Captured in Pictures

Beyond attracting researchers, this
age group has also caught the attention of photographers. Jerry
Friedman spent from 2000 to 2004 photographing 60 supercentenarians
around the world. Inspired by his experiences, he founded Earth’s Elders,
a nonprofit educational organization whose goal is to connect elders
with the young, in hopes of enriching the lives of both. The group
envisions fostering relationships between nursing homes and schools,
disenfranchised youth and inspired seniors, and marginalized seniors
and young children. Its goal is “to create one million connections
between the youngest and oldest among us.”

Friedman assembled
a photography exhibit that traveled to the United Nations and the
rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. The companion book, Earth’s Elders: The Wisdom of the World’s Oldest People (2005),
shares stories and thoughts from 50 of the elders. At the Earth’s
Elders site are portraits and brief stories of nine of them.

Another
photographer who has focused on supercentenarians is Mark Story, who
put together an exhibition titled “Living in Three Centuries: The Face
of Age,” featuring 60 portraits of elders from around the world taken
between 1987 and 2005. Though the next public exhibit won’t be until
2010, you can view some of the portraits at Mark Story Photography. He also published a companion book, Living in Three Centuries, in 2005 (available only at his Web site).