Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, published by St. Martin’s Press (2013) is one of the best books I have read in several years. He and his camera have roamed the five boroughs of New York and dozens of his more memorable encounters are in the book.

What we have in this recent blog post are his photographs of several people he encountered while roaming around Ukraine.

“I fell in love with a girl who, logically, I knew was not a good match for me. It didn’t end well. Afterwards, I made a short film based on the relationship— basically saying that you shouldn’t let your heart overrule your head. And now I’ve made the exact same mistake with another girl.” (Odessa, Ukraine)

“What’s the plan if the farmer comes?”

“Run.” (Korzhi, Ukraine)

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“A dad.”

“What will be the best part of being a dad?”

“Buying myself a skateboard.”

(Odessa, Ukraine)

She initially said “no” when I asked for a photo, but another old woman walked by, and began speaking passionately in Ukrainian. Apparently convinced by the words of the passerby, the woman shrugged, and posed for the picture. After everything was finished, I asked my translator:

“What did that other woman say?”

“She said: ‘You must not refuse a photo, because you must represent the women of your land. Now go to eternity!’”

(Odessa, Ukraine)

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To visit Brandon’s award-winning website and learn more about him and his brilliant work, please click here. His next book is Little Humans, also published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (October 7, 2014).

To pre-order it, please click here.