The 100

In case you didn’t spot it via our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Homepage (yes, we do try and be complete), #32: Kim Taylor Bennett‘s images are now online.
As @theKTB herself mentioned on Twitter, these images feature a whole host of her friends, and we think they’re a sparkling set of photos – some fantastic images.
It just goes to show, whilst they’re not amazing cameras, disposables do have the ability to capture amazing moments, as Kim’s film demonstrates.

Check out Kim’s images, and if you’re one of the ages we’re still looking for, sign up to take part.

Things are starting to step up now, in the past few days, we’ve shared cameras from:

#65 – Sonja Benskin Mesher

#66 – Jaqueline Laffont

#15 – Hannah van Aelstyn

We’ve also said hello to:

#32 – Kim Taylor Bennett

#18 – Ella Tanqueray

As far as the rest of the ages are concerned, here are some additional stats:

We’ve had over 1500 applications, around 600 of which have sent through the additional data.

Over 80% of the years have been applied for – the missing ages are: 73, 77, 79, 81, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 93, 95-100

The most popular ages are: 24, 27, 21, 20, 30

We have applicants from over 30 countries across the globe.

We’ve introduced 22 of The 100, of which 5 cameras have been posted.

So, as you can see, there is still a need to help us find The 100, especially for ages 70+

Only 22 of The 100 have been selected, so, please, if your age hasn’t been introduced yet, apply, as you’ll be in with a chance to being part of the project.

And, watch this space – for all of you who applied for an age, but were not selected, we have something for you coming up in the next month or two.

Say hello to #15: Hannah van Aelstyn

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I live in San Francisco, California, USA with my brother and my two families: my mom’s with my stepdad, and my dad’s with my stepmom. I have two kitties; one is very fat and one is very old. I’m a high school student at a public academic magnet school in the city, so it’s a really pressurized environment and can get pretty stressful at times. But I put off imploding by practicing synchronized skating, a discipline of ice skating. I practice 5+ days a week and the sport is my life; I love it. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends around the city, getting us tangled into various odd adventures. San Francisco is just the right breed of quirky for adventures.

You can see Hannah’s full profile on her camera page.

We’re pleased to introduce the 19th member of The 100, Kim Taylor Bennett.

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I was born in San Francisco and moved to Europe when I was 11. I have scars all over my knees from being a tomboy as kid. When I was 18 I played guitar onstage with Green Day which remains the biggest adrenalin rush I’ve ever experienced. Changing schools and moving around as a child has confused my accent but broadened my horizons. I’m competitive when playing table football and basketball. No one ever guesses my ethnicity correctly. Everyday I wear something from my mom’s wardrobe. I love scary movies. Dancing like a dork is fun. I’m a music journalist and sometime presenter.

Visit Kim’s profile page, to read her full profile and where you’ll be able to see her images once they’re published.

So, we’re only three months into the project, but have already come up against a number of serious issues in running the project – mostly around the logistics of shipping cameras to and from people.
We’ve sent out around 15 cameras so far, to the UK, South America, Italy, USA, etc.

Sending the cameras has not been a problem, we’ve been using the Royal Mail’s wonderful ‘print your own postage’ service, which saves on licking stamps and hand writing shipping labels.

However, receiving them has been a major issue.

First of all, there is no standardised method of paying for international postage.

For the UK cameras, we’ve been including a pre-paid envelope, which people can just drop back into the post.
For the non-UK cameras, we’ve been liasing with each member of The 100 to sort out shipping the camera back using the best local mail service.

(If anyone knows of a solution to this, please, do let us know!)

In the case of #42 Pedro Infantas, who is based in Peru, he hasn’t even been allowed to send the camera back, his local post offices demanding to see a receipt of purchase of the original cameras, citing that it’s actually the UK Royal Mail who demand this. We’ve ended up getting the film developed locally, before it can return home.

Even within the UK, we’re having problems though.

