If you live old enough to hit 100 years of age, you enter into a unique classification. Not only have you lived a very long life, you are known by the nickname, centenarians.

When people hear that you have lived such a long life, they may look at you in any number of different ways. For some, they may be looking for the secret to living longer and for others, they want to know what you have learned over your life. When you really stop to think about it, however, these individuals have not changed much over time. After all, age is just a number, or so they say.

A Czech photographer (Jan Langer) has come out with a portrait series that she is calling, Faces of Century. It is beautifully done and she takes each subject of the portraits and puts them side-by-side to a younger portrait of the same person. She wanted to re-create how things changed over time and she did a marvelous job of it.

As far as human history is concerned, 100 years is only a drop in the bucket. For these individuals, however, it is the passing of time that really catches our attention. After all, it’s not only the faces, it is the stories behind them. When we get right down to it, we find out that they may look different but they’re not so different after all.

1. Anna Pochobradská, age 30 vs 100

This woman was a farmer but now she lives a simple life. She enjoys being visited by her daughter every weekend.

2. Bedřiška Köhlerová, age 26 vs 103

This woman was originally born in Italy. She hopes that she can visit Italy again.

3. Anna Vašinová, age 22 vs 102

Anna lost her husband when he was taken away by the Nazis. She hopes that she can somehow reunite with him someday.

4. Antonín Baldrman, age 17 vs 101

He was at one time a clerk and now he reads the newspaper regularly. He doesn’t want an iPad, he likes the paper version.

5. Antonín Kovář, age 25 vs 102

This man’s daughter visits him on a daily basis. He was a musician and he hopes to play the clarinet again.

6. Ludmila Vysloužilová, age 23 vs 101

If anyone ever showed that age is just a number, it is this woman. She still shovels snow, chops wood and does work around the house.

7. Ludvík Chybík, age 20 vs 102

He used to deliver the mail and he says he will never forget his route.

8. Marie Burešová, age 23 vs 101

She talks a lot about her family. She enjoys speaking with them and hopes they can all reunite.

9. Marie Fejfarová, age 101

You won’t see a younger portrait because she burned all of those old memories. It happened when she decided to move into a long-term care facility. She lived a difficult life hiding from the Nazis and then the Russians.

10. Prokop Vejdělek, age 22 vs 101

He was a metallurgical engineer. He will never forget the taste of warm goats milk.

11. Stanislav Spáčil, age 17 vs 102

He was an electrical engineer. He doesn’t want to start thinking about the past yet.

12. Vincenc Jetelina, age 30 vs 105

He was in prison for eight years after World War II. He just wants peace in his life.

13. Vlasta Čížková, age 23 vs 101

She cooked at the airport dining room in a small village. She will never forget reciting her own poetry. I bet it was beautiful.