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portraiture

Golden Years

13 side-by-side portraits of people over 100 with their younger selves

These powerful before-and-after photos reveal just how beautiful aging can be.

via Jan Langer/Aktualne

Jan Langer's incredible photos are timeless.

Czech photographer Jan Langer's portrait series "Faces of Century" shows them in a different light: as human beings aged by years of experience, but at their deepest level, unchanged by the passing of time. In the series, Langer juxtaposes his portraits with another portrait of the subject from decades earlier. He recreates the original pose and lighting as closely as he can — he wants us to see them not just as they are now, but how they have and haven't changed over time. That is the key to the series.

These are the rare faces of people who have lived through two world wars, a cavalcade of regimes, and the rush of advancements in modern life. These photos, and the stories of the lives lived by the people in them, show not only the beauty of aging, but how even as we age, we still remain essentially ourselves.

1. Prokop Vejdělek, at age 22 and 101

All photos by Jan Langer.

Vejdělek is a former metallurgical engineer who will never forget the taste of warm fresh goat's milk.

2. Bedřiška Köhlerová, at age 26 and 103

Originally born in Merano, Italy, Köhlerová wishes to visit Italy one more time.

3. Ludvík Chybík, at age 20 and 102

Chybík is a former postal carrier and says he will never forget the route he worked every day.

4. Vincenc Jetelina, at age 30 and 105

Jetelina spent eight years in prison after World War II. Now, he just wants to live the rest of his life in peace.

5. Marie Fejfarová, at age 101

Fejfarová burned all her material memories, including old photographs, when she decided to move to a long-term care facility. She lived a dramatic life, hiding from the Nazis and then the Russians, but eventually she was able to travel the world with her husband. Her experiences show there's no such thing as too late in life to start a new chapter.

6. Antonín Kovář, at age 25 and 102

Kovář is a former musician whose daughter comes to visit him every day. He wishes to play the clarinet once more.

7. Anna Vašinová, at age 22 and 102

Vašinová will always remember the day her husband was taken away by the Nazis. She wishes to be reunited with him after death.

8. Stanislav Spáčil, at age 17 and 102

Spáčil was an electrical engineer throughout his life and thinks that it's too early in his life to think about the past.

9. Anna Pochobradská, at age 30 and 100

Pochobradská was a farmer. She now lives a quiet life and is thankful that her daughter visits her every weekend.

10. Antonín Baldrman, at age 17 and 101

Baldrman was a clerk early in life and keeps up with current events by reading the newspaper.

11. Marie Burešová, at age 23 and 101

Burešová loves talking to her family and wishes to have them all together again.

12. Vlasta Čížková, at age 23 and 101

Čížková cooked in the dining room at the airport in the small village of Vodochody. She'll never forget reciting her own poetry at wedding ceremonies.

13. Ludmila Vysloužilová, at age 23 and 101

Vysloužilová stays active every day by chopping wood, shoveling snow, and doing work around her house.

The photographer Langer was initially inspired to document the lives of elderly people because of what he saw as the media's lack of coverage of them. He decided to focus on people over the age of 100 — a very rare demographic indeed. The 2010 U.S. Census reported only 53,364 centenarians, which is only 0.19% of the population of people 70 years or older.

“One should live every single moment according to their best knowledge and conscience because one day we will see clearly what has a real value," Langer says of what he learned from his subjects while photographing them.

The series was originally part of a story that Langer did for the Czech news outlet aktuálně.cz. You can see more photos from the portrait sessions by following the link.

This article originally appeared seven years ago.

From Your Site Articles

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Linda Hansen got her start doing commercial photography in Denmark. But she knew she wanted to use her camera for more than just selling products.

After experimenting with a few different projects (she once traveled the country photographing and interviewing other women named Linda Hansen!), it was a conversation with an old friend that sparked what would become her most important work to date.

Hansen's friend, a woman she had known since childhood, had a unique and distinctive birthmark on her face (called nevus flammeus nuchae or sometimes a "port wine stain"). They'd often talk about how people reacted seeing her on the street and some of the strange (and mean) comments she'd get.