We’ve got two cameras missing in action. Sent over three weeks ago in both cases, two cameras haven’t arrived yet. Perhaps stupidly, we haven’t been using registered post (the service in the UK which tracks your parcels), mostly due to cost (i’m about to write a post about our project running costs, so you’ll understand why) and partially due to simplicity (we can print postage and drop the cameras in the post if there is no registered post, but having your parcel tracked means having to go to the post office.. 100 times

I’m not sure whether they’ll turn up late, or if the Royal Mail are taking issue with the cameras for some reason. I know that, for instance, you cannot send disposable cameras via air-mail from Australia, due to the batteries contained within. I also know that Royal Mail do not allow certain types of batteries to be shipped not in their original packaging, but considering they arrived at the recipients okay, this seems odd.

And, #22 Kate Banahan’s camera even got opened by security at an airport – despite it only having traveled within the UK (who knows why it went to an airport?!)

If anyone has friends at Royal Mail who can help us find a more reliable way of shipping cameras around, do put them in contact with us. We’ll be trying to speak to them too, and seeing if they can help us in any way.

I hope this early high-failure rate doesn’t plague the rest of the project.

Our very good friend, #28 Charlotte Griffiths, owns our second camera to be shared, and her images are now online.

As ever, you can browse through all of her photos, and leave your own comment on each picture. We’ll be asking Charlotte to tell us more about each image in due course too.

Thanks to everyone else who applied for the #28 slot, but I’m sure you’ll agree, Charlotte’s snowy winter landscapes make some lovely viewing.

We’re very proud to announce the first of The 100 to have their camera returned and displayed is #22: Kate Banahan.

You can now browse through her images, and leave a comment or two.

Kate is the first of our community to have her camera go live, and from today, we’ll be both selecting and introducing new members of The 100, as well as regularly posting new cameras as they come in.

For those of you who applied for #22, but didn’t get selected, thanks for your interest, but keep in touch, as we’ll be letting you in to something you can still get involved in, pretty soon!

If you’ve visited The 100 project before, you’ll notice a large difference this week. We’ve launched our new site!

The site has been completely redesigned, ready to start sharing the images we’ve started receiving back from our first members.

You’ll be able to browse through all of the images, as well as leave comments, and get to know The 100 as we introduce them.

You can also share the site via Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.

Do let us know if you have any questions or feedback on the new site, and we look forward to posting the first set of images soon!

We’re very happy to introduce our first project partner, No Culture Icons, who will be developing all of our cameras for The 100.

They’re a great little independent lab and cultural coop based in Leeds, UK. We’re so grateful to have them as part of the project, and know they’ll take good care of our cameras.

Megan from NCI also emailed us today about the project, to feature on their blog.

http://www.nocultureicons.com/collective/interview-the-100-project.html

You can follow them via @ncifilmlab

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am a retired photographer, I worked for 50 years. I started when I was 12 helping a pioneer photographer in my hometown San Benedetto del Tronto (italy). I have been encouraged to lern the profession and the skills of a photographer rather than going to school. When I started again my studies the second world war broke and I had to go to the army. After the war I had no clue about what to do, I was disoriented. I decided to work as a photographer but I was forced to invent or bouild myself the tools that weren’t available at that time. I made an enlarger and other tools, I worked until 1991, with patience and and dedication always looking forward for new technological innovations.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 91 years so far?
I am proud of my 2 sons and 4 nephews that have been giving to me and y wife a lot of joy. I am also proud of being alway been able to improve my skills as a photographer updating my technique and following the technological advances.

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
I would like to remain capable of living with my wife without creating difficulties to my sons.
I would also like to read the whole holy Bible, keep on reading and learning new things.

What do you feel is the most significant thing that has changed in the world during your lifetime?
The second World War.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
Study the technique or engineering, research. This is what I would have like to be able to do.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am 44 this year. I have two fantastic daughters, one 10 and one is 7. I teach jewellery and art in a college. I don’t earn much money but am very happy with my family and my life.
I make observations of my own, then my children teach me, every day, to look at things I would otherwise not have noticed.
I make sculptures from wire and thread, which I work on at night.
I am also a “housewife”, by default. I am not good at this job, but treat it visually: I look at things like dust, fluff and mold with fascination.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 44 years so far?
Having two wonderful children.

