A SIMPLE photo snapshot taken by a child fills the screen.

"I saw the cloud and took the picture because it reminded me of my daddy," a little voice explains.

"He is up in heaven.

"Daddy, I want you to know I still love you will all my heart."

The message is simple and straight from the heart, and it packs a punch just as powerful -- if not more -- than the glorious selection of masterpieces painted by some of the world's most celebrated artists of history which hang in the next room.

The 10-year-old girl's photograph is one of many compiled for a special project to run alongside the celebrated Family Fortunes exhibition visiting the Bolton Museum and Art Gallery.

It is on tour from the National Gallery, London, and focuses on family life. Artists, including Degas, Hogarth, Gainsborough, Hals and Stubbs, are included and the theme is simple -- families, parenting and children.

And to show just how relevant this theme is, youngsters from Top o' th' Brow Primary School were invited to take pictures relating to their families.

Each child was given a disposable camera by the Breightmet Arts project team, and told to take photographs of whatever they wanted. Pictures were compiled and filmed one after another for a slide show. The youngsters then provide the commentary on why they took each individual photograph and what it means to them.

The result is a sometimes funny, often poignant, but totally absorbing portrait of family life.

It contrasts, yet still holds surprising comparisons with the stunning collection of colourful work adorning the walls in the gallery's rooms next door.

We hear from Jonathan, aged nine, whose picture of his bedroom holds tales of hidden toys; Marianne, 10, tells us her picture of sister, Natalie, was taken because "deep down she is a very nice person".

Pictures of mums and friends follow. There are baby brothers, scruffy bedrooms, warm living rooms, and some, more basic living conditions. But all the while, the youngsters cheerfully narrate their stories.

The sunset, one 10-year-old little boy tells us, reminds him of his dog, his grandad and grandma, who have all died. But then comes comes the steady voice of the small girl, aged 10, who with her simple image of the cloud brings a silent end to the remarkable film.

Two stars of the show were Mark Fairhurst and Elizabeth O'Neill, both aged 10. Elizabeth said: "It was my first time using a camera. I really enjoyed it because I got to annoy my mum.

Postcards

"She didn't like the picture I took of her. The photographs are going to be turned into postcards and if my mum sees one of her I think she will rip it up."

Mark added: "I liked using the camera. I got to arrange my mum and dad just how I wanted them, which was good."

Mr Michael Wilson, head of exhibitions at London's National Gallery watched the film. After, he said: "The children were shown photographs of the pictures which were going to be exhibited. They had two or three sessions discussing them. This end result really does show how the pictures inspired these children.

"This is a very powerful film. Some of the paintings on display are about absences within families and it is clear that this too has been taken on board by the children."

The slide show runs in a room adjacent to the main Family Fortunes exhibition, on show in Bolton Museum and Art Gallery until June 24.