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| photo via Humans of New York blog |
The book version of HONY, also called Humans of New York doesn’t disappoint either. There’s something different about having a book with the photographs instead of just looking at the photos on your computer. The stories of the people captured in the book hit you so much harder and more poignantly because there’s so many different stories. Usually when HONY photographs are released, only a single story and portrait is released at a time but now, there are so much at once. I really felt the diversity of New York and it’s made me fall in love with the city so much more.
Brandon Stanton’s photography, paired with the short snippets, allow the reader a glimpse into the portrait’s life. It’s strangely fulfilling and addicting to know someone through their photograph and couple words they said.
Brandon Stanton, the creator of HONY, used to be a bond trader in Chicago. When he was laid off, he traveled from Chicago to New York, camera in hand, much to the chagrin of his parents. He wanted to capture the demographic of New York in photos. Soon, he gained the support of more than just his friends, he captured Tumblr as a fan, and more. He was onto something.
HONY has become something more than what Stanton set out to capture. It’s become an online phenomenon, joining New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers together. There are multiple spin-offs, Humans of Paris, Humans of Paris, and more.
What started as a simple photography project after one-man’s lay-off is now read by nearly a million people, across Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. It’s amazing and the book is no-less stellar than its online counterpart.
Brandon Stanton, the creator of HONY, used to be a bond trader in Chicago. When he was laid off, he traveled from Chicago to New York, camera in hand, much to the chagrin of his parents. He wanted to capture the demographic of New York in photos. Soon, he gained the support of more than just his friends, he captured Tumblr as a fan, and more. He was onto something.
HONY has become something more than what Stanton set out to capture. It’s become an online phenomenon, joining New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers together. There are multiple spin-offs, Humans of Paris, Humans of Paris, and more.
What started as a simple photography project after one-man’s lay-off is now read by nearly a million people, across Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. It’s amazing and the book is no-less stellar than its online counterpart.
Also, last year at BEA (Book Expo America), Stanton was there to photograph some of attendees. While I missed it entirely, Stanton’s photographs of the attendees and their stories are no less interesting than Stanton’s usual works.
In all, Humans of New York is a great coffee table book to have, to flip through and read.
