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Photographer Photographs Her Friends In 2000 And Then In 2017 Again, Shows How Differently People Age
Blink, a day passes, blink, a year, two, ten. Time is an unstoppable force we have to live with and to highlight its passage, photographer Josephine Sittenfeld has recreated the portraits of her college classmates she took in 2000.
During those days, Sittenfeld was a junior at Princeton University. She took portrait photography shots of her friends on medium-format film, and the pictures eventually ended up collecting dust in her parents' closet. But last spring, as her fifteen-year college reunion was approaching, she remembered the cool photos and decided to do a then and now follow-up during the event.
The result is "Reunion," a series of before-and-after shots that have almost the same feel as class gatherings themselves. The photo series shows a fast-forwarded transformation of the individuals rather than a gradual long-term change. "At twenty, I felt something intangible, indescribable, full of energy," Sittenfeld's former roommate said during the friends' reunion. "Only now am I able to describe it—the ultimate sensing of life ahead." In the later shots, people in front of the lens look less resistant to their intimacy. Shoulders back, bodies less tense. Could it be because of the reminiscence of everything that came before, or is it how aging gracefully looks?
More info: josittenfeld.com | Instagram (h/t thenewyorker)
This post may include affiliate links.
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Friedlander Rosenzweig 8 years ago
I agree with you Jess. Hope 2018 is a great year for all of us!
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What do you think ?
Heather Moss 8 years ago
I really enjoyed this. I love seeing how people age. I'd love to see a follow up that shows aging in people with much harder lives than Princeton grads, though.
Zori the degu 8 years ago
These photos should be accompanied by a story. It's amazing how some of the classmates aged so much and others look almost the same. Also those missing people... I do hope they manage to contact them as well and see how they are doing. They were probably unable/didn't want to come but this doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't be interested in that project.
Sonja Alcock 8 years ago
I am doing this with the little kids in my Sunday School class. They have changed so much in a year and they can see how much they have done so by the pictures I've taken. Children change more rapidly that we adults, but in this series you really can see the difference 7 years makes.
Elina Kuusisto 8 years ago
I love this so much! Beautiful photos by themselves, and the project is so interesting. Thank you for sharing!
Lindsay Taylor 8 years ago
This is super cool to see. Most of them look so much the same! It's like they barely changed, just put on more mature clothes, haha :)
Andres Francia de Araujo 8 years ago
There´s something sad about seeing a person missing on a group photo.
Reagan Colbert 8 years ago
Im thinking the missing people passed away. The photos give that kind of statement, so if that wasn't the case it should have been noted. Couldn't they have been photoshopped in if they couldn't make it?
Lisa Panos Fullerton 8 years ago
Interesting how some of you have changed (aged gracefully) ... You all look great for 17 yrs having passed! I am curious about those missing in the pics. Have they passed on ... Or just chose not to participate this time?!
Tim Douglass 8 years ago
Really interesting collection, I have to say that I'm a bit surprised at the general lack of weight gain. I graduated in 1987 and most of my classmates (and me!) gained a lot more weight than this shows. Maybe the overall obesity problem in the country is turning a corner?
Hayley Lightcap 8 years ago
I don't know why but this reminded me of how in It all the kids got back together after 15 years
Tiari 8 years ago
Can anyone enlighten me why several persons are wearing blouses and shirts made of the same red-white checkered fabric in the 2017 pictures? Men as well as women? Is this some kind of American tradition?
Edin Chavez 8 years ago
This is crazy but awesome. I wish I knew what I looked like 17 years ago...
Debbie Andersson 8 years ago
Interesting to see that in most of the photos they seem to have grown confidence, they found themselves and stopped doubting like youngsters often do.
Sarina Doron Kalandarov 8 years ago
Wow, thank you so much for this. It shows how people change through life. I guess most of the girls became moms. Their faces have matured so much. So have the guys faces.
criminalgirl 8 years ago
They all had one thing in common in their second photo's, confidence.
Heather Moss 8 years ago
I really enjoyed this. I love seeing how people age. I'd love to see a follow up that shows aging in people with much harder lives than Princeton grads, though.
Zori the degu 8 years ago
These photos should be accompanied by a story. It's amazing how some of the classmates aged so much and others look almost the same. Also those missing people... I do hope they manage to contact them as well and see how they are doing. They were probably unable/didn't want to come but this doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't be interested in that project.
Sonja Alcock 8 years ago
I am doing this with the little kids in my Sunday School class. They have changed so much in a year and they can see how much they have done so by the pictures I've taken. Children change more rapidly that we adults, but in this series you really can see the difference 7 years makes.
Elina Kuusisto 8 years ago
I love this so much! Beautiful photos by themselves, and the project is so interesting. Thank you for sharing!
Lindsay Taylor 8 years ago
This is super cool to see. Most of them look so much the same! It's like they barely changed, just put on more mature clothes, haha :)
Andres Francia de Araujo 8 years ago
There´s something sad about seeing a person missing on a group photo.
Reagan Colbert 8 years ago
Im thinking the missing people passed away. The photos give that kind of statement, so if that wasn't the case it should have been noted. Couldn't they have been photoshopped in if they couldn't make it?
Lisa Panos Fullerton 8 years ago
Interesting how some of you have changed (aged gracefully) ... You all look great for 17 yrs having passed! I am curious about those missing in the pics. Have they passed on ... Or just chose not to participate this time?!
Tim Douglass 8 years ago
Really interesting collection, I have to say that I'm a bit surprised at the general lack of weight gain. I graduated in 1987 and most of my classmates (and me!) gained a lot more weight than this shows. Maybe the overall obesity problem in the country is turning a corner?
Hayley Lightcap 8 years ago
I don't know why but this reminded me of how in It all the kids got back together after 15 years
Tiari 8 years ago
Can anyone enlighten me why several persons are wearing blouses and shirts made of the same red-white checkered fabric in the 2017 pictures? Men as well as women? Is this some kind of American tradition?
Edin Chavez 8 years ago
This is crazy but awesome. I wish I knew what I looked like 17 years ago...
Debbie Andersson 8 years ago
Interesting to see that in most of the photos they seem to have grown confidence, they found themselves and stopped doubting like youngsters often do.
Sarina Doron Kalandarov 8 years ago
Wow, thank you so much for this. It shows how people change through life. I guess most of the girls became moms. Their faces have matured so much. So have the guys faces.
criminalgirl 8 years ago
They all had one thing in common in their second photo's, confidence.
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