"I got the idea that I have to take photos. I have to meet and talk with these people," Hansen says.

Hansen began searching for more people like her friend for a series of portraits. Surprisingly, they were incredibly easy to find.

A casual casting call on Facebook got shared hundreds of times. Hansen started noticing people on the street who might fit the bill. Friends and acquaintances connected her with potential models.

Seemingly everyone knew someone with a birthmark they'd be proud to contribute to her project. (According to WebMD, about 1 in 300 babies are born with some form of the condition).

All photos by Linda Hansen, used with permission.

In her portraits, Hansen aims to challenge how we all see and treat each other. And ourselves.

One of the models, a man, was extremely nervous. He had only let people photograph him from his "good side" for as long as he could remember. And only in black and white.

A head-on, color portrait filled him with dread. But he pushed through.

"I was really surprised what people can say to each other. [The models] get a lot of rude comments," Hansen says. "Sauce face, pizza face." And that's not the worst of it.

She says doesn't understand how we can celebrate the beautiful uniqueness of, say, tattoos but look away from nature's own marks.

In her photos, Hansen challenges us to not look away. To not stare or sneak a glance. But to truly see and eventually see past the things that make us different.

"When we know each other well, the way we look isn't important anymore," she says. "So much worry about how we look, for who? For people we don't know."

She says society tells us we all need to be alike. Photoshopped models and celebrities convey the message "No wrinkles, no scars, no spots, no nothing," Hansen says.

"We all have our small differences, and that's what makes us human and unique."

All in all, Hansen took 32 portraits and compiled them into a book, called "Naevus Flammeus."

She's hoping the portraits, along with notes on the history of birthmarks and discussion of how (and, more importantly if) they should be treated, will make us all more aware of what makes us different; whether it's a birthmark, a scar, a set of wrinkles, or even something unseen by the naked eye altogether.

Because what makes us different is ultimately what makes us human.

Photographer Chris Crisman is constantly looking for people doing unexpected things.

When he heard about Heather Thomason, a woman who had recently left her career as a web designer in New York City to become a butcher in Philadelphia, he knew he had to get a shot of her in action.

"[Being a butcher] is just always seen as a male role," says Crisman over the phone. "Or at least depicted as a male role."

All photos by Chris Crisman, used with permission.

In his photography, Crisman specializes in dazzling hero portraits of people in their natural environments.

"I’m shooting in a very heroic light," Crisman explains. "Whether it's in the lighting, the composition, how people sit in the frame ... that’s kind of how I’ve always done portraiture. I’m trying to depict them in a way that is strong."

Crisman began photographing other women in other male-dominated roles and collecting the images in a series called "Women's Work."

Women like Mira Nakashima, a woodworker from New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Christina Burris, a professional beer brewer and operations manager at Saint Benjamin Brewing Company in Philadelphia.

Nancy Poli, a pig farmer at Stryker Farm in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.

Alison Goldblum, a property developer in Philadelphia.

Sadie Samuels, a lobster fisher from Rockport, Maine.

Beth Beverly, a taxidermist from Philadelphia.

Mindy Gabriel, a firefighter in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

And Carol Warn, the leach pad operator at Marigold Mining Company in Nevada.

Shooting at Round Mountain Gold Mine in Nevada, Crisman says he was surprised at how much gender diversity existed in the workforce.

"It was really balanced," Crisman says. "There were a lot of women working on that site."

Women like Leeann Johnson, a haul truck driver.

Jordan Ainsworth, a mill operator.

And Kris Alvarez, senior geologist.

Through these portraits, Crisman hopes to break down the gender barriers that are built up by popular culture stereotyping certain jobs as being for people of certain genders.

For butchers, firefighters, and woodworkers, for example, there are archetypal pictures and illustrations that we see time and time again. "It's just always a man," Crisman says.

Crisman's photos challenge those archetypes in a visceral and immediately apparent way, and the response to his work has been overwhelming.

"I’m finding this project is really unifying and spirit-building," he says. "It means different things to different people. But I think all of the interpretations are impactful in a positive way."