Aging is an inexplicable phenomenon. One minute were building castles on a beach on a family summer vacation in Florida, the next minute we’re trapped in our office cubicles, staring lifelessly into a computer screen.

When I was 11 years old I wanted to be an architect. This realization was inspired entirely by my love for Lego. I would spend hours in my bedroom meticulously constructing skyscrapers, stadiums, and shopping malls. For the next 7 years I was convinced that architecture was my calling.

But when it finally came time to apply to universities, I soon realized how much math and science was involved in the architecture program. This terrified me so I decided on pursuing the more realistic option of communication arts. In my second year of undergrad I began writing for the school newspaper, interviewing bands and writing reviews, and it all felt right. And now, 14 years later, I realize that your profession chooses you, and not the other way around as I had believed.

Argentinian photographer Irina Werning explores this theme of aging in her 2011 collection, “Back to the Future”, where she enlisted everyday people to reenact some of their favourite photos from the past.

Werning says:

I love old photos. I admit being a nosey [sic] photographer. As soon as I step into someone else’s house, I start sniffing for them. Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact them today… Two years ago, I decided to actually do this. So, with my camera, I started inviting people to go back to their future…

Feist recently featured Werning’s work in her new video for Metals’ standout track, “Bittersweet Melodies”. If you don’t so much as grin while watching this video, you’re probably not human.

Watch the video above, then check out Werning’s entire “Back to the Future” collection, here and here.

On the final day of Toronto’s Hot Docs festival, we checked out Josh Whiteman’s Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn.

The documentary gives an insider’s perspective into the work of renowned Dutch photographer/filmmaker, Anton Corbijn.

The man has shot and directed music videos for some of the biggest bands/artists in the world, such as Joy Division, David Bowie, Miles Davis, U2, Depeche Mode, REM, Nirvana, Elvis Costello, Björk, Johnny Cash and Echo & the Bunnymen.

Most recently, he made his directorial debut with the Ian Curtis biopic, Control. (If you haven’t seen this yet, shame on you! Seriously though, you better watch it by the end of the week or you won’t be getting a Christmas card from me this year.)

Shadow Play, which takes its name from a Joy Division song, is a fascinating look at Corbijn’s high contrast style, his innate ability to capture on film larger-than-life figures in a moment of unmasked vulnerability, and the many friendships he’s developed with these famous subjects.

Footage of Corbijn’s shoots and the filming of Control are interspersed with interviews with Corbijn and his subjects, which include Bono, Michael Stipe, David Gahan, Bernard Sumner, Chris Martin, Kurt Cobain, Fran Healy and Samantha Morton.

Arguably, the film’s best line comes at the introduction when Bono says, “having your picture taken is like intimacy, it’s like having sex… I’ve been having sex with Anton for nearly 20 years now, since I was a boy.”

Maybe I’m just taking this all on an absurdly literal level, but it sounds like Bono is finally admitting he’s a gay… for Anton Corbijn?