I only use Facebook for two things –  informing family members of important news and the ‘Humans of New York’ page. However, because I can’t spend a day without looking at HONY, I am on Facebook just as regularly as I was three years ago. No shame.

humansofnewyork.com
Brandon Stanton has been photographing the streets of New York for three years. His unplanned photography profession arrived after losing his finance job.

HONY is a blog  that was started by Brandon Stanton in 2010. Stanton first moved to New York City after losing his job trading bonds on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Stanton explains on his website, that after being fired,  “I decided to move to New York City and take portraits of strangers on the street.” And that’s exactly what he does.

Stanton, a self-trained photographer, has an office that stretches blocks of buildings, parks, and most importantly, people. He spends his days walking up to strangers and asking to take a photo of them. The portraits are stunning and unique. One day he is photographing an elderly couple in Central Park, and the next, a homeless man seeking shelter in Brooklyn.

The photographs Stanton takes are breathtaking, but what I find to be the key to his allure are the quotes he captions with each photo. After finishing his impromptu photo shoot on the street with a stranger, Stanton proceeds to interview his subject.

The questions are deep; intriguing. “If you could tell a group of people one thing, what would it be?” “What’s the most scared you’ve ever been?” “What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?” “The worst?” Not only are the questions thought provoking, the answers are honest. Some subjects will provide personal, emotional stories, while others will reject the interest. Either way, they consistently complement their subjects, the Humans of New York.

humansofnewyork.com
Stanton spots fashion-forward streetwalkers often. Here, a dread locked mohawk.

humansofnewyork.com
“I really started running when I was 18, right after my dad died. I was doing 17 miles every day. It was my own way of facing death each night and beating it.”

humansofnewyork.com
“I want to be an artist.”
“What kind of art do you want to make?”
“I want to make different versions of myself.”

humansofnewyork.com
Stanton’s photos capture the stereotypes, but also the misconceptions of New York City.

To see more HONY, go to:

humansofnewyork.com

facebook.com/humansofnewyork