Over the past few years Der Spiegel has become a favorite client of JLP both because of the freedom they allow in approach and also simply because most of their stories are really, uh, you know, stories. On top of all of that picture editor Susan Wirth (who works out of the U.S. office for Spiegel) is a great pleasure to work with.

Earlier this week I got word that a previous project for them had finally been published in Wissen, a special edition of Der Spiegel that they publish quarterly, each with a single theme. The most recent topic is retirement and dimentia and I was sent to meet up with rockstar writer Samiha Shafy in the vintage retirement community of Sun City Center, FL, one of the original Del Webb developments from the 1960’s.

Samiha and I spent a few days learning about the community and its focus on living an active lifestyle (these cats keep busy) and how they try to spread a deeper understanding of what dimensia is and how to help those coping and/or caring for those affected, especially with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to lit portraits I was up before the sun each day to photograph the sizeable list of sports the seniors partake in daily (paddle tennis anyone?), and spent any extra time roaming around the still growing development admiring some of the off-the-hook topiary. In short it was a great time with some very nice people who opened their homes and lives to us. The magazine was really excited with what I brought back and I’m excited to share it now at last. Here are several more that I liked: