The Adaption to My Generation (a daily photo project)
Projects
- Dirty Mousepads
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- Songs About Rainbows
- Economic Turnaround
- Tantamount Series
- A Fictitious Argument Emerges Between Coriolis & Beaufort
- Domestic Spacial Turbulence
- The Adaption to My Generation (a daily photo project)
- Drawings
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- A Case Study in favor of Global Warming
- Letterpress Business Cards & Postcards
- I will ALWAYS believe in WORK
- Clip-Art Mods
- Spamstractions
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- Volumetric Redundancies
- How to photograph a design poster
- Harmen Liemburg Lecture Poster
- Tequiladega Nights Poster
- Stitched with Love, by my Mom
- Wearables
- I Heart You
- Jumper Bumpers
- Live Free or Die! Fence Type
Living My Life Faster: 8 years of JK's Daily Photo Project
The video above is hosted on Vimeo which, of the services I am using, has the best Flash video quality. You can also find the video at Google Video (good), or Yahoo Video (good), or YouTube (okay). Though, if you want the best quality online you can get the QuickTime from my site.
An Average Image:
From 1998–2006
The project condensed to 7 images:
309 Responses to “The Adaption to My Generation (a daily photo project)”
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Recent Comments
- Leigh: Hey!! I can see Jesus!!……See him?
- JK: Sorry, I’m not into polygamy.
- I would prefer to go unnammed: Wow. I actually started...
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you, my dear, are gorgeous.
AND you’re clever enough to start this photograph-a-day project.
oh, excuse me while i fall in love.
mehehe.
<3 L
Omg, you are so fucking crazy! But, i like it. =P
xx
Unbelievable !!! He managed to keep the same pair of glasses for ‘how long..?’
Geez… I lose a pair or two each year !!
hey lemme getcho number.
It’s 1-800-I’M-MARRIED. Feel free to call at any time.
oh this is really neat. it makes me want to do something like this.
i think i’d smile though
it’s so neat, i’ve started something just like it.
The grid of faces is fascinating in a wholly different way than the video. Look at how colorful the shirts are nearer to the end – very neutral at the top…
My students always get a kick out of seeing this – I have showed them on Youtube, but this is clearly a superior way of showing the video. The grid is a bonus! And I am a notorious grid maker myself.
Love it.
Hi JK,
Love your project – many have since copied but no-one compares lets be fair, you’re a dedicated man. I want to use your video clip in as high a definition as possible as part of my stage psychological show. The show messes with heads and your ageing as part of the opening about how short life is would be a real impact piece for me as well as great publicity to around a thousand people per show for you. I will ahppily plug where they can find you and feature an article about your site in my theatrical program in return for your copyright permission. Please email me and of course let me know if you are visiting Dublin in Ireland at all where you can see the show and experience a very strange night as my guest. David Knight. PS you can see just an extract of the show highlights on youtube (where I found you!) by searching for ‘David Knight Illusion’.
rly rly cool, better than Noah’s project or the called “Me”.
I think you’re great. and here with this daily photos you have a treasure of nine years of you own lifeand you can see the changes in only … 2 minutes!!! amazing.. all what i said, you knew it, don’t u? congrats
Hugs from Chile, southamerica
Marcela.
Very interesting it’s pretty amazing seeing something like this!
how old were you when you began taking the photos?
I began in October of 1998, which would have made me 22 years old at inception.
How did you manage to keep the camera in the same place each photo. We’ve been discussing it and my theory is that you have a camera with an LCD that can rotate to take a self portrait and then you drew gridlines on it. Am I close?
I am going to assume you are referring to the fact that in the video my eyes are aligned from frame to frame. I used the image stabilization plug-in within Adobe After Effects Pro to help with the pain that is alignment. If you look at the photos here in the grid, my head moves all over the place.
If you are actually referring to keeping my head within frame, your theory used to be close. The camera that I used to begin the project was able to flip around so I could see my face while shooting the photo, but no gridlines. Now that that camera no longer works, I just have a sense of how to hold my current camera and usually my head’s in frame correctly, though if it’s not, I reshoot.
When are you going to update your daily photo project? May passed already.
dude, it’s been done, since the 70’s and in a way better format…… google it and you’ll see.
it’s been done!
bro, really?!?
Have you seen the related photo projects page that situates my work within the larger historical context of this type of work? I show three projects that began in the 70’s and even one in the 60’s. Have you read the FAQs where I point out that I had believed others had done this before me? Does “preexisting art” somehow invalidate my project or others? Absolutely not. Does it make this project less unique, to which most people would correlate with the project’s value? Of course, and I’m fine with that. I’ve never claimed to be the first and only. It would be hubristic to believe so.
I would be very curious to know what the search term “it” was in Google that you searched to find all these other amazing projects that I am apparently not aware of. They would make great links for my site.
nice douche-bag response
Thanks mom, you’re my biggest fan.
Tom – you’re an idiot, a real idiot.
i like how your mustache is all wiggly at the end there…
awesome project
but the music sucks and kind of ruined it for me
he looks like bear grills (cnt spel) sometimes
this guy is sexy….
Hey JK.
Amazing job. Is not new stuff but you really make the difference .