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
Travel through India.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
It is 1978. You have a dog called Bilbo and a huge garden. You have a brand new red Raleigh bike. Your dad is a friend you spend time with washing the car and learning how to look after your bike. You wear shorts and Tee shirts and do not waste any time wondering if you look ok.
You run around bare foot and the only problem is an occasional bee sting. Your mum gives you homemade bread, homegrown vegetables and makes you any cake you want for your birthday.
You have the right amount of friends who all live within walking distance. You spend your days fishing with jam jars, swimming, cycling, walking the dog or going to the park.
My advice to you is to keep a little bit of this wrapped up, so you can look at it later, like a slice of cake you took home from a birthday party.

We’re sending out 12 more cameras today to The 100 – keep an eye out if you’ve been selected to take part.
We’re also expecting the first few cameras to start returning soon. #28 Charlotte already tweeted:

“About halfway through my @the_one_hundred camera…. Already forgetting what’s on there. Very excited to see the results!”

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I was born on 1930 in Veranópolis, an italian colony in the south of Brazil. At the age of 12, I had to leave home to learn the profession of a shoemaker. I met my wife, Geny, when I was 19, I was playing for a small soccer team and she used to watch our games. We got married three years later. In 1958, me, my wife and our two children, moved to Porto Alegre, the capital of our state. We didn’t know anyone there, but that was a chance for a better life. I learned how to be a locksmith and continued working as a shoemaker. We went through hard times, but we made it. We have 3 children, 5 grandchildren and a great life. I still work as a shoemaker and a locksmith, drink my glass of wine everyday and hanker for the moments when we can gather all the family.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 82 years so far?
Being married to Geny.

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
Just keep living well and build my life with my grandchildren.

What do you feel is the most significant thing that has changed in the world during your lifetime?
The life has changed for the better, undoubtedly. We now have access to schools, hospitals and all other basic services. Some time ago, those who lived in the colony barely had the primary school.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
To study hard. Besides that, keep going in adversity and make the same mistakes all over again, cause, in the end, it was worth it.

Tell us a little about Jaqueline (from Granddaughter, Emie):
Woman of the 60s and accomplished mother, I mostly see my grandmother with a big smile on her face while cooking meals from her country. She often talks about her childhood which seems to me very vivid and colorful. Despite her almost 66 she’s very “present-day” (I always try to steal her some clothe). She’s generous as most of the Grandmas I imagine and smart (I’m quite surprised sometimes). She experiences such things whom she can still relate with so many details! Holidays in campingcar around the Mediterranean, all the moves from onecity to another and the lot of anecdotes about Friends, parties, children… I dicover new facts each time I see her.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 66 years so far?
My children!

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
Return to Djerba: a small island in Tunisia where I was born and I spent my childhood.

What do you feel is the most significant thing that has changed in the world during your lifetime?
Contact and communication between people. Nowadays, the world spend too much time on virtual lives.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
To fulfill my dream, I would have liked to become a teacher. My mum and I were poor, she couldn’t pay me studies. So when I was old enough she send me to work. I regret it.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Born in Stockholm but currently living in Malmö, Sweden. Here I study Product Development and Design. My wish is to have a job where I can develop functional products that are easy to use for everyone.

I like to draw, sew and photograph (both analog and digital). One thing that makes me happy is when I find pretty things at flea markets, especially things from the 1950’s and 60’s.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 24 years so far?
Probably that I moved to a town where I didn’t know anyone and where I never been before.

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
I’m inspired by a lot of talented people. Someday I hope I will be an inspiration for someone else.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
Don’t quit playing piano when you’re thirteen. You will regret it.

Tell us a little about yourself
Happy childhood in England during World War II.
Off to sea in Merchant Navy and had a great time navigating super-tankers around the World for ten years 1956-‘66
Then management consultancy + hotel and shop ownership + editing books and magazines + pro photography + journalism … although not all at the same time.
Married with two children and two grand- children.
Have always lived on the sea or by the sea.
Now happily and healthily drifted into retirement with time to play with old non-digital cameras.
Feel I ought to learn Photoshop but have neither the funds nor the inclination. In my photos as in my life … what you see is what you get.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 74 years?
Taking the risky step of quitting a salaried job to go self employed way back in ’68 when it was almost unheard of in England.

What one thing you want to do before you reach 100?
Make a positive difference to at least one more life.

What piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
You can achieve whatever you want if you are prepared to invest the time and know what you really, really want.

