Another bit of inspiration for your fieldstudies, folks. Pay special attention to how this photographer discusses his "technique," how he approaches people, asks them for their participation, and listens to their stories in an attempt to capture "their essence" in his photo and brief caption. Also, check out his Facebook page! It is amazing!
'Humans of New York': Photog Gone Viral | Video - ABC News
Good stuff! This is definitely something that piques my interests. I'm always a fan of getting down to the individual level rather than viewing many people as one entity, and hearing the stories of each person like this just takes the cake!
ReplyDeleteThis was wicked cool! I admire the photographer for being able to go up to strangers like that and take such beautiful photos and actually get stories to go along with the photo. I'm surprised that 2/3 people say yes to him. I would not expect people to be so casual and open with a stranger. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteThat was amazing! I can't wait to check out his Facebook page and actually look at all the pictures he's taken. It definitely helps asking people to share their personal opinions and experiences if you ask nicely with a smile. I can only imagine the amount of people he's inspired.
ReplyDeleteWow! I really love how this man goes out of his way to collect all of those stories and photos from strangers. It really makes me think about how each person has a different story, most of which we will never know, which is sad because other people are really interesting! What a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI wish that I was that courageous to just walk up to people on the street and ask them if I could take their picture. He must meet so many new people and learn all of the stories behind the faces. While I was watching this, I was thinking about whether or not I would let him take my picture if he asked me. I think I would let him (as long as I looked presentable) because then I could be a part of his story, which would be pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteThat was wicked interesting. I think it's so funny that he started doing this photography because he got fired from his job. He mentions that strangers are more open about their personal feelings with other strangers than they are with their own best friend. That comment really struck out to me. It makes sense though because you're never going to see this stranger again so you can just say what's on your mind and then not have to worry about what you said coming back up again. I wish I had the courage to just go up to talk with people like he does.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved his idea of making his studies more personal because it was really interesting to hear everyone's stories. The one story that really touched me was the old woman talking about her husband. She starts by saying "Mo how am I supposed to live without you?", and he replies "Take the love you have for me... and spread it around". This personal touch truly makes his work worth viewing. I love how so many people actually talked to him and allowed him to take pictures of them. His work is truly amazing because his work is generalized, they are the words of individual people he had the pleasure of talking to.
ReplyDeletethis was such a good idea. And its true, it depends on how you portray yourself the response you will receive from complete strangers. Also it is easier to tell a complete stranger something because what are the chances of ever seeing them again. Not only is he collecting this pictures but he is collecting their stories of life, love, struggles and prosperity. Doing something as selfless as taking pictures of strangers created a beautiful story.
ReplyDeleteGreat story! Its rather intriguing how a set of events can change your life, like he had to get fired and see the world from a different point of view to discovered this was something he wanted to do. It really emphasizes that when you are too busy working for money you kind of lose that humane side of yourself. But if you don't have money then you can't do anything, ha! Life. Anyways, he seems to be a nice person, definitely not shy, and charismatic so that play in his favor. I think as humans we know when a person truly cares for what he /she is doing so we tend to open up. He seems to care very deeply for his project, so it shows.
ReplyDeleteAs this video went on, I got really absorbed in it because it made a lot of sense what he was saying, and it's easily applicable to my fieldsite since I'll also be approaching strangers off of the street and asking them for their stories. I just hope that I'll be able to do it as casually as he does and that I can hear as many interesting things to make it not seem like a crowd and more like a group of individuals that are waiting for buses.
ReplyDeleteThis was so cool! I was amazed to see how people reacted to his photos- not just taking them for face value, but clearly seeing in them something deeper. It brings to mind the well-worn phrase "A picture's worth a thousand words." It shows how our own worlds combined with the worlds we explore will come together and (hopefully) tell a great story through our fieldstudies.
ReplyDeleteAlso it makes me feel a bit better about the fact that I took about a billion pictures in addition to my notes this weekend at Autumnfest; it makes me feel like it will improve my project a bit to have these pictures to reflect on in November and December..
This video was so inspiring, to look past what people look like and take a glimpse into some ones life. It truly illustrates what we do not know about people, it gives meaning to the phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover." This is such a touching story, and gives us all something to aim for wit our field sites, to uncover something as amazing as this.
ReplyDeleteI had actually heard of this project before from my girlfriend who goes to school in New York and I love it. I've been checking the facebook page every so often since she told me, but I've never actually thought of it too much from his perspective as an artist/fieldworker. It's very cool to see his side of the story because he keeps his posts so focused on his new friends. Definitely a great example of how to put a fieldworking project into action!
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