Pretty cool in the visual way, but also in the emotional way. You can percieve time and experience in your facil expresion, like you give us the posibility to imagine situations, facts, even arguments trough your pictures.
Pretty persistent too,its also cool to focus just in the physical factor, i mean, the efect of aging in your facial bone structure and facial skin texture.
I also like the way you present it, without falling in the vulgarity of drama or pushing the emotion with easy goofy resources. I think this way the emotion and the changes are more clear and neutral, so we can take it and process it as we really feel it.
Excuse my english, im an spanish native speaker.
Keep the good job, good luck.
Great idea and it is so great that you continue to shot it during 8 years !!!
you’re fuking handsome…
Awesome!! I love daily photograph projects! Congrats! I hope you continue doing this =)
I discovered your site years ago
I’m visiting it about each month
We are getting older together
Dude, that is just freakin’ awesome. Just sitting in front of the camera each day to take a picture is hard enough. Pulling this all together with the software, etc, is even more work and credit to your determination! I really admire your dedication to this. If you’re able to pull this off (and obviously you did!!), you and anybody out there can pull off pretty much anything. No excuses people! Excellent job!!!
Now it’s time for me to sit my lazy ass in front of the TV (kidding!)
you’re hot
but at the end of the video you kinda reminded me of the killer from promnight.
no offense.
Nice dude!! I am thinking of doing this myself and the cool thing is that since I am 14 you would actually be able to see the changes much quicker.
Jesse, I started my own daily photo project about a month ago and I’m eleven days away from my 16th year of life. I’m doing good so far. By tomorrow evening, I have made 4 seconds of film according to the speed I chose (I have long ways to go lol). You should start your daily photo project. It would be cool to see you (and me) progressing through the teenage years and into adulthood. Good luck.
great project
keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!
it is really dedicated effort…great job,:D
Hello JK,
Amazing project! I dont know how you could keep such engagement not forgeting to take a pic every single day.
This is fake. Statistically, you would have to be caught masturbating in at least ONE of these photos. But not one shot of you masturbating, out of more than 3 million photos?? Impossible. FAKE.
Masturbation.
I think the number of photos is closer to 3′000 than 3 million, so your statistics may be slightly skewed with regards to my masturbation frequency. Also, I almost never masturbate with my face, tending to keep it below the belt, as it were.
Hi, namesake! I started a daily photo project, too, and only wanted to know which tool you’re using to make the photos match each other according to the position, rotation and size of the face. Thanks in advance!
As stated earlier, I use Adobe After Effects Pro to create the animation.
When do you start going bald?
I’m holding out for decent hair-keeping genes.
So…short hair wins out most of the time. How come? Adapting to work obligations, partner judgment, you get tired of pulling your hair back all the time, or is it just a style hiccup?
And while I am still able to have a full head of hair, shorter wins out due to its reduced daily upkeep. Long hair is annoying.
hi. very googd and very wille also you are crazy
ur gorgeous
great pics
fantastic project
~x~
I LOVED watching you grow from slightly awkward (no offence!) boy to wicked hot man and it only took minutes. There will be girls in highschool looking round at those awkward boys now wondering what will become of them…
I have a lot of appreciation for this documented process you have going. Watching you change is amazing. Its interesting, when you know someone, you don’t realize how much their looks really do change through time, either that or you just don’t think about what they used to look like. I fancy you with the clean look. REALLY AMAZING!! how much further are you planning on continuing the process???
I will continue the process until I am dead.
3 without a shirt- the rest with only about three different shirt colors. haha
Anyway, love the project, good job, you’re very cute also.
BADASS! thats awesome how you can see your face change from year to year. just badass. and you are pretty damn fiiine too. sweet glasses.
thats cool!! I guess there is someone who will make complete photostory from birth till bye…
jesus man that video is crazy!!!
i still dont understand how his face stays in the exact same position throughout but uh… kudos to you;)
Check out http://www.JohnStoneFitness.com which a guy took a full body picture every day for 4 years. Lost 30 pounds, gained muscle, etc.
Yes, John Stone’s amazing transformation is included in my list of related photo projects. One of my favs for sure.
Malisimo, just a copy. This has been seen so many times.
OH MY GOD!!! You wore a shirt for 3 days in a row. But who doesent.
wowwwww!!! que guapo… me encatas
i love this project. i wish i had the patience to do something like this myself
please keep it going!
you’re so fucking amazing man!
I love it!
good luck!
Thanks for all the wonderful comments so far. Humbling to say the least.
this is awesome. Very clever. I was too was wondering how you didn’t manage to smile in all those years.
Hello,I am a fan of your work and i am proud to say that when i came across your videos, it changed my point of view on life forever. In a positive way that is…. Thank you,and keep up the excellent work!
Hi, you inspired me to make my own daily photo project, and I’m now almost 4 years into it. I have a few questions though that I figured you could help me with. I have yet to put the project together, because I can’t find a program that will automatically line up the eyes, and face, etc. like yours did. What software did you use? Second question is, how long was each photo displayed for?
Once again, I used Adobe After Effects Pro to create the animation. It has an image stabilization plug-in which helps.
Each photo is displayed for 1/30th of a second as NTSC video is 30fps.
Hello,
Do you take the photos horizontal or vertical and at what resolution?
Thanks!
