I came across the photography book Humans of New York through a friend and was immediately intrigued by its contents. Some of you may already be familiar with Brandon Stanton’s story, but if not it’s an interesting one. After losing his job as a Chicago trader, Brandon Stanton moved to New York City and set out to photograph 10,000 New York inhabitants. While walking the streets of New York, Brandon stops to photograph people who randomly catch his eye. He finds the extraordinary in everyday people and shares their photos in a way that captures the human heart. What initially started as a catalogue of people plotted on a map became something much more.
Humans of New York is a New York Times #1 best-selling book and has evolved into more than just photographs of people, but also little snippets about who they are. Humans of New York started as a blog and has over 8 million followers on social media. You can watch a 3 1/2 minute video about Brandon here. Brandon has taken roughly 5,000 portraits and shares many stories. His follow-up book Humans of NY Stories delves a little deeper into the lives behind his interesting subjects. You can also find photos and stories on his Instagram account or Facebook.
Brandon most recently shared this story about Susie which brought tears to my eyes. He came across her while photographing in Brooklyn.
Can you believe this woman has been arrested twice? Such a rebel. Read her story here.
These two would have caught my eye too.
There are many days I go through the motions or pass by the same things without really looking at them. Brandon’s snapshots remind me to look more closely and live curiously. I usually don’t have a problem talking to strangers, but his boldness encourages me to dig deeper and ask more questions. Most people really just want to feel validated and be seen and heard. In my opinion, the immense popularity of social media pretty much proves this point.
If you should use to purchase either book I’ve included affiliate links to Amazon. You can also find other book recommendations in my shop.
On a side note, New York is one of my favorite cities to visit. I’ve shared some of my favorite things to do and sights here, here and here.
I see some of the humans of New York stories on Facebook, I didn’t know it was a book and I didn’t know Brandon’s story. Very interesting. I also follow humans of ku on Facebook, surely a knockoff of this, but interesting all the same!
I found your post very intriguing. I haven’t heard of him or what he does. I visited the links you posted and loved it. I will start following on facebook. You are so right Dawn, everyone has a story if we take the time to listen:)