There are many
buildings, skyscrapers, etc. regularly photographed in the city of New
York. That is common. But what is more newsworthy is what Brandon Stanton has been aiming to do – capture 10,000 New Yorkers from his camera lens. To date, he has reached around half of his
goal, having shot nearly 5,000 photos throughout the various boroughs of New
York. Some of the more interesting photos Stanton
has gotten so far include: a Michael Jackson lookalike, a nun, fake tiger-skin
coat and more. His self-description is
that he is “really passionate about things.”
What makes the
project even more interesting is Stanton’s background – which doesn’t include
photography. Having lost his job trading
bonds on the Chicago Board of Trade, he moved to New York to begin snapping
photos. Now two years down the line, he
has developed a Facebook following of 560,000 fans. He walks around – sometimes for hours – to get
the perfect picture. He requests permission first and then asks more about the
individual’s life, enquiring “what was the happiest moment of your life?”
As well as
snapping photos in New York, Stanton went to Iran to do the same thing,
establishing 20,000 followers along the way.
His plan is ultimately “to go everywhere.” Now, imitation projects exist such as: Humans
of Paris, Humans of Beirut and more.