I take the photos as they are shown, in portrait orientation. As far as resolution, it has evolved from 960 x 1280 pixels to 1944 x 2592 pixels to 2592 x 3872 pixels. I’m on my third digital camera, which is why it’s gotten greater as time has progressed. And for those interested: Nikon CoolPix 900, Canon PowerShot SD400, Nikon D60.
“Falling In Love Faster” a Haiku by C.E.N.
——————————————
For the last six years
I have been falling in love
With your changing face
——————————————
Worale que genial proyecto, aun pasen los años, no dejas de estar hermoso
… se extendio un poco tu nariz hacia abajo y crecio un poco tu quijada, se ven los cambios de un joven hacia ya todo un adulto, que chido 
…
Jonathan, are you planning to grow your long hair back including your moustache? I kinda miss it.
No, I hated the long hair and moustache. It will most definitely not return
oh super work…
On second thought, I’m glad you shave your head and moustache. You look young again. I’ve never grown my hair long before. So I let my hair grow since May 7, 2008. My hair growth makes my daily photo project more interesting. I took my 90th photo last night, just to give you an update.
“No, I hated the long hair and moustache. It will most definitely not return”
LOL – so you took one for the team?
Ha, yes, something like that. As stated in the post Before & After, I was growing my hair out like a good graduate student should. Also, I figured I should give it one last shot before I start to really go bald.
what a consistent work. Truly an work of artist. Are you planning to more of similar projects? I would love to see more of these. Kinds reminds me of my old days.
I don’t have any specific plans for similar works, but I do have a nice list of links to related photo projects on my site.
that’s amazing! i just started doing photography this year and hopefully someday i’ll be able to come up with as cool of a project!
What future artistic projects will you undertake once you’ve finished with this Picture Every Day?
Well, considering that I plan to do this project until I am dead, I doubt I will start any new projects upon completion of this one. Though I’ve been known to be wrong before.
I am so impressed! And you are a very handsome guy, which makes the project even better (in a purely superficial way!). I am even more impressed with the level of commitment it takes to do something like this! I think I’d do 3 days worth and then forget I’d started it!
How do you confront the human nature of eventually being sick? On days you are not well and don’t want to leave bed do you make yourself take picture anyway?
I’ve never been sick enough not to get out of bed, so I spend the 45 seconds doing the photo when I feel ill. One fantastic example is this day. If I am ever completely incapacitated, I have asked that someone take the photo for me. Here’s to hoping I never need to do that!
It really nice your project! Congratulation for You!…. I am Jorgelina, i from Argentina, i live Buenos aires,,, it’s very nice its,,,i haven`t seen something similar… well… kiss, see You soon..
♥ Jorgelina ( argentina) [e-mail removed]
did you know you’re starring in a major brazillian newspaper commercial?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88Mcf2tLE40
Yes, I did.
From what I have read this is a lifelong project for you.
In the short span of years that you’ve been doing this you look, relatively speaking, the same.
Are you concerned in any way that in the long term that your looks will change and You’ll no longer be this youngish-ish guy doing a hip video project?
Not Everyone ages as much as others. Look at Cliff Richards or Dick Clarke, for instance. But most of us age noticeably.
If real aging something you want to capure in this project?
I’m not sure it would be possible to continue this project if capturing “real aging” was not something one desired. Just because some people age more gracefully (or plastically) than others doesn’t make the metamorphosis any less intriguing and magical.
Hi I would like to know if you ever gave a authorization for a Brazilian newspaper, to use your video on their campaing?
Yep, I gave them permission to use the footage. There was no underhanded usage at play and am particularly impressed with the music they used over my video.
Great project, really, I admire you for your endurance!
Maybe it’s just an subjective feeling, but in my opinion people somehow age MUCH slower today than they did 30 years ago, even 5 years ago. I wasn’t sure about it, so (ok, this is freaky, but human-being in general, especially biology is a huge interest of me) I collected more than 100 photos in good quality which show the same people in 2006 and 2008. The incredible thing is that nearly no-one seems to have changed even slightly. All neutral observers of my photos couldn’t tell whether the respective person is shown in 2006 or 2008. People don’t seem to really age. To further support my thesis I checked the change of people between 2001 and 2003. I only collected 30 photos until now but you can see a significant change on every third pair of photos. Now is it possible that this is a coincidence???
My conclusion is, that we are probably capable of becoming very old and that aging is a much longer process nowadays. What do you think about my thesis mentioned above and if u believe this, do u think, u’ll really have the endurance to finish this project?
Well, according to Aubrey De Gray, aging is just another thing we may be able to avoid via technology. And while I’m certainly not convinced of this yet, it is well documented that we are currently living longer than any generations previous. What this has to do with the speed of our aging, I cannot be sure. Though I’ll continue to do the work of the photographing as long as I can, be it 60, 80, 100 or even Aubrey’s 1000’s of years. In any case, I’ll need a bigger hard drive.
have you ever 4gotten one day by accident, and made up for it the next day on the sly??? haha
That would be anathema 2 the obsessive nature of the project!!! haha
this is great! i just can’t do this everyday lol
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=m75ADVcmeVA
what is you’re email please?
Sabine
My e-mail is up there at the top of every page, right under my name. It’s not even scrambled or cryptofied to prevent the evil spammers.
