Humans of New York: Stories Paperback

New York City is many special things to different people. For some it's museums, for others the New York Public Library. For some it's performances at Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater or any number of Broadway plays and musicals. For others it is the world-famous landmarks: Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building or thousands of other places, too many to mention here.But New York City is really about one other thing: people.Photographer Brandon Stanton has captured this in Humans of New York, his debut book... and it has skyrocketed on the various book charts since its publication in October 2013, and for good reason. Based on his HONY blog, which now has over two million followers and fans, this book is a visual delight of about 400 photos of the people that he has encountered in his travels across the five boroughs that make up New York City. His people images make a gorgeous, sometimes funny, truly genuine, and often moving compilation of photos that capture the spirit of the city through its diverse people in often inspiring ways.Brandon Stanton did not start his career with the goal of becoming a photographer, as he explains in the introduction of this book. He noted that while working as a bond trader in Chicago, he spent his weekends with a camera that he had acquired in 2010, and that photography "felt like a treasure hunt." After losing his job as a trader, he traveled to various American cities, but his first impressions of NYC were unforgettable, as he notes in the intro:"I remember the moment my bus emerged from the Lincoln Tunnel and I saw the city for the first time. The sidewalks were covered with people. The buildings were impressive, but what struck me most were the people. There were tons of them. And they all seemed to be in a hurry. That night, I created a photo album for my New York photos. I called it `People of New York.'"From that simple beginning, the rest became photographic history; from his early attempts at a Web page, he discovered social media in the form of Facebook and Tumbler. Fans of his images reacted, and soon became regular followers. At first it was hundreds, then thousands, and zooming forwards to today, his Facebook page has over two million loyal followers, and hundreds commenting on his images daily, with many of those sharing his people photos to their own pages. Each of these is a capsule of a moment in time.On these pages we see everyday people as encountered by many of us on the New York streets; subway images, people in Central Park, in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, by the Strand Book Store in Downtown Manhattan, at the Brooklyn Museum and at Manhattan's iconic Metropolitan Museum of Art. We see a young well-dressed girl in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel, a well-dressed older woman at the Waldorf-Astoria, people carrying boxes of pizza as gifts for the firefighters (the owner refused payment), people at Union Square on 14th Street, and a Marine recruiter in uniform on the street in Downtown Manhattan. Some are camera shy, while others are striking a pose.And there are some that stand out, strikingly so. We see the full-page view of the model in her black and white striped evening gown at Lincoln Center, the chess players at Washington Square Park, people with their pets, the Sikh gentleman whose gentle smile is hidden behind his iconic mustache and beard, and the two page image of two ballet students captured in a lunchtime pose, standing in front of a steam grate in Tribeca. It is this same image that has served as the iconic avatar on HONY's Facebook page.There are people at play, at work, sleeping on benches in parks, dancing, eating, kissing, hugging, and frolicking in the water gushing from fire hydrants. We find people of all ethnic backgrounds, and of all ages, from teenagers to folks in their nineties, to children. There are many superb images of children here, and they must captivate Stanton, as it is said that he will be publishing a children's book, "Little Humans" in 2014.There are captions, though they are limited and to the point. Maybe because Stanton is upbeat and not condescending, so his captions never stereotype, even when he photographs people that close-minded individuals might think of as "sketchy" or strange. His book radiates his own natural curiosity, along with diversity, appreciation and respect for the people that he photographs. For open-minded people watchers, this book is a treasure.It's difficult to classify this as a traditional coffee table photo book, if just by size alone. My copy is 304-page hardcover first edition printed in the U.S. and published by St. Martin's Press on October 15th, 2013. It measures 9.2 x 7.3 x 1 inches, which is hardly a coffee table book like another favorite, The New York Times Magazine Photographs by Kathleen Ryan. That Aperture edition measures 12.2 x 10.5 x 1.8 inches, a good bit larger.On a personal basis, I rank Brandon Stanton's book right up there with Robert Frank's The Americans, a powerful book in post-WWII American photography. First published in 1959, his black and white photos were remarkable for their distanced view of both high and low strata of American society of the time. In contrast to Stanton's book, there is an element of sadness, even despair, in some of the images, but there is joy as well.To many, New Yorkers are standoffish, cold and impersonal. For those of us who have spent time on the streets here, this is generally not so, and as a relative newcomer to the city, Brandon Stanton has proven that to be a myth. I am reminded of this quote that was written down when it was passed on by a friend:"My favorite thing about New York is the people, because I think they're misunderstood. I don't think people realize how kind New York people are."~ Bill Murray, Moviefone interview, April 27th, 2010What makes Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York so different is that it is not about high-profile celebrities. It features people who aren't normally documented, who one might find anywhere on the New York streets if one just looks. It's a book that I have already gifted to some special friends, ones who also enjoy real people in everyday settings. It's not just a personal favorite, but one that may well go down in books of NYC street photography as a landmark chronicle of this era. Time will tell.JW ▪ 1/2/2014

