Artist: Kevin Rose Schultz     |     Title: In Her Garden

This is my very dear friend and mentor, Yin-Rei Hicks, in her flower garden in front of her home. I first photographed Yin-Rei in her garden in 1999.  I took this photo last summer on my weekly visit to her house.  I have been helping her to write a book about her life with her father, General Chu, who was a military man in the National Republic of China during very turbulent times.  Yin-Rei is a nature lover, artist, and teacher.  I have been visiting her for over 24 years.  On this day in May, I found her tending to her flowers.   

Yin-Rei has inspired me, my mother, and my daughter to pursue our love of visual arts. She taught art in the public schools for over 20 years and inspired students with her ceramics, paintings, and drawings.  Yin-Rei gave me my first teaching job in a special summer arts program that she coordinated and directed when I was in the eighth grade.  She found out that our little country school did not teach art in the elementary classes and decided to organize a program where kids in the community could make art.  It was a great experience and I even got to teach a macrame class.  Years later, she mentored me to go back to school after turning forty, to get my Master of Arts in Teaching.  Amazingly, we were able to teach together at New Albany High School for one year before she retired.

At ninety years old, Yin-Rei continues to support the arts in our community.  She sponsors art awards in the annual Secondary Art Show for the New Albany Floyd County Schools, where she was a teacher and sponsors scholarships in her hometown at Henryville High School.  These awards are life changing and encourage young people to pursue their passions. 

Yin-Rei is an inspiring woman whom I greatly admire.

kevin.r.schultz@twc.com

Artist: Leslie Cieplechowicz     |     Title: Flower Seller

I was visiting the country of Georgia and while shooting images in downtown Tbilisi, I came across this flower seller setting up in the early morning hours. For the time I was there, every morning at 5:30 am she was on the corner, arranging her bouquets. I took her picture, struck by the beautiful blooms around her and also by her fortitude to come every morning at the crack of dawn to sell. She is like so many older women, still working to support themselves and their families, retirement but a fleeting notion, much life myself.

blackdog0112@yahoo.com

Artist: Nancy Rubin     |     Title: Julia Montrond, 90 Years Old

“I’ve slowed down considerably but can’t imagine not moving. —Julia Montrond, 90 years old
I’ve always been taken for younger than I am, a fact that I attribute to lifelong exercising of body and mind. I don’t just mean the dancing I have done since I was a young girl, or the yoga I have practiced for years, or the walks I take around the Berkeley Marina. I also exercise my mind. I learn new things almost every day. I also keep up with technology; I play along with Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.
If you were to ask me my secret to staying youthful, I would have to say my involvement in the arts. I’m a painter and continue to enter art shows. From my youthful dancing to participating in a wide variety of other cultures throughout my adult life, I've been restored and inspired and motivated by the arts.
___________________________
“I never imagined I would exercise daily.”—Nancy Rubin, 77 years old
At the beginning of the pandemic, I began an exercise routine of walking every day. It turns out, I was able to make it so much fun that it has become the most consistent form of exercise I have ever done.
What has made this so enjoyable and has motivated me to continue is a simple game I played with my sister and a friend. We set a daily goal of finding certain things on our walks, taking photos to prove our discovery, and sharing those photos with one another. So even though I was walking alone, I felt connected to others. 
I wondered about other older folks and what motivates them. In 2021 I took my camera and began looking for an answer to my questions. I found many men and women, ages 70 to 95, all with their own, personal exercise regimens. From pickleball to tai chi, yoga to lawn bowling, these old people put to rest the stereotype of grandma in her rocker watching TV. 
Julia is one of 17 people I photographed for my project FOREVER FIT: Exercising for Life. It is my hope - that seeing photos of active old folks - will motivate others who may believe they are too old to be forever fit. 
Through my photography I hope to educate and inspire. 

Artist: Michael Paras     |     Title: Commencement

This was an image I shot for the commencement of a university in New Jersey. This emotional moment of a senior African-American woman celebrating her amazing accomplishment with her classmates.