Oh, fine… website@c71123.com.
That’s funny, I frequently visit your page to see if there’s anything new, too. Only most of the time, there isn’t. Except these comments, they’re entertaining for the most part.
You’ll be happy to know that there is new stuff up on the website now. Spite’s a wonderful motivator.
Hah! Me too.
Very enjoyable.
Cheers from Thailand.
Such interestiong work you’ve created. It was a rather interesting video to watch, I mean this in a good way. How a face grows and changes overtime.
Rather enjoyable to see what you looked like around my age. Haha.
Did someone punch you in the nose when you were a kid? It looks like it was broken and now its crooked.
Nope, my nose is just naturally crooked.
Excellent ! Bravo pour cette idée !
Woohoo! It’s been 10 years so far…well, almost since you went to Antartica for a few months. Congrats!
Absolutely awesome work man!! No match !
this was really cool! my friend stumbled on it and sent it to me.
One thing though…you look kinda sketchy w/ a mustache. Great project though!
What a great piece of art! I show your site for everyone i know! It’s brilliant! Unfornattly you probably won’t see your work trully finished since someone else will have to take the last photo… and your eyes will be closed. You will certainly be remembered for generations…
Congratulations from Brazil!
I most definitely will not see the end of this project. Well, unless you believe in spirits and an afterlife that can see the present life. In which case, I’ll be haunting those that are in charge of finishing it up.
Also, I’m asking that my eyes remain open in the final photo.
If that isn’t dedication, I don’t know what is: 8 years is a long time to keep a project going – kudos to you!
And even though it’s been said loads of times before, I have to say it too – you’re a hottie; your wife is a lucky lady.
p.s. err… not just because you’re a hottie – because you’re also dedicated and talented.
lose the facial hair….ur a total creeper w/ that mustache.
I’m sorry I can’t trust your judgement on this affair.
What’s most amazing is that you were able to scroll past 6 months worth of recent photos where I have no moustache to get to the comment entry field just to tell me to get rid of it.[this is no longer true, as I have changed the page due to a digg attack]very nice man.
Lucky bastard – your hairline hardly receded.
wow! This is very cool. It’s something like this Brazilian family (i think Brazilian) did, but they took a photograph of each family member once a year then put the photos up in a grid. I don’t think they made a video out of it.
Still I admire your endurance. I’d probably get bored halfway through!
Good luck with your other projects!
Yes, I have a link to the Golberg family on my related photo projects page.
Thanks to everyone who, up to this point, have sent their well-wishes. It’s humbling at times to hear the positive response.
he turns into Jesus!
very nice… day after day after day… eternally…
great project*
enjoyed looking at it
thanks
and damn your pretty handsome even though fuzzy
my best regards to your wife*
awesome idea, love it.
it does look like you might need to wash shirts a little more frequently though…
Your self discipline is commendable!
I gotta admit, this is way cool. You’re gonna be glad you started this project in future, when you’re really old. It’s something pretty awesome to leave behind. Keep it up! And I mean it 
see you in 30.. years
PADRISIMO ESTE VIDEO Y ESTE PROYECTO – QUE PROGRAMA SE USA PARA CENTRAR TODOS LOS OJOS AL MISMO NIVEL? Y QUE PROGRAMA TE EDITA TODAS LAS FOTOS ASI?
ES ALGO SIN PRECEDENTES!
MUY BUENO Y PUES ES COMO NOSTALGICO
JAJAJA SALUDOS A TODOS! DESDE MEXICO
[ babelfish translation: ]
[ EAST PADRISIMO VIDEO AND THIS PROJECT - THAT PROGRAMS THE USA TO CONCENTRATE ALL THE EYES AT THE SAME LEVEL? AND THAT IT PROGRAMS IT PUBLISHES ALL THE PHOTOS THUS TO YOU?
HE IS SOMETHING WITHOUT PRECEDENTS!
VERY GOOD AND BECAUSE IT IS LIKE NOSTALGIC
JAJAJA GREETINGS TO ALL! FROM MEXICO ]
Once again, I used Adobe After Effects Pro to create the animation. It has an image stabilization plug-in which helps alignment. The website is a combination of hand-coded PHP/HTML & Wordpress blog.
you definitely look hot with long hair and no beard
nice project btw 
lol… bored huh?
I’ve never understood this line of commentary.
hey there
this is amazing and has inspired me to do a similar project.
I was wondering did u take ur photo against the same background everyday or has the background being added in afterwards to account for times when you were on holiday or unable to make it home one day
This is an excellent project. kudos
wow, great job! you’re an inspiration!
just found it and other same videos on youtube yesterday, it inspired me to make my own daily photo too. i started mine yesterday, so far i have 2 already. i hope i can continue with it, whats your motivation?
just how did you manage to keep your eye on the same level?
did you use some kind of software for that?
did you post also some ‘how to’ to do this?
(excuse my english)
Once again, I used Adobe After Effects Pro to create the animation. It has an image stabilization plug-in which helps alignment. The website is a combination of hand-coded PHP/HTML & Wordpress blog.
For motivational answers, see my FAQs.
that was great, thanks!
He sorta looks like Otacon from MGS4 with his longer hair and the glasses.
you’re very creative man!!Good job..
Awesome project!