It’s almost the end of the first month of the project, and here are some stats and figures from the project so far:

1008 people have applied to take part
415 provided their ‘more details’
27 people contacted to take part
14 of The 100 introduced via the blog
6 of the cameras sent out
87 ages have been applied for (13 missing still)
24 is our most popular age, with 61 applicants
13 is the youngest least popular age with only 1 applicant
66+ is the hardest bracket to find people in (18 applicants between 66 and 100)
20s is the most popular age bracket (376 applicants)
70-80%ish of applicants are female, still a substantial bias.

And we’ve got friends around the world. Of our selected 100 so far, we have members from UK, US, Italy, Chile, Singapore, and Holland.

Introducing Laith Beyhum (with a little help from his Dad, Toufic)

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
My name is Laith, it means young lion in Arabic. I’m quite a mellow lion most of the time, but when I do roar, it shakes my house.
My mum is from Namibia, my dad is from Lebanon, I was born in London. I have an older brother who was born in Berlin.
So far life is good.

Tell us a little bit about you:
My dad is a cool guy, he works in advertising as a creative but also loves photography and traveling.
He loves traveling so much that since I was born he has taken me to Oman, Bahrain, South Africa and Namibia.

What do you get excited about, and what are you likely to take photos of?
I love to throw stuff down the stairs. I love chucking balls, they are round and fast. I get excited when I go with mum to pick up my brother from nursery. I can also out stare anyone.
My favourite time of the day is bath time.
When I get this camera ill first put it in my mouth to see what it tastes like then I think I’ll take aerial pics from my high chair, this might make meal times more bearable for me, I’ll shoot my toy box, my brother cutting paper or splashing water at me. Don’t expect any breastfeeding shots, im not that type of photographer.

What do you think will be the biggest adventure/challenge for him as he grows towards 100 years old?
Getting to be 100 years old will be an adventure on its own.

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I am a Chilean architect, who loves to take long walks in the city.
Chile is a country with so many beautiful landscapes, I always try to spend weekends away from Santiago and travel around. I am cyclist too, I usually cycle to work, or for long trips.
Because of my job I have to travel to the north of the country, to the Atacama desert, the most arid place on Earth.
I am interested in photography as a way to improve my memory and as a possibility to keep and preserve places and people around me.

What one thing are you proud of so far in your 30 years?
having conducted various activities and remaining enthusiastic to learn and see new places and cultures

What one piece of advice would you give you 10 year old self?
Stay calm and don´t be afraid of the future, the path will appear.

What one thing do you want to achieve before you’re 100 years old?
Design and build projects of art and architecture related to the city, having an impact on how we interact with and among citizens.

Tell us a little bit about yourself
Originally from Seattle.
Now living in Amsterdam.
Married with two awesome kiddos.
I travel quite a lot for work, plus adventures with my family.
I love music, especially when it’s live.
I’m geeky, techy, a little bit sci-fi, and kinda dorky.
But mostly I’m just really interested in stuff, how things work, why
things happen the way they do. And I can’t hide my enthusiasm for the
magic of science, the delicious mystery of what we still don’t know…

What one thing are you proud of so far in your 39 years?
My children. I really like the ‘people’ they are becoming. Plus their
knock-knock jokes are amazing.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
Spend more time with grandma.

What challenges do you think you’ll face as you approach 100 years old?
Mostly I worry about my body breaking down and not allowing me to
physically do all the things I want to. I have no fear that my will to
“Go-Go-Go!” is going to always be rampant, but my body…well I just
hope she holds up!

Introducing Charlotte Griffiths.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I’m Charlotte and I live in a cottage just outside Cambridge with my chef boyfriend, two cats, a solitary chicken and a neglected vegetable patch. By day I write for a magazine publishers that specialises in photography mags – by night I tinker with old cameras, take pictures of food, trawl the Internet and put my extensive pyjama collection to good use.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 28 years so far?
Having collected an eclectic, talented and hugely lovely bunch of friends.

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
Four (sorry!): I want to explore Japan, work in New York for a time and be able to fluently speak French. And maybe start (and finish) writing a book.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
When you’re 28, you will be so grateful for not having been allowed fizzy drinks and being forced to eat fruit at every breakfast. Stop moaning.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I write, I draw,
I paint and make things.
Am quite patient,
hold my tongue,
but can’t say
multi disciplinary.
easily

What one thing are you most proud of in your 65 years so far?
Remaining intact without compromise. so far

What one thing do you hope to have achieved by the age of 100?
the above

What piece of advice would you give to your 10 year old self?
wait, wait and see what will come….