Artist: Cynthia Abatt     |     Title: Chris-Rebuilds Puerto Rico

Chris was one of a selfless and purpose-driven group of mostly women volunteers who rose to the challenge of helping to rebuild Puerto Rico, which is still in a state of disrepair years after hurricane Maria.

Chris arrived ready to work with boundless energy, polished carpentry skills and an absolute can-do attitude. Here you see her working on the site of a concrete block home that was completely rebuilt by this group during their one week stay.

Hurricane Maria caused 90 billion dollars in damage, much of which is still not repaired. To this day, the residents of Puerto Rico count on volunteers as an essential part of rebuilding the island.

In telling this story I photographed a wide range of emotions - from hopelessness and despair to elation and tears of gratitude. This image of Chris shows us her personal resolve to be an agent of change.

Artist: Michael Paras     |     Title: Farm Life

During a video shoot; this image was shot at a horse farm in northern New Jersey. The strong color around bring the viewer to the focus point the portrait of Keaton who runs a drug rehab center in New Jersey.

Artist: Al Wasco     |     Title: Triumph

Two years ago, I met a remarkable woman who taught me why we need to stay fit as we grow older. Not so that we look good, or feel virtuous, but so that we can remain independent and active as long as possible. So, we can get on the floor with our grandkids—and get up again.

Barb, a retired nurse, turned 80 this year. Six days a week she sweats through an hour-long Cross fit workout. She walks everywhere in her hometown of Bowling Green, Ohio, logging 3-10 miles a day. I'm in awe of her dedication to her goal of staying as strong as possible, fighting the inevitable physical losses of age.

I spent one morning with her at the gym. She was at least 40 years older than her gym buddies. I watched her lift, jump and row her way through a strenuous routine. Her hand weights may have been lighter, her box jumps not as high, her rope-jumping a bit slower. But she did it with as much enthusiasm and effort as the youngest and strongest person in the gym.

Her coach said: "Barb is a badass. She's turning eighty today, still leading the way."

Another gym regular wrote on Facebook: "I aspire to be like Barb when I'm 80. She says physical activity and nutrition have always been part of her life and it's what she enjoys. Remembering to keep this a priority and being an example for my kids to have physical activity as a regular part of their life."

My photo Triumph is a tribute to her dedication. 

Artist: Lothar Troller     |     Title: Linda Blue Wall

Age is not "just a number." It depends on her attitude. Older women can be as attractive as they want. French women for example are known for "wearing their wrinkles with pride."

From a photographer perspective we just want to show their beauty no matter what age. Linda is in her 70s, she has her issues, but she doesn't let these issues define her.

Artist: Aimee McCrory     |     Title: Celestial Beings

ROLLERCOASTER/ Scenes from a Marriage In the height of the pandemic, I had an idea for an image to make while in isolation. It was an experiment that would express my fear of losing my husband, Don – which is something that began to weigh on me during a time when so many were losing loved ones. I decided to create a photograph. The image was so compelling that I decided to make another. And another. At this point, I had no agenda, but only an impulse to move forward. In retrospect, I believe I was searching for “the truth” and was compelled to reveal both the ordinary and the extraordinary moments of being 42 years married and into our 70s. Don's willingness to participate in this project was tentative, but I had a feeling I might be able to entice him to participate. I began to pay close attention to our environment and our day-to-day activities for inspiration. I began to deeply observe how we interacted with each other. Don slowly and often begrudgingly began to step into his role. This often resulted in photographs that felt like scenes from a Woody Allen or Alfred Hitchcock film. Dry, sarcastic, humorous moments emerged — As did mysterious, thriller-like scenarios that often terrified my viewers. The happy surprise that was revealed through his resistance is that it solidified the nature of his character in the narrative. Each picture began with a storyboard. From there I proceeded to develop strategies for staging, lighting, wardrobes, and finally making the photographs. The whole process was emotionally and physically very energetic and complex. I realized early on that this would draw heavily upon my theatre background and took on a multiplicity of roles including screenwriter, director, actor, and photographer. The making of "Scenes from a Marriage' has been an extraordinary ride. Gratefully, though this process we have grown as individuals and closer as a couple. As this body of work takes a deep breath and as I share it with the world, I am aware of a sense of loss. The making of these photographs is something we have done together for two years now, and it was a rich experience. We laughed, cried, fought, and most of all we loved.

