'Female December 29, 1951' is a photographic investigation in which Henny Allis made portraits of 95 women who share the same birth date with her. Allis wondered if these women had more in common than only the date of birth. Do they resemble each other, or do the differences predominate? Has life left its marks? What can you see of how they were raised as children, their schooling, good fortune or poverty?

Allis photographed all her contemporaries in the same manner: portraits against a neutral background with an exposure of one second. In that one second much happens in a face. Hundreds of tiny muscles move and lead to a characteristic facial expression. Allis has employed this long exposure time since 1991 to permit people to come to life in a still image.