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I’m a student in Singapore currently awaiting admission to junior college. I live in a apartment with seven people: my grandma, my aunt, my two younger brothers, and my parents. Most of my time is spent on the internet, reading, watching and listening to things, and I also enjoy knitting, crocheting, live music, and nighttime long walks or long rides on public transport. I am easily excitable and also a massive klutz, which has made for quite a number of accidents, and which explains why I largely use disposable cameras – there’s not much to destroy!

What one thing are you proud of so far in your 17 years?
Surrounding myself with so many people to love, and being able to do so much with them.

What one piece of advice would you give you 10 year old self?
Stop worrying about what everything thinks of you and just enjoy what you have now because school/life will never be this easy or fun ever again.
Also, your english teacher will only start coming to school in dresses next year, when you’re no longer in her class, so maybe you and your friends should stop bugging her about wearing a skirt/dress and listen carefully to what she has to say, because she is one of the best people you will ever meet.

What challenges do you think you’ll face as you approach 100 years old?
I’m quite a stick in the mud, so I think I might have trouble keeping up with and adapting to the numerous changes the world will go through, especially since everything’s progressing so quickly.

Introducing James Willshire (and his father John!)

Tell us a little bit about James
James is two years and four months old. He knows to say cheese when someone is taking a picture, but not that he should look at the camera whilst doing so. I thought this project might help him learn about cameras and pictures. Oh, and depending on the day or time, James claims he is a polar bear, or a cat, or a rabbit.

Tell us a little bit about John
I founded Smithery, which is an innovation works. I think Making Things People Want beats Making People Want Things. So I help companies and agencies do that. We live in a small village called Plumpton Green in East Sussex. I started a wee photo project called Plumpton Mornings when we moved there. And, depending on the day or time, I am either a polar bear, or a cat, or a rabbit. So James tells me.

What does James get excited about, and what is he likely to take photos of?
It is a widely known fact that there are few polar bears in East Sussex. We’re crafty, see, keeping our polar bear plans to ourselves. But that means no polar bear pictures. Instead, my plan is to give James a test camera first, so he understands what’s going on, and sees that it takes pictures, and they get developed. After that, who knows what’ll happen. He does love the outdoors, so it could well be interesting flora and fauna he finds. Or it could be twenty four pictures of the same toy car. Kids like consistency, sometimes.

What do you think will be the biggest adventure/challenge for James as he grows towards 100 years old?
I think with any child growing up today, it’s going to be immensely exciting, and very challenging, to navigate the education system over the next twenty years. Or even to circumvent it, in some areas. The practice we grew up with, where you were asked to decide what you wanted to be for the rest of your life when you were 14… that’s just irrelevant now for a lot of people. Education becomes an open-source platform for you to build upon, and learn what’s right for you as you go, and that’ll continue into the work you do afterwards too.

What one thing have you learned from James?
That being a dad is the best thing in the world.

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I’m currently a 3rd year student in Bath, studying Creative Arts.
In art im looking into mapping and psychogeography (a term to describe how people explore a city and the effects this environment has on their emotions/behaviour).

I love the thought of the mind storing memories like a map.
My home town is in Wimborne, Dorset, which is somewhere I always love returning to.
I would probably be classed as the typical student, working hard when I can, but playing much harder!

What one thing are you most proud of in your 22 years so far?
I’m pretty proud of the fact that I still have my close group of friends from when we were around 12. I know that we will always be there for each other and will continue to be in each others lives no matter what. They will always make me smile

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
There are SO many things that I’d love to do but I’d have to say that I just want to be able to see as much of the world as I can. I love travelling and visiting new places so i suppose it would be to experience as many different cultures as I can.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
Probably to just do everything you want to do, and make the most of the time you have being so free. Also to learn to drive at 17, I wish I did that!

..the following ages:

We’ve had almost 800 applicants (and have selected about 20 people to take part so far, of which about six are confirmed and about to receive their cameras), but we’re still missing some key ages.

