photography jobs on the side, so nothing in the works yet!” said Conor. “But there’s always some idea that comes along.”