Humans of New York began as a small project meant to
photograph 10,000 of New York’s inhabitants. The plan was to create a “photographic
census of the city.” Yet somewhere along the lines, creator Brandon Stanton began
to interview his subjects as well, providing social media followers with an
insight into the lives of complete strangers. What started as a small New York-based
project moved on to include stories from several different countries, with work
featured in 2 books.
Brandon Stanton started the project after he lost his job.
He decided he needed to stop thinking about money and start thinking about how to
spend his time instead. So, he began approaching people. It’s interesting
because Stanton’s work is done purely for the purpose of sharing people’s stories.
He says he has never taken money for
blog content and he has turned down offers to brand with HONY because it is “about
other people’s stories, and tying them to the sale of products is something
that cheapens it.”
Stanton’s personality aligns well with the traits Csikszentmihalyi
put forth. According to him, HONY highlights “the other tones of our lives that
people aren’t so willing to express” and those are the stories he is most proud
of. Clearly, he is incredibly passionate of the work he does, yet he remains
objective, admitting in a speech that his “photos could be out of focus, and
the composition is not perfect.”
It's interesting to hear that such a unique project came about when Stanton was unemployed, essentially having too much time on his hands. I'd love to know more about the process behind its creation--did he have other projects he considered pursuing at the time, or did he stumble upon this one and run with it? Regardless, HONY is a truly creative phenomenon that touches upon several of the core facets of creativity. It is a novel idea that has inspired many similar projects. HONY relies both on collaboration--with complete strangers, no less--and on individual commitment to a labor-intensive process that promises no extrinsic reward. Stanton's dedication to the core values of his project has manifested in innovative changes that have only deepened HONY's emotional impact.
ReplyDeleteOh! I've heard about Humans of New York! I never knew that the project also expanded to other countries too. I think it's wonderful that Stanton does this "purely for the purpose of sharing people's stories." Although, I wonder how his process works. How does he pick individuals? How many pictures does he take compared to the pictures he shares? And how does he go about interviewing strangers? For one person to be doing it all, it must be very time consuming. All the hard work he invests into HONY is truly admirable. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think its really interesting that this all started from a new type of "census." I have been following HONY for years and have always appreciated his creative way to share important stories and points of view with the world, utilizing social media and targeting a wide audience. It truly must be something that started from curiosity and intrinsic motivation, as he did this when unemployed and still continues to do it without branding. I wonder what events in Brandon Stanton's life caused him to create this product?
ReplyDeleteThis is very cool! I have known about Humans of New York for a long time, but never knew about the person who started it or how it got started. I think the idea of taking biographies and interviews usually reserved only for celebrities and applying the idea to average people is really creative, since it is taking a format we are all familiar with but emphasizing people that are normally looked over.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy the HONY posts. It has actually inspired other photographers to do the same in their cities too. I also really like the variety of tones that come with each different photograph. I found it really interesting how the creator did not want this to become a brand and sell the stories even if it meant much prosperity for him. This illustates the intrinsic nature of his motivation. It also shows the importance of the process of connecting with the person and have them trust you enough to tell you their story. Having an audeince be emotionally touched by a complete stranger, or having an audience laugh at a comical moment that is perfectly captured by a photograph or having an audience inspired by a one-liner (and many more types of photographs) takes a lot creativity.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I've seen a ton of these photos over the years, but have never bothered to check out the creative artist behind the work. The fact that other commenters have mentioned that this type of work has been recreated in other cities definitely attests to it's creativity. I also love the fact that he has never worked with brands to get money out of his blog posts. I think that really attests to his intrinsic motivation.
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