Artist: Marissa Nicole Stewart     |     Title: Daughter Mother Daughter

I come from a line of strong women in my family, often the head of households and the glue keeping everyone together. I’ve always been close with the women in my family but until a few years ago I never explored them as the unique individuals they are apart from being “my mother, my aunt, my grandmother” and what it meant to be Charlotte, Beverly, and Lillie. In this exploration I wanted to push what we think of as the traditional Family Album, as often times the photos encased are those of youth, smooth skin, and vibrancy. I wanted to make photos of generations, aging, wrinkles, visual history, and life. As a way to celebrate life lived, celebrate what aging truly means and give value to images of a 93 years  old grandmother who survived The Great Depression, a 70 years old aunt who lived through the Civil Rights Movement and a 55 years old mother who watched her brothers fight in the Vietnam War. They hold the history of their lives in their wrinkles, scars, and salt-n-pepper hair.

Artist: Arash Afshar     |     Title: Phoenix Syndrome

Dylan had shared with me that he was anticipating this potentially being the last time he would see his grandfather. Grandpa kept an impressive level of energy and worked full-time as a rental car delivery driver pretty much till the very end, when he transitioned at the age of 88 in early 2023. Dylan flew back up to Santa Cruz to deliver his eulogy. What I most deeply appreciate about this moment is Grandpa and Grandma‘s legitimate interest in what Dylan is showing them. They're not just being polite; they are legitimately curious. This is something I've never experienced with my own father or grandparents so it stands out to me. As I interact with more folks aging, I've been toying with the idea that sadness is less an aspect of the physical death experience... It is the loss of curiosity, which I find most tragic. 

Knowing is the opposite of curiosity. The single most important aspect of aging which I've found we can still have some semblance of control over is our choice to continue being curious. When we have given up being curious, we have given up on living. To me, the main character of the story in this image is that look of curiosity in grandpa‘s eyes. I think curiosity is possibly what some of these legends are referring to when they describe the fountain of youth. I am only 41 but in that dark chapter I referenced earlier, what I recognized in myself is that I was slipping into a disease of 'Knowing'. Certainty can be surprisingly soul crushing. So, I intentionally made the decision to throw myself back into curiosity and I can report that the level of joy, pleasure and excitement which I am deriving from my day-to-day has truly had an exponential resurgence. I am experiencing a level of consistent joy which I could not have conceived of just a couple of years ago.

This past year of art and events and music videos and Burning Man was a pretty big adventure to be sure. I've had some major breakthroughs as a professional photographer, but I found myself returning to this iPhone snap often. It is a powerful confirmation photographer Chase Jarvis's proclamation that "the best camera is the one you have with you." 

Artist: Yin Li Ting     |     Title: With Friend

This photo was one of the final project photos from my 2019 studio-lighting photography course. On the right side is Wei Su Rui, an 86-year-old chef who is also illiterate. On the left side is her kitchen companion, Liu Shi Yi, who is 84 years old. After retiring over a decade ago, they made a choice to serve as volunteers in the kitchen at Chan Meditation Center. With their wrinkled hands, they selflessly dedicate themselves to cooking, silently contributing to the center. Their presence enables everyone participating in the meditation activities at Chan Center to focus solely on their practice. With each meal they prepare, I savor the most exquisite flavor of humanity - compassion.

In my personal belief, true beauty is rooted in kindness, and kindness is founded on authenticity. Thus, beauty transcends age, occupation, and social status, etc. My aim is to capture the natural essence of these individuals through my photographs. To conclude the final lighting project, the intention to capture the natural essence of individuals led me to instantly envision the faces of Su Rui and Shih Yie. Intrigued by their wisdom and perspective on life at their age, I asked them if they were apprehensive about facing mortality. 

