It was merely an exercise in documenting her form in a beautiful way. My only instructions from her were to make sure she was not identifiable in the images. (After seeing the images, she was so excited about them, she didn’t mind people knowing it was HER in the photos) She was willing to do anything I asked of her during our photo session. When I later reviewed the images on my computer, I knew I was looking at something very special. It was when I began exhibiting the work that the idea to continue the series was born. The response to the images has been remarkable. Viewers are visibly moved by what they are looking at. Whether it’s wondering, “is this what I’m going to look like?” or remembering a loved one – the response seems to be universally emotional on some level. After a very successful first year of showing the work, the project sat dormant in my hard drive for three years until it was brought back to life by a writer from an online photography magazine, Feature Shoot. After it was shown on that site, it “went viral” and has since been featured on websites and in publications around the globe. The images themselves have been viewed millions of times now by uncountable numbers of people. The first question I get from everyone seems to be, “How did you get these models?” The first one came to me. The others have certainly been more difficult, although most of them have come to me through a known resource like a granddaughter or family friend. After the project went viral, I’ve had people contact me from around the globe to volunteer for modeling. I am still actively working on this project and am interested in talking to anyone 100 or over who is interested in modeling. Aside from the images themselves, the intersection of meeting my models and both of us taking that leap from chatting to making images of their bodies is where the excitement lies. It’s that moment and the mutual trust that comes from the experience that is evidenced in the intimacy of the images.