Any pictures missing or did you really push the trigger each and every day?
Aside from the time in Antarctica, none missing.
he’s very attractive. mmmmm…
Hey I really enjoyed your project. I apologize for the moronic masses that feel the need to put people down and call them unoriginal. It’s very sad how people believe they have to put others down to be worth something themselves. Anyway, great job. Hope you continue it. You know what I haven’t seen yet….somebody taking a pic of their child everyday from the moment of birth. Now that would be an awesome project. When you have a baby you should do that. Give little old me some credit. LOL jk if you find something like that could you post a link? Thanks
Actually, I have a couple links to people doing this with their children on the related photos page. And as you have pointed out with your YouTube link, Ellora is one of them.
found something for ya, it’s not very good on the editing front but it’s kinda fun still.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaI7fi_l45w
Hey JK,
I respect your art.
I also have a question..
A tag in the upper left corner reads “obsession”.
Is that only because you feel people would see this as obsession?
Or is that what it has become to you?
The obsession tag is more of a taxonomic identifier of what type of project this is. I wouldn’t really say it’s an obsession for me anymore. I’d probably qualify it’s affect on my life as a habit or duty. Keeping up with this website is much more of an obsession… and a somewhat unhealthy one I might add.
Oh, and sincerest apologies if my previous question has been asked several times.
Best of luck, good job, and I’m really glad to hear that you will continue the project until death do you (and the project) part.
I was just talking to my girlfriend about you, (weird, sorry, we were just talking about how much respect we had for you), and I told her I hoped you did it “forever”.
Then I read your earlier responses.
Thanks,
Dirk
you gave me a great idea I am going to take a photo of my pennis every erect if possible thank you for the idea
“if possible”? I can put you in contact with some microscopy photographers to help your project become a reality if you’d like.
Ziiing!
Wow.
I actually started laughing out loud when I read this.
I guess I expected you to be super mature/serious, for no reason I’m consciously aware of.
I like the way you deal with people who give you less than pleasant responses.
Great project, keep up the good work!
I’m a photography student, and i’m very interested in vernacular photography.
I like you’re idea/work a lot, and appreciate it even more. Fantastic!
You look like Bear Grylls when your hair gets a certain length
Good job :]
this is funny i have at most 15 photos of myself in my entire life and you over 3500 \o/
it’ll be a bit sad when I notice you’re aging and your youth is gone =(
omg
you´re super hot, im super hot to, lets get together
hehehe
XOXO
I’m afraid that, combined, our hotness would lead to spontaneous combustion. Thus, we must remain a safe distance away from each other.
Nice project man. only stupids wouldnt understand the every day work you did. are you still doing it??? I like the way the moustache dances ha ha…
Yes, only “stupids”… And yes, the project continues.
YO That is the coolest damn thing I’ve seen. What’s next? Growing the fingernails to world record length and vid capping it?
Look at all my other projects for what’s next.
that was an interesting project! needs much effort & dedication. to me, u r so many younger & handsome with short hair & without beard & moustache! y did u make yourself like ancient chinese or samurai?
i dont even know you… but from this short glimpse of your life i can tell that you are awesome.
take care.
- ally
That was amazing. Only I swear your face looks the same to me as it did at the beginning of the project. So perhaps congratulations are in order. You’re the ageless man!
Aging,and having sons of my own ,has given me the power to see Men as little boys,young adults,middle aged men, and old men simultaneously .An interesting new development in my life. I cant wait till you are really old.(of course I’ll be dead and thus…)This piece ! O’ it’s lovely.Your work is making me happy.
Unfortunately, no such word as “adaption” . . . But primo concept.
PF
Fortunately, I have done the research into the definition of the word ‘adaption‘ before using it. You’ll see from the image below exactly why I chose ‘adaption’ over ‘adaptation’.
Of course, if you couldn’t make the effort to get your facts in order before commenting, you probably won’t understand the subtlety of the distinction.
jk, thank you for your intelligent art work. want to know: do you alter your look (haircut, glasses, beard etc.) because you consider it makes the project more interesting? am working on a paper about look and the willingness to adapt, in order to improve one’s image – or appear more interesting. consider self-mutilation? thanks and hope you are fine, s.
I do not alter my look for the sake of the project. Many people think I grew my hair and beard because of the daily photos, but I did it in relation to my time spent at graduate school. Now, that doesn’t mean I won’t run a hand through my hair prior to snapping or things such as that, cause I do. It’s just that I think the project becomes much less interesting if one attempts to manipulate it as you suggest. It makes the project about the alteration, not about the slow ascent and descent of aging.
As far as self-mutilation? Not intentionally. I’ve never been a big fan of pain. Dealing with acne may be a whole different issue though.
awesome job!
its really cool how you decided to do this, and commit to it.
I really like the video!!
i understand that youll continue the project until you die… are you going to pick the song of the video before you die, or is the person surviving you will? the song picked will make your project good or great, think about it.
good luck,
I suppose that as I get older and older, I’ll get more and more interested in deciding on a final soundtrack. As it currently stands, I have nothing specific picked out. Probably something a little less intense.
me he enamorao , casate conmigo
[Google translation]
Yo no soy un fan de la poligamia.
[Google translation]
Amazing.
You are stunning and simple insprirational for having the dedication to do something that really moves people.