To my surprise, they responded with fearlessness. Inspired by their courage, I invited them to the college’s studio, where I prepared commemorative photos for their farewell. This is the story behind this photograph.

Artist: Mikhail Gubin     |     Title: Two Loving Hearts

In this project. I want to share with the audience the story of the relationship between two close people. This is the story of a mature woman, into whose life a girl broke in, turning her life upside down, enriching her life, making more interesting. This is the story of two loving heart grandmother and granddaughter.

Artist: Rory Hejtmanek     |     Title: Omi And Abbie

A photograph from my sixteen-year fine art photography work, documenting my family. This project explores themes of belonging, gender, grief and ancestry.

Artist: Sara Allen     |     Title: Self Before Self Portrait

During COVID, I sought to create situations in which gesture, light, and composition communicated my feelings
of sadness and a quiet pensiveness about this time of isolation. | sought as well to show the landscape of my aging body, especially as I turned 80. As this exploration continued, the project became less about aging itself and more about the expressiveness of the human body no matter the age. I seek to have others understand that the human body offers consolation in the beauty of life itself. The images become a kind of connection not only between the artist and herself but also between the artist and the viewer who is responding to the photographs.

I hope that the emotions and experiences I am exploring extend well beyond my personal sphere and evoke new insights and understandings that are deeply personal and go far beyond this moment in time. hope that viewers can find a lot of themselves in what I have shown.

sarallen42@gmail.com, 215 2482947, 267 9711688, saraallen42photography.com, 7120 Cresheim Rd, Philadelphia PA USA 19119 19119

Artist: David Cohen     |     Title: String Of My Heart

David shared: “my focus is on her intense focus...the strings of her heart. The strings of her passion. It is through that lifelong long of her music that we see her now. For that is how she sees herself. A woman determined to never stop discovering new moments of joy through these strings before her. Life goes on. Hair may turn grey.

But her love for her harp is a constant. And she feels blessed to be able to share it with the world.”

Artist: Colleen Hennessy     |     Title: Vicky at Van Gogh

I had the honor of participating in a 5 weeks residency during the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit in Denver. Close to my art display was "The Green Room." One day Vicky came to see the Van Gogh presentation, all dressed up in a jacket and gloves with Van Gogh's famous "Starry Night" printed on them. Vicky is blessed with 17 grandchildren and great grandchildren. An artist herself, Vicky Walker is a bundle of energy. The Green Room seemed like the perfect setting for capturing this beautiful woman.

Artist: Cynthia Abatt     |     Title: Commissioner Elow Reflects

As a strong, powerful woman, Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow’s ability to forge thoughtful, respectful relationships with the diverse community of Cambridge, MA has made her an exemplary leader and a role model for women and girls - especially young women and girls of color.

Commissioner Elow has been with the Cambridge Police Department since 1995; before that she faced the challenges of being a woman of color in the Navy.

During her rise up the ranks, she chose to tackle the toughest issues of a metropolitan police department - addressing the needs of the city’s youth and families, the homeless population, those suffering from chronic mental illness, and senior adults. She created collaborative partnerships with city departments, community-based organizations, and social service providers to best care for the complex needs of the most challenged.

Commissioner Elow has the distinction of being the first woman to lead the Cambridge Police Department in more than 160 years - since its inception in 1859.

Veterans’ Day is for solemn remembrance - honoring the fallen and recognizing those who served. This image of Navy Veteran Elow at the City’s Veterans’ Day Observance allows us to see some of the complexity of thoughts and feelings in those personal, reflective moments.

Artist: Lisa Link     |     Title: Josie At Her Easel

Statement These submissions are two portraits of 80+-year-old Josie S., in action. She has a passion for her artwork and is always developing as an artist, even in her 80s, joining an online artist group and pushing the boundaries of her style and selling her work. She is a quiet person and observes everything. Her studio has been in the garage of her home for over 50 years. With these photos I wanted to capture the inner action of a female artist, concentrating, in the silence of her creative space and counteracting stereotypes of older women as forgetful or unfocussed.