When I first cracked open the book all I saw were photos and I was a little disappointed. But a closer look showed the wonderful design that allows the captions to be part of art and not compete with over overshadow the photos for your attention. One thing that sets Brandon's work apart is his ability to truly connect with his subjects. The questions he ask are so simple (think "Inside the Actor's Studio") and yet illicit such though provoking statements that make you realize that life is hard and joyous for everyone at different times in their lives. Wisdom from children and adults as well as cautionary tales from poor choices. Filled with hope, kindness, chutzpah, and exuberance. I've lived in the NYC area for 15 years but Brandon helps us really SEE and FEEL the souls that make this place special.I'm certain he could shed the same light on all areas of our country but he's just one man. It's our responsibility to see these things in those around us and he's shown us that it's there for the taking if we're kind, patient and generous with each other.Such a wonderful book!

This is one of the best books I have read lately or maybe one of the all-time fav books for that matter. Each picture has a story! I feel like I read the collections of elaborate stories, each one of which has so much depth and profoundness. Come to think of it, it got to be because each picture just cut out one moment of those people’s life, real people’s life. Just because I used ‘real’ doesn’t mean I do not value fiction. And some pictures have anecdote. Some of them are real words by the people in the pictures and some are comments by the photographer. Some are straight-forward remarks, some are inscrutable words that don’t seem to make sense but if I mull it over looking at the face of the person or the backdrop of the picture, I start to see what that means. I have been to New York City a couple times. People say the city is a melting pot. Some say a salad bowl of different cultures. I would say, it is a salad bowl of individuals. There is nowhere on earth where people can be themselves. I have a chance to live there for at least 5 weeks next year. I want to walk and visit as many places as possible, and if I find favorite places I want to visit there as many times as I can. And I want to feel the vibe of the city and feel what it’s all about and…want to be one of the veggies in the bowl

Are you a people-watcher? I am. I love sitting on a bench on the boardwalk, watching the people go by and imagining their lives. In HUMANS OF NEW YORK, photographer Brandon Stanton took people watching to the next level. In 2010 he set out to "singlehandedly create a photographic census of New York City." First came his very successful blog humansofnewyork.com; then came this book of some of the best photographs of people that I have ever seen captioned with just enough of a blurb to send your imagination into overdrive.Prior to becoming a full-time photographer, Brandon Stanton was a bond trader in Chicago. When the bottom fell out of that job, he turned to his love of photography and his blog was born. Traveling from Chicago to New York, Stanton made stops in between to photograph the faces and places of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; but it wasn't until he made it to New York City that he found his calling. Humans. Amazingly these New Yorkers stopped whatever they were doing to spend a few moments with the photographer to pose for a photo and tell him a little bit about themselves. The result is this book version of people watching.What a brilliant idea. This is a book that I'll keep. I won't be giving it away. I read the book cover to cover soaking in all of the photos and the captions. Yet, each time I open it, I see something new. This book is the perfect gift to give to that hard to buy for person in your life.Here's hoping that this photographer keeps snapping photos and sharing them with all of us.✰✰✰✰✰