Thanks =]
I really enjoyed it.
Just one question though, when did you decide to stop? and why? i have watched many of these inc the noah 7 year (i think) one and i have always wondered why you think; ‘today i wont take a picture’ ?
Have you ever considered that the video may be a viewpoint in the larger body of work? That it represents the project up until the day the video was produced and isn’t updated every day?
In other words, I haven’t stopped.
HI JK … very impressive… your one of a kind.. curious though what do u look like now?
As of this comment, check out the bottom images of 2008 for my current state.
wow that realy blew my mind man!!!
how did you make the background white?
PLEASE TELL ME! what software/how did u turn the bg white?
Woah, you need to slow your roll sandy. The background is white because I shoot the photos in front a white wall (or as close as I can find if I’m on the road). No software or magic involved.
In the off chance that your unspecific question is referring to the white bars on the sides of video and the starting and ending title cards: I have stated numerous times in previous comment replies what software I used to make the video, Adobe After Effects Pro.
greetings from poland. congratulations. your site is really great!
(oh and i love some of your sarcastic reply’s. they made me laugh)
The answer to this, and many other questions I have received about the project is right at the top of the list of Frequently Asked Questions & Comments.
You may also want to check out the Related Photo Projects page to gauge its uniqueness.
Do you have any video that have your voice in it? It would be a fun surprise for all of us.
I’m sure there’s a Christmas video at my parents’ home. It wouldn’t be fun for anyone.
Thought provoking entertainment like this will relegate TV to the trash bin where it belongs. Kudos to you for your dedication.
Really, really cool dude. I should have done this with my kids. Keep up the good work!
DUDE! This is an amazing idea… really, I’m going to do this now. I’ve never heard of anything like this before! (though, I read up and realize that there are projects like it…. still you have introduced me to the art, kudos to you!)Very thought-provoking. Have you ever forgotten to take a picture one day? =P
Anyway, seriously awesome work. Inspiring. I’m going to share it with my friends, they’ll go crazy!
Mel
I’m sure you get this a lot, but at random times throughout your photos you remind me of Christian Bale. Typically, I wouldn’t say that’s a good thing, but it works for you.
Keep it up. I admire your consistency.
hey iam sarvesh …. is there any other software other that adobe after effects .. which i may be able to use for such alingement.. .. Thanks in advance .. plz reply
I am only aware of After Effects’ abilities. Though I believe one of the other daily photo guys wrote his own application for doing the alignment…
Buena Idea
La neta, me gusto esto, quizas empieze con mi cara, chido, y que grandisima idea!!!!!!!!
Felicidades
[Google Translation]
Good Idea
The net, I liked this, maybe start with my face, chido, and that great idea !!!!!!!!
Congratulations
[End Translation]
wow. you are beautiful.
wanna grow older with me?
I want to grow really old with all of you.
Hey where do u get the image stabliztion plug in from ??? ..
It comes with Adobe After Effects Pro. Only the Pro versions has it.
i haven’t finished scanning the rest of the comments, but i just look for those that you have commented on… anyways do you think that if you reply to what software you use a million more times, people will actually realize what you’re using?
its wierd how your haircut changes every day
loved the project
keep up the good work…
I don’t know if you ever heard about the PolarRose project Jonathan, but PolarRose has certainly heard about you: http://www.polarrose.com/found/Jonathan+Keller
You’ve stayed the most named person all through the presiental campaign and even through the election.
Brilliant concept! Great job! Must take diligence to take+upload a photo of yourself every day.
i like these
I am from china
you looked alot like private joker from full mefal jacket when u had ur head shaved
cool project
hey, this is an awesome thing! you have a different hairstyle every now and then but honestly the recent doesn’t look a day older than the pictures from the days you started this in 98….awesome work!!!
i’m girl kyle, just if you were curious
youre very attractive 
Hey, that was nice. I like the long hair.
this man is very crazy,hah hah hah
Nice project(s) … you are a creative dude. I started this insomniac night watching Office Space on youtube (because I had a lousy day at work) which led to a search for some music from a fake trailer for the movie someone had made using an M.I.A. song called Paper Airplane. While on iTunes I remembered that I had not seen the latest Southpark episodes, one of which parodies High School Musical. I am embarrassed to say that I like the sappy duet Everday; when I searched for the video on Youtube the first hit was your “colleague” noah k. (not the HSM 2 song, thankfully I suppose) and his website linked to yours (yours is much better by the way). I thought it was interesting, in a Kevin Bacon sort of way, how I arrived here at 2:30 in the morning. It is a good time to surf your site – thanks for being a high quality destination. Thumbs down to the douche bag detractors – you obviously have talent.
Will you at some point of time demonstrate going from clean shaven to full beard? How long will that take you?
Did you watch the video? Or are you just making fun of the fact that I am unable to grow a full beard like a real man?
in short very cool ….just dont stip ill look again in ten years
Not a cold during the whole time? – no red nose? ou must live in a warm climate
Actually, I have been sick rarely since I began this project. Check out this image from 1998 for an example of a post-vomiting day. I’m not a big cold sufferer either I guess.
Sick man, really cool video and pictures, u look cool ass hell
Are you planning on adding the more recent pictures to your animation any time soon?
