The Freedom That Comes With Age
Woman is a force of nature. We are mothers, leaders, lovers, artists, sensitive, and fierce. We take the world on by storm, and unlike what popular media wants the population to think, we don’t disappear at 40. We are still sexy and powerful, and I would argue we just keep becoming more sexy and powerful! Photographer Angelika Buettner celebrates this in her stunning series “I Am”, where she photographs and empowers 40+ women in the nude. Please read and look below to learn more about Angelika and her incredible collection.
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Foreword by Kira Bucca, Editor in Chief of Jejune Magazine.
Where are you based?
At the moment, I live in CT, close to NYC. I am German born and lived and worked as a professional photographer for more than 20 years in Paris. This is where I started the project.
What inspired you to get into photography?
A flash of lightning, a calling, a certainty, I am the born free-lancer and not made for corporate structures.
Can you please tell us a little bit about your “I Am” project? What inspired this?
My passion, my intuition, my vision, my desire, my obsession, my objective is to showcase ageless beauty of women over 40 to make us more visible.
My camera as a therapeutic and instrument of social commentary, I have attempted to capture something edgy and elegant, honest and pure. Portraits of strong women who dare to step out of their comfort zone are finally here.
Why do you feel it is important to focus on women in their 40s and up?
Because they were kind of invisible… and they are such an important force.
Why did you decide to shoot them nude?
It is the most pure and raw state of being, the most authentic. Once we wear cloths, we will , most of the times, start playing roles.
What is the perfect imperfect woman?
It’s a woman who has self-love and is happy with who she is and how she looks. We are so much more than our Beauty!
What has been the most challenging part of this project?
Perseverance!! This was the longest project I have ever worked on, and it evolved with time with me.
What is something you learned?
Perseverance!! Patience! Trust! Being more unapologetic and bold! Follow your inner calling and passion! Be truthful to yourself. Feel it, don’t think it.
Were these women receptive to being shot nude? How did you find your models?
Yes, most of them. Actually, my belief is that every woman would love to get some beautiful images of herself, for herself, for her beloved one. Most women have never done it before. It is still an act of bravery to step out of the comfort zone. Some women came up a year later after we talked the first time and said: “I AM ready now!” I started with closer friends, then I asked women I did not know, the word spread by mouth, I felt the trust in my vision.
Do you have any special stories from working with these women?
Yes plenty, or actually every picture has its own story, (I could talk for hours). From shooting in the icy snow, on the Manhattan Bridge, in a public space in NYC, in a bathtub, on a roof, I always tried to find something special about every woman, challenge them and work with how and where she pictured herself. The goal was to give a maximum of variety, and I love challenges anyway!
What advice do you have for those struggling with confidence and age related insecurities?
Dive deep inside, meditate, see what is really important in life, figure out what we can take with us in the end. Look inside and don’t search for acceptance on the outside. My working title for the book was for a while – The Inner Center – still very much on the spot! ;-)
How do you feel we can celebrate aging women more?
Stop being anti-aging, this is not working for anyone. Aging is a natural process, praise the changes, the changes in your body which tell your story. Our beauty perception/conception has to evolve, not to only see beauty in the glamorous magazines which are all retouched, this is not the truth! Stop comparing yourself, we all have our own unique beauty.
I’d love to see more mature women in the magazines, on TV, women over 40, over 50, over 60, over 70 and more, they are a very active important wise force in our society, not to be neglected. Even the younger generations will benefit from those strong fierce unapologetic women, as role models to give them a vision what it means to age.
For me, in the end age does not matter. That’s why I refused to put the age stamp within the book. Our soul, our personality is the same, just evolving throughout our life, we are not our age!
Where can we find your book?
For the moment, the best place to purchase the book is the website: www.iam-themovement.com for the US and international orders.
We love that you partnered up with Karen Williams. We actually shot her in our Suffrage Envoys cover editorial. What made you decide to expand into the video interviews?
Karen is purely amazing and a true pro-age ambassador.
We met on an editorial photo-shoot. Later, I photographed her for the book and Karen motivated me to start doing interviews with some of the featured women. Those conversations tell individual stories to be shared. This is also a way to move beyond the Nude image and turn the message into a movement. Karen was the initial light who made that happen as a host , interviewer and producer with her grace, sensitivity and intelligence.
Those videos can be found on the website and on YouTube // iam-themovement
What is next for the “I Am” Movement?
The movement will go on, the website is alive now, I will continue featuring new women in word and image and exchange more on the platforms.
Besides my work as a professional photographer, I will start working on the next project (keeping it secret for the moment). For sure, I can say, it will be even more on a spiritual level….. stay tuned.
What is your motto in life?
Push yourself a bit more, never stop, do what you really love with love and passion.
Please list any websites and social media you would like Jejune to promote:
www.iam-themovement.com
www.angelikabuettner.com
Instagram:
@iam_by_angelikabuettner
@angelikabuettner
YouTube: Iam-themovement