If you can connect us with people of the ages listed above, who you think would be interested in the project, let us know via twitter, leave a comment below or, of course, just sign up on the homepage.

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I was born in Canada, grew up outside Montreal, in Halifax and Ottawa, went to university at the university of Waterloo and ended up with a degree in drama with a minor in chemistry and music, and my highest marks in computer science. As you can tell, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I spent my first 10 years out of university in Toronto trying to make a living as an actor. I wasn’t exceptionally successful in that endeavour and had to make ends meet working as a computer consultant, and more often as an office worker at the university of Toronto department of chemistry. After 10 years I decided to make a change and put my interest in computers and drama and animation to work. I went back to school at the international academy of design for animation, then came to Los Angeles and started working at Rhythm and Hues. From there I spent 10 years at Sony Imageworks, then back to R&H then over to Disney, where I work now. My hobbies are photography and doing stuff in the great outdoors such as climbing, canyoneering, cycling, kayaking, cycling …. On a normal week I will spend 9 hours a weekday at disney in front of the computer, go out and play ultimate frisbee at lunch 3 times a week, go to the climbing gym a couple of times a week, go home and cook, read, be with my girlfriend etc, and on the weekends I try to get outside to see new places, be with friends, have fun and take pictures. My favorite place is Zion National Park, but other national parks of all types are great as well, and the mojave desert, San gabriel mountains, pacific ocean, Sierra Nevada and other locations are my regular playgrounds.

What one thing are you proud of so far in your 50 years?
Going back to school and changing the entire direction of my life was probably the hardest thing to do. I had been living in Toronto working as an administrative assistant (a secretary) at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto while I tried to make a living as an actor. I was doing plenty of amateur acting but not much professional work, and I had to admit to myself that I didn’t want to act enough to make the necessary sacrifices and work as hard as I needed to. I figured my background in computers and theatre, and my interest in animation would suit me for a career in the visual effects industry, so I found a local school where I could learn the upper tier of software and create a demo reel and buckled down to 8 months of 14 hour days. I found being more mature made me a much better student then my first foray into post-secondary education, and my experience was all directly applicable to what I was learning. When I was finished with school I headed down to Los Angeles, did some interviews, got a job, and the rest is history.

What one piece of advice would you give you 10 year old self?
Time is fleeting. Make the most of it.

What challenges do you think you’ll face over the next 50 years?
Saving enough money for retirement, getting older and not being able to do the things I love doing now.

(Caaz is on the left!)

Introducing Caaz Peila (and her mom, Michelle!)

Tell us a little bit about Caaz
Caaz is a 7 year old girl living in rural central washington state, her mom and dad are farmers. They used to work and live in the city where her mom was accountant and dad was photographer-artist –graphic designer. Caaz lives with Apraxia, a speech disorder, she sometimes struggles with words and communication, but is a positive little girl. She goes to a amazing small private school in a town of Quincy, 30 miles from home, in which her parents drive her and her sister too everyday. She loves princesses, her dog JayJay the iPad, art and her sister.

Tell us a little bit about Michelle:
We are now farmers, but before we became farmers, and before Caaz, we lived in Burlington Vermont for 7 years. Caaz was born in Vermont, I worked as a senior accountant at a CPA firm. Caaz’s dad was a freelance creative and worked for companies in the Northeast. We decided in 2006 when Caaz was one
to move back to the Northwest where both my husband and I are from. We first moved back to Seattle area where my husband did some freelance art directing and I was pregnant with our second child (Izzi) while I took care of Caaz. We decided to move back to the farm, where I am from in November of 2006. We started off as farm workers for my dad, has a 50 acre cherry orchard and alfalfa fields. Over the years we are now running the Alfalfa on our own. I also run a organic strawberry patch. My husband concentrates on the running and maintenance of the equipment, and we also volunteer with a small sustainable organic farm down the road. With the kids in school we have a bunch more free time, I read a ton in the winter and my husband cooks and does his photography and art work.

What does Caaz get excited about, and what is she likely to take photos of?
She loves her grandparents, and her sister. She loves school and her teachers too.
She likes to take photos of her dogs, chickens, cats, and other animals, and her sister.
She loves doing self portraits and dressing up.

