Art and photography are always great sources of inspiration but Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York series, in particular, seems to have struck a chord with people all across the world. Following in the footsteps of the photographer's ongoing portrait series, several Humans of… projects have popped up. It turns out, there are interesting people all across the globe, not just in New York!
With over seven billion people roaming this earth, it should come as no surprise that you're bound to run into someone with a story. Personalities walk the earth, from Belfast and Berlin to Tehran and India. Through Facebook, many pages dedicated to regions of the world have emerged in an effort to provide a candid perspective of these real people.
While it's interesting to hear quick quips and funny little stories, the portraits also provide insight into the lives of people from all walks of life. By actively adding these portraits to their respective pages, Facebook users are sharing stories of people from various upbringings, cultures, and religions that they encounter and manage to have a quick conversation with. It's an added layer of connectedness through a social networking medium.
Take a look at some of the people we've discovered through several of the most popular “Humans of” projects out there, but be sure to check out more interesting individuals on their respective Facebook pages.
“Good Morning! Can I take a photo of you?”
“Sure! Just don't show it to your grandma. She might fall in love with me.”
“They all think I come from [faking a British accent] THE UNITED KINGDOM, because I look like an English man. Oh, and also, because I sing! [starts singing God Save the Queen]”
“I used to be a photographer for a magazine in the GDR. On a trip around Yakutia in Russia the chief pilot of the Yakutia helicopter fleet took our group for a ride. He was a show-off and did all sorts of tricks with the helicopter: Up he went and down again, round and round. Suddenly he made the helicopter fall down and, well, he didn't see the high-voltage cable underneath. So we crashed. Nobody got hurt, but one guy wet his pants – and it wasn't me!”
Meet Haya. I saw her coming out from the hair dresser with a crown over her head and asked if there is any special occasion for this hairdo. She answered: “For me, every day that the sun is shining is a special occasion.”
“So are you Facebook users?”
“Facebook is how we reconnected after 30 long years…”
“She is such a wonderful person, incredibly understanding and loyal”
“He is gentle and caring with the most incredible mind…..”
“Ive been thinking a lot about distances these days.”
“What about them?”
“Well, my brother lives abroad in one place, my sister lives somewhere else –
my parents are soon migrating and my grand parents are also moving away to another country. Eventually, I'll get married and be God knows where. I guess these days I'm just thinking about how all of us were once just a street apart or not even and how for various reasons; life, pursuit of success etc. we are separated. You grow up and you grow apart and I'm just trying to wrap my head around that these days.”
“Have a quote?”
“Carpe diem.”
“Why that one?”
“I don't know. I can't tell you. I'm not allowed to. It's forbidden.”
“At the age of 10 I was fluent in Irish and a published author, then when I was 18 I went to prison.”
“Why? What you do?”
“..Cause I'm a bollox, and was never caught. Everyone in this world is perfect… even i'm perfect… and i'm an awful bollox for saying that.”
“My name's Wee Tommy, nice to meet you. I've been working this job for 12 years and I've met more people over the years than I can remember. I knew one kid from when he was in primary school and now he's a fully-qualified doctor. Asked him if he could do anything to cure my hair loss, sadly not! “
“We've been together for over 30 years.”
“No it's been almost 40!”
“No it's been 30!!….”
“I am from Qinghai province and I am waiting for the sun to come out from behind those clouds … that will keep me smiling also the whole next day !”
“Once my teacher asked me what my favorite color is, and I said ‘Water,' because water can turn into all the colors like how a blue sky makes it blue and grey clouds make it grey. She said water isn't a color. I still think it is.”
