The next famous photographer, or rather photography organization, that I will be considering on this blog is the well known social media based Humans of New York. Humans of New York is a photojournalism organization in which features the unique personal stories of hundreds of people across New York City. Generally, Humans of New York is popularized through social media like Facebook and Instagram. Each post usually includes a simple photograph of an individual with a caption detailing some personal characteristic, story, or experience they have shared with the photographer.
The stories of the New York humans range from real-life encounters with racial injustice, to young children explaining what they want to be when they grow up. The stories are always candid–sometimes silly and innocent, and sometimes poignant and deeply repentant. Each post provides a short preview of the lives of diverse and unique individuals, giving voice to the thousands of nameless faces throughout New York City.
The photography project was started as a blog by Brandon Stanton in 2010. His project originated with the goal of capturing the portraits of 10,000 New York citizens, and morphed into a photography and journalism hybrid. The project quickly rose to fame and was promoted widely. Stanton and Humans of New York have even released two books, Humans of New York, and Humans of New York: Stories, containing collections of stories and photographs from the Humans of New York journey.
The style of photography featured is rather simple and only requires a single shot of the subject–sometimes not even of the subject’s face but maybe their hands or a personal item they wish to show. No fancy lighting is used and the photos are never shot in a studio setting. Usually the HONY photographer manages to capture each person in a raw way that really encompasses the specific anecdote that has been offered. Each story paints a vivid picture for the viewership of Humans of New York; stories of people young and old, rich and poor, black and white, all come together and seem to work to unify the thousands of faces present on every New York Street.
A FEW OF MY FAVORITES…
Young Boy – http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/131101570941/i-had-one-friend-but-he-went-to-the-next-grade
Humans of New York cover image – https://bearskin.org/2015/08/26/humans-of-new-york-iran/
Humans of New York: Stories cover image – https://www.amazon.com/Humans-New-York-Brandon-Stanton/dp/1250058902
Example Photo 1: http://www.theaunicornist.com/2016/05/humans-of-new-york-and-thoughts-on.html
Example Photo 2: http://lucasgardnersthings.com/post/120739276566/an-open-letter-to-the-little-kid-i-saw-on-humans
Example Photo 3: http://www.eyeonthestorm.ca/news/the-impact-of-humans-of-new-york-on-society/
OneShot says
Nice! Thank you for the sharing.. From OneShot photography