What do you think will be the biggest adventure/challenge for Caaz as she grows towards 100 years old?
Caaz’s Apraxia has been her biggest challenge, her language skills are that of about a 4 year old, but her emotional and cognitive skills are equal or above a 7-9 year old.
Communication and learning will be her adventure and her ability to find ways to communicate that are creative may be a challenge but she loves to learn
and travel with her parents, and do new things.

What one thing have you learned from Caaz?
That I can’t have 5 minutes of quiet, ha ha, the trials of kids..
No, Caaz’s positive attitude is infectious. Even with her challenges with communication, she is a positive fun little girl.

At the end of week 2, we’ve had:

- 596 applicants
- 76 of our ages are applied for
- 24 is the most popular age, with 43 applicants so far
- People in their 20s are the most popular bracket with 223 applicants
- We have a heavy female bias (probably around 70% female currently)
- Geographically, we have mostly UK, US, Central and South America, Spain and a little of central Europe

And we’ve already introduced four of The 100:

- #23: Oliver Wolfe
- #40: Matt Locke
- #42: Pedro Infantas
- #51: Mary McGuire

As you can see we have some major gaps – if you can introduce us to those ages, or share the project to your friends and family, we should be able to get every age!

Introducing #23: Oliver Wolfe

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (USA) in April of 2011. In July I moved to Panama, planning to spend a year abroad here.

I came with $300 and a personal goal not to ask for any money from family to help. Three days in and I had spent all $300, but was the proud (volunteer in exchange for room and board) manager of a smoothie bar and cafe in Pedasi, Panama.

Fast forward to January and I am now up in Coronado, Panama, one of the most popular beach destinations for Panamanians and ex-pats alike. I work with photography and online marketing for a real estate company, but also have time to travel to the city, back to Pedasi and Playa Venao, or really to anywhere I want to take photos and meet people.

I have connections all over the country at this point, and my goal for the rest of my time here is to meet as many people as I can and get their stories.

I have eight years experience in photojournalism, but only in high school and university papers (I was a paid photographer and then photo editor at Vanderbilt). I also have been running a private photography business for three years doing portraits, event and real estate photography.

What one thing are you proud of so far in your 23 years?
How much I have traveled. I think everyone should do whatever they can to get outside of their comfort zones, and one of the best ways to do that is to travel. It’s less expensive than you think – just save up a bit first and live cheaply during the trip.

I have absolutely loved the people I’ve met and the random happenings I’ve experienced along the way. A teacher of mine once said that everyone should travel to more countries than their age. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m close.

What one piece of advice would you give you 10 year old self?
Stop being so defensive about everything. I’d give that same advice to my current self, too. Roll with things more, and admit when you’re wrong. Everything works out better that way, and you’ll be happier.

What challenges do you think you’ll face as you approach 100 years old?
Trying to keep an open mind. It’s already too easy to get stuck into my comfortable ways of doing things. I need to push myself to try new methods of solving a problem, having a conversation, and viewing the world.

Introducing Matt Locke

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I live in Brighton, have 2 kids and run Storythings & The Story conference.
I studied fine art photography at Glasgow School of Art, and still take photos using digital and analogue cameras. I’ve worked as a curator and commissioning editor for the last few decades, and love nothing more than working with talented, creative people and helping them make incredible work.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 40 years so far?
Having grown up in a family of all boys, having two daughters is completely unknown territory. So the fact they seem to be turning out alright so far is a source of constant amazement and I’m very proud of them.

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
I’d like to help really talented make the kind of work that people will be talking about for years to come. The great thing about working with culture is that no-one really knows what will endure. But sometimes you get to work on projects that just take your breath away, and make you look at the world in a different way. I’d love to be able to say I’ve worked on a few projects like that when I’m 100.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
The Dragon 32 you got for xmas and have spent all your time mucking around on – it might not be cool now, but it’s actually the seed of pretty much everything you’ll do in your future career.

So, just to let you know how things are progressing…

Last weekend, we selected ten people to take part.
We emailed each person, asking for a little bit more information, and that they were still happy to take part.
As they respond and commit to the project, we’ll be introducing them via the blog.

