Humans of New York: From My Bookshelf
Welcome back to a series that I started a little while ago called From My Bookshelf.
I have collected many photography related books over the years from some of the biggest names in photography to some that most people never heard of.
People always ask me what do I do when I feel like I am in a rut creatively? I sit down and I page through my collection of photo books seeking inspiration. There hasn’t been a time where I looked at any of my photo books and I have not felt that rush of excitement to go capture photos.
Photo books are powerful, images captured in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s really make you slow down and think about the challenges that those photographers faced. Just imagine going out one day and only shooting 10 or less images.
Do you think if you were forced to only shoot 10 images you would be able to come out with something worthwhile?
The photo book that I chose off my bookshelf this time around is” target=”_blank”>Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York. For anyone who has not heard about the blog humans of New York I highly recommend you checking it out.
Brandon started a project a few years back where he stops people on the streets of New York and not only asks to take their picture but takes time to ask questions. The responses that he gets back are sometimes life changing.
Everyone has a story all you have to do is take the time to ask.
I purchased this book on sale at Amazon over the holidays for $14.99. The reason I purchased it was the fact that Brandon has shared so many amazing photos across his social sphere and I felt this was a way of supporting the artist. He has never asked me for anything but he has supplied me with a ton of free content to enjoy.
What do I think about the quality of the printing and the size of the book? I personally like hardback books and this one fits that bill. It is a pretty small book packed with 400 images some never before seen. The book measures in and 9.1×7.2 inches which is pretty small for a photo book.
The printing int he book honestly is not the best I have seen for a photo book. In fact it ranks pretty low on the quality scale for me. You can see the dots of the printing on many of the images and the paper does not seem to be the best stock.
My hopes for the book were to see some of the best photos from the project along with their stories. I was pretty bummed to find that the book lacked the personal stories that the website shares. I expected to see the best of the best along with the best stories and all I got were a ton of images crammed onto pages with no information about the people.
In the end is the book worth adding to your bookshelf? My answer is yes, even with the lack of quality printing and the lack of stories I still think Brandon has delivered plenty of free and quality content to warrant supporting his current and future products.
Are there any photography related books that you have on your bookshelf that you think I should check out? Please let me know by leaving a comment below, tweeting me or leaving a comment on Facebook. My goal is to make you aware of as many photo books as possible to help you become a better photographer.