I forgot to say that you have inspired me to do this project myself. I have taken pictures for a month and a half so far.
I’m in the process of reworking the entire video, while also adding the newest images. Though, I’m only doing very small amounts of work a day, so it won’t be updated for a couple months. Plus, I need to find a better soundtrack… Know anyone who can compose something similar to Steve Reich’s ‘Different Trains’?
I’m composing my own music for my daily photo project. My new video will come out somewhere in May. I don’t know anyone who can play similar to that type of music, but I’m happily to compose music to your video. Perhaps I can try the best of my ability and the power of my ear to play “Different Trains” as closely as possible. I’ll email you in a few weeks about my progress.
That’s wicked!
Keep it up dude.
Excellent.. I’m glad to see your hair is never the same.. I struggle with mine every day…
Cheers!
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
good
idia
Lamentablemente no hablo tu idioma, pero quiero a pesar de ello, manifestar mi admiración por tu trabajo. Gracias.
Yo he hecho un par de trabajos también. Te los envío.
http://www.comicwci.com y http://www.lugaresdelaciudad.info
Saludos!
[Google translation]
Unfortunately I do not speak your language, but I nonetheless express my admiration for your work. Thank you.
I’ve made a couple of jobs as well. You send them.
http://www.comicwci.com and http://www.lugaresdelaciudad.info
Greetings!
[end Google translation]
i love the way the music syncs with the photos. and how it is such a short clip. awesome!
it would be interesting to see this done with a child.
Hi Noah, it’s Giuseppe from Italy. I really like your work and I pine for your sad eyes… good
You are apparently very confused.
Me:
My Daily Photo Project (where you have commented)
More of a vertically oriented person
Not able to grow a beard (1.5 years worth above)
Not object of your desire
Noah:
Noah’s Daily Photo Project (where he keeps his sad eyes)
Inclined to a more horizontal life
Able to showcase his beardly man-ness (about 2 months’ worth above)
Object of your desire
congratulations! i think it’s a very good job… an admirable job.
thanks for share it!
Not only do I think the video and project as a whole is fantastic (i’m doing a bit of an artist’s study of it for my art gcse) but I love your witty answers to comments – very entertaining!
i’m doing the same thing since sep 9th,2006 ^_^
good to see my boss!
amazing work
you are a beautiful human being. any girl would be so lucky to be with you.
Amazing you will be in our online magazine tomorrow:
http://www.agitatto.com/blog
Thanks
Pascal
PS: keep us posted…
well all i think is that this project is shopped. totally shopped.
While I can totally understand how you would be skeptical of the every day nature of the project, why on earth would you think it is Photoshopped? And what am I Photoshopping, my beard? I mean, seriously, if I were to fake this project, I’d just change clothes, mess my hair up a different way and shoot some extra shots. No Photoshop involved and it would save me tons of time.
jk keller, you’re sexy:-)
this whole project is so fake. his facial feature (eyes, lips, NOSE) look exactly the same as one another in the large majority of these pics.
Your implication here is that I have somehow Photoshopped images in order to create this project. I really don’t understand the logic in this opinion. As I stated in an earlier comment, I can completely understand the skepticism regarding the every day nature of the project and there is little that I can do to convince someone otherwise. I’m fine with a person who questions the authenticity, but only if his/her skepticism is founded on some sort of sensical reasoning.
So, what is the basis you have for thinking the images have been Photoshopped? That my “facial feature (eyes, lips, NOSE) look exactly the same as one another in the large majority of these pics”. First of all, with no specific comparative examples, it is impossible to confirm/contradict this assumption. Secondly, you are looking at images that are 100 pixels wide by 133 pixels high, have been sharpened, and saved with jpeg image compression. [I should point out that every image HAS been Photoshopped in order to reduce its size, sharpen, and save for the web, but that's not what type of image manipulation we're talking about here] At this resolution, a lot of features will end up looking very, very similar, indeed. And as a final point, you are looking at 3500+ images of the same person, taken in the same manner every day for years. Of course my facial features will look the same in a majority of the images. It’s because I look the same in a majority of the days I have been an adult.
Now let’s move away from the basis of your argument and into the time it takes to perform digital manipulation. Let’s pretend that I am Photoshopping various features of some images into other images in order to create the full set of images. Why would I do it this way over another method? In order for me to get a portrait that looks reasonably believable and not exactly the same as another image, I’d have to spend at least 30 minutes in Photoshop per portrait. If I faked 10% of the images, for example, that would be approximately 175 hours worth of work. No way, I am too lazy for that! Instead, I could spend 2 minutes changing my shirt and mussing my hair a different way and shooting a new photo. At 10%, that’s less than 12 hours total. Seems more reasonable doesn’t it? And I will point out again, I have no way of proving that I haven’t done just that.
But if you are still not convinced that the Photoshop argument is an idiotic stance, here’s one way to tell if images have been digitally altered:
Digital Doctoring: How to tell the real from the fake (PDF)
And why is it that criticisms are always delivered from fake email addresses? At least have the decency to stand behind your opinions.
So interesting….It’s very impressive how dedicated you are. Do you have any children or any plans to have a child? That would be the ultimate project…to do this with a child from birth. Thanks for doing this…and I love all your responses to the smart asses on here. It’s obvious that you are one intelligent dude as well as creative. Oh and to all the losers on here that keep saying this is fake: Shut the hell up and get a life.