You can already meet:

#51 – Mary McGuire
#42 – Pedro Infantas

This weekend we’ll be doing the same, selecting another ten, emailing them, and continuing to introduce them on the blog.
In theory, if we keep at this pace, by the mid April, we’ll have our entire 100.

Additionally, we’ll email everyone who applied to a specific age who didn’t get selected, as we have something you might still be interested in…

Look what just arrived!

Introducing Mary McGuire

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I am a creative fanatic living on a car free Island in the Upper Midwest. Isolated during the winter with only feet, horses or skiis to get around.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 51 years so far?
It’s a tie:
Graduating from Harvard in 2002/Being selected as the Ecotourism Consultant for Governor Kada in Shiga Prefecture, Japan in 2011.

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
Play Deep Elem Blues like Doc Watson.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
Think Like a Black Belt in order to learn self-defense against narcissists.

Introducing Pedro Infantas, the first of The 100.

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I live in Lima, Peru. I work in a Christian Mission called ‘Camino de Vida’. Married to a wonderful girl and father of two little boys and a golden retriever.
I love taking pictures with my iPhone and my two pentax: k-5 and the Q.
My wife had a Canon Rebel XT. One day I just took it, play a little bit with it and one question came to my mind: “Why not?” ….go and take pictures…so I did it.

What one thing are you most proud of in your 42 years so far?
Man, being a father and a husband. Love my family

What one thing do you hope to do before you’re 100 years old?
To take photos of my grandchildren in b/w, that’s for sure.

What one piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self?
“Hey dude, no matter if you live in a Third world country, no matter if there is not enough money, just follow your artistic side.

At the end of week one, we’ve had a wonderful response from you.
We have had over 400 applicants, with 69% of the ages now applied for.

The most popular age is 30 and 27 (each with 25 applicants) followed by 24, 26, 25, 31, 29 and 33.
The age range with the least applicants (unsurprisingly) is 80s, followed by 90+ then 70s.

The distribution over those ages looks like this:

We’ve also sent out the first set of invitations to selected individuals, and will be introducing the first people to be part of The 100 over the coming week.

At the time of writing we’ve had almost 300 applicants to the project, which is wonderfully exciting that so many people would like to be involved.

If you’ve signed up, you’ll already know part of this process, but I wanted to be transparent and explain how things are going to work.

Anyone is able to register to take part, leaving their email address and age.

Everyone who signs up is then asked to provide a little more detail, including a short piece about themselves and what they do in life.

Over the coming months, probably every couple of weeks, we’ll be selecting a handful of individuals, from those who provided more detail, to take part in the project.

This selection process is extremely unscientific. Mostly, we’ll be trying to get a good variety of backgrounds, interests (and of course ages!).

For the older ages, we’re expecting to have fewer applicants, so its likely there may only be a single person who applied for, say, 99.

By my calculations, if we’re aiming to have all of the people done by the end of the year, we need to get around 2 ages done each week, or just over 8 a month.

So, probably every week, I’ll be going through the applications, picking a number, contacting them and getting the ball rolling with each individual.

As a result, it may be that you don’t actually hear from us for a little while (we are aiming to have the selection process complete within the next couple of months).

Hopefully, if I manage to get the process nailed, we’ll have the entire year’s worth of people lined up fairly soon, so we can focus on the distribution of cameras.

As we confirm with each individual that they’re going to be one of The 100, we’ll strike out the age on the homepage, so you can see progress, and we’ll also be posting a little detail about each of The 100 on the blog.

We’ll be selecting the first few people this weekend, so we’ll keep you posted.

We’ve already had a wonderful response from people, with a spread of ages.
Here’s the distribution from the end of Jan 1st

we’re going to be distributing 100 disposable cameras, each one to someone of a different age, from 1 to 100.

we’ll be asking them to capture a week in their life from their perspective.

we’ll then share the images with you over the course of 2012.

we need your help to find the 100.

if you’d like to be considered to be one of the one hundred, or perhaps you have a child or grandparent who you think would like to take part, please let us know how old you, or this person, will be on their birthday in 2012. we’ll be selecting individuals over the course of the coming months, and sending cameras out to them.

we’ve already had many multiple requests for the same ages, and unfortunately we only have 100 cameras, so we will be selecting individuals to receive cameras.

over the coming months, we’ll be posting updates on the blog and via twitter.