Humans of New York

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, 2010 What 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

How often can you find a book with 400-plus gorgeous photos that's reasonably priced, not awkwardly sized or noticeably heavy to pick up? That's what I got when I bought Humans of New York, which I think is the most exciting and one of the best photography books I've ever seen. I'm not a connoisseur, but I do love photography books and have a cherished, though modest collection that I started acquiring in the 1970s with my first one, The Family of Man. Photographer Brandon Stanton captures much that is right about New York: the posturing, the beautiful women, kids being kids, fragile senior citizens, hipsters, hairstyles, fashions, kooky antics, faces and especially the smiles. The collection looks like it took a year or more of pounding sidewalks to find worthy material but remarkably, Humans of New York was a 2010 summer project. His book isn't laden with excess explanation and verbiage. When Stanton labels a photo, he gets it just right with a few words, or he let's the subject explain him or herself, such as the pretty girl with an attitude and fabulous hair, who says: "I'm going to let you take my photo because you seem like a genuine person. But just so you know -- I don't normally let people steal my swag." Most of the color photos evoke a sense of joy, but when Stanton flirts with the seamy side of New York life, you still feel the humanity. I will never again gaze upon a manic grin, or an elderly man wearing a fairy outfit or hear some crazy talk, without cutting that person a lot of slack. Sugar Hill: Where The Sun Rose Over Harlem

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. ✰✰✰✰✰

(First of all, I love Amazon prime. I ordered this book one night and it was delivered the very next morning!) I came across Humans of New York on Facebook, and soon looked forward every day to each new post and photo. I love the page so much, I was so excited to see there was a book as well! I ordered it right away and when it came I sat down (intending to just look over a few pages since I had a lot to do that day) and before I knew it two hours had passed and I had read the entire book! I literally could not put it down. It will make you laugh, cry, and pick your jaw off the floor. It makes you think of people in a way you haven't in a long time, to realize that each and every stranger you pass has a story. Hopes, dream, heartbreaks and triumphs. We too often get stuck in our own little world, and forget that we are not the only ones going through stuff. This book reminds you of that, and it does it beautifully with gorgeous text and stunning photography. The cover is beautiful, it is PERFECT to display as a coffee table book that will capture everyone who picks it up. I can't wait for Brandon Stanton to publish more books, I am going to buy every one. Very highly recommend, one of the best books I've ever bought.

This book is great. Stories and pictures just full of energy and joy.

I’m so glad that Brandon Stanton left his job as a bonds trader and picked up a camera. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to look at the amazing pictures in his book, The Humans of New York. I love this book! The first time around I looked at the pictures, the second time around I read most of the words that accompanied the photos, and the third time around I did both. Now in addition to looking at their photographs, I’m thinking about the people that Brandon Stanton captured through his camera lens. There are too many “models” to mention, so I’m spotlighting three that I especially like. (1) There’s the elderly lady with soft silver hair and a beautiful smile whose caption says, “Every time I force myself to go outside, something wonderful happens.” Great advice! (2) And I love the red shirted man named Bala. He's lying on his side in his picture, his long gray beard and hair framing his face. The man’s name is Lawrence, and his deceased wife’s name was Barbara. He called her Ba, and she called him La. After her death, he changed his name to Bala. (3) And then there’s Gac Filipaj, a refugee from Yugoslavia who’s decked out in his graduation regalia for his photograph. After 12 years of working as a janitor at Columbia University until 11:00 p.m. each night, he earned a classics degree. If you love pictures and the stories they tell, you’ll relish this book. After looking at it, you’ll know for certain that there are no uninteresting people and that Stanton is a gifted photographer who’s found his niche.

Summary of motivation behind 4 stars: Disrating: Lower print quality than expected (I have very high expectation); Limited number of photographs (many many more photos on Brandon's online blog) Promoting: A laudable first effort (neat (yet small) selection of Brandon's work with a number of unseen photographs); Very valuable price-tag-to-content ratio I pre-ordered this and got it on the day of release in good order. I've been following Brandon's blog on Facebook for almost a year now and have been impressed by his unique ideas about "a photographic census of New York City." Indeed, the purpose is to illustrate life in NYC via visually enchanting portraits and depicting the interaction among the people, but the mini interviews Brandon does add to the tangibility of these photographs. The first thing I noticed after opening the book was its low(er than expected) print quality. I understand that given the price tag of $17.99 (Amazon later refunded me some 35 cents following a pre-release discount) for a 304-page color print, it would be unreasonable to expect the best print quality out there, but as part of my review I thought I should mention this. The paper quality is pretty good, although it is very thick so you don't get that many photographs in the whole book. When looking at the book I felt like I'd seen all of the photos and surely many more that I wish were there, and yet some new photographs I was getting a look at for the first time. I highly applaud Brandon's efforts and part of the reason I bought the book was to support him. I therefore would definitely be willing to pay a much higher price (~$200) for a future edition should it have top-notch print quality on super-thin and light-weight paper with considerably more photographs and interviews included, possibly organized in chapters telling a story. I hope this book be a kick-starter for improved future editions that would complete this endeavor. I wish the revenue from this edition be appropriately used to organize a worthy collection of Brandon's HONY project. I might update this post with more specific comments on the content.

Love his books Brandon Stanton is fantastic

Good!!!

bellissimo, pregno di storie e immagini, bello sia da sfogliare la sera che da finire tutto d'un fiato! Fa la sua porca figura anche da tenere nella propria libreria e attira sempre l'attenzione degli ospiti

This review applies to all the HONY books, especially the one entitled "Humans": A perspective check on all our lives, especially on your own hardships. Definitive evidence of our common humanity across borders and identities. An important exercise in empathy and humility. A global treasure. Your life will be poorer without these books, but enriched by having it. You know what to do now - go and get a copy of all of them as soon as possible and support Brandon's important work chronicling lives, loves and losses <3

Interesting book. Enjoyed the stories

Incredibly touching and interesting. I’ve been following the HONY page for years but the book format and snapshots take the experience to another level. Highly recommend as a gift as well.