As far as kids are concerned, I don’t have any, nor any plans to have one in the future. It’s not for me. Though if I did, I most certainly would not subject him/her to the oppression of this project. I once had a person email me telling me that he was doing this with his daughter and after a few years, he took out the camera and she said “no pictures, no more pictures” and started to get very upset. It broke his heart so he stopped and got rid of the photos up to that point. It’s one thing to do it to oneself, but a whole ‘nother thing to subject someone else to it. But that hasn’t stopped numerous people from trying. Check out the related links page for a couple ’since birth’ daily photographers.
Oh, and thanks for having my back in the “fake!” arguments.
Absolutely fascinating. A little bit scary as well. Nice one JK
I would love to see more of this, especially if you could do it with animals. That would be cool. Any way great video!
i’m in awe of your skills and dedication, but mostly with your creativity. yes, i understand that other people have done similar projects, but even w/o having seen them, i suspect that you have made the concept yours. your responses are all worth reading and, in some cases, i admire your restraint. the world needs more people like you.
That’s really a great project! But everything I wanted to say and admire seems to have been said already… I just can’t believe you took a picture every day. Really every day??
I should do something like that myself, I bet it would be great to look at when you’re old.
You have my full admiration
can i just say that you are effing gorgeous
omg
Awsome!! i saw something like this with a couple except they took pictures of themselves each year untill old…
Maybe when i get married ill do that with my husband if i remember…heheheh and its nice to see a faithfull husband… May God Bless you…
im soo going to talk my boyfreind into doing this project with me… but since i only see him on weekends (we are to very busy creations) ill do it once a week untill we get married and get old… hehe i hope i can convince him though.. im 22 now so im starting at the age you started right?
oh and, do you put a pic every day on this site, or only at the end of every year?? when i start the project (if i do) ill give you the link to my page and you can see it:)
You got really cute at one point.. just saying
May I say you are such an inspirational person. Your projects really mesmerize me; specially the photo one. I envy your determination. Great job!
really really amazing!! but the soundtrack on the video is horrid:( it deserves something much better because it is so awesome!!
Hello! I just wanted to tell you that your photo project is SUPER coolcoolcool. after watching the video, i was inspired to take pictures of myself everyday until i die too. But that bout of inspiration quickly died after i realized i cannot even get myself to practice the piano once a week. o well. i also like your replies to comments here(my favs being “spontaneous hotness combustion” and “adaption”)hehe.
p.s. one of your other projects, the fans and the plastic flags, is SUPER cool also
Fantastic idea that you carried out systematically. The other comments about the video will be helpful to students making videos.
My favourite part was a couple pimples on your forehead that appear and vanish about half way through.
Yeah, I got 3 quick questions:
1)what are the odds that one day you just forget to take your picture?
2)if such a situation occurred, would you “cheat” and snap 2 the next day?
3)have you ever taken a picture in the early morning hours before you went to sleep and counted it for that day? (i.e. New Years Eve, midnight strikes, it’s now January 1st, at around 12:10 AM you snap your Jan. 1 shot to get it out of the way for the day, then go to bed)
1. I’m no probability expert, but I’d say less than 1 in 3650
2. If I “cheated”, why would I tell you?
3. Yes, I have.
K if i want to make one of these how do i do it??
Seriously?
Take a picture today. Repeat tomorrow. Then take a photo the day after that, and then every day for the rest of your life.
you freaking rock. that was awesome. your face got longer.
do you have a specific time of day that you take the picture? or whenever you have a couple minutes of free time?
I am impressed. Although there are other projects similar to this one out there, they all have a certain unique-ness to them. Yours is fantastic. I will definately have to come back and check out the progress. Kudos!
Also, I must say, I love your replies to some of these comments. I will admit, I even LOL’d. (:
Keep on keepin’ on!
if its an adaption to your generation, I supose you are goin to do it to your “future coming generation”, right? or maybe, you are already doing it, hummm… I wonder..
PS: I can say that you show more of your personality in your responses – a bit of sarcastic/short-tempered/intelectual- than in your pictures, how ironic….
well, looking at you… i now realize how much i’ve changed. LOL you know, you started out as a complete, a-sexual dorky-looking guy… but ended up as a man, looking pretty damn hot.
nice, 10 points.
wow..
haha)
I like it much.
I took 40000 of self portraits (for 3years),
but I hadn’t think like this..
It’s really nice! Interesting!
so many chages! (I like mustache’s moves
I love all of your works. great.
You inspire me.
If that doesnt sound corny
i dont know what does.
You must have great determination.
Not that it takes alot to push a camera button.
But to make sure you take one everyday,
make sure your in frame
then upload it
and edit them all together.
Must take alot.
Im considering starting myself on my 15th.
July 20th, and its ‘a go.’
do you have a specific time of day that you take the picture? or whenever you have a couple minutes of free time?
It is amazing that so many people can say they have saw you almost every day since 1998!
Question…Is every picture that appears a first attempt or did you take a few and select the one you liked best? Or perhaps blink as you took the picture and have to retake it?
Cool project dude – insanely nice video.
Bad music tho
hi. this is a little odd, not quite sure wut i think of it