Since 2010, Brandon Stanton has been photographing and sharing stories of strangers across New York City on his social media site Humans of New York. HONY began with only a few loyal followers, but has grown to over 15 million across social media networks as well as books. With the blog concentrating on people across New York City, Stanton remains out of the focus.

“I began before I was ready just because I knew I loved photography,” Stanton said, recalling the beginning of his HONY adventures.

After the first few years of struggling through the University of Georgia, Stanton attended Georgia Perimeter College before finishing his education back at UGA where he became close friends with the History Department’s business manager, Vici Payne.

“He had so many dreams of what he wanted to do, but his mom was pushing him in a different direction,” Payne said. “Brandon is a smart kid. He was a very outgoing person, and he had a lot of ideas and passion for them.”

After graduating from UGA, Stanton found himself working as a bond trader in Chicago. He took pride in his work but knew bond trading was not the end goal.

“It’s funny – the thing I feared and clung to most was getting fired, but when I got fired, I found it was a pretty good day.”

Photography had already become a hobby on the weekends when Stanton photographed still life and city scenery.

“I bought the camera as a way to create space in my mind, to create art and not think about the markets,” Stanton said.

Eventually, Stanton sold some shots to raise the funds to travel to various U.S. cities to take more photographs.

“I want to do something just because I love it – just because I enjoy it,” Stanton said. “My parents thought I was crazy. My friends thought I was crazy. I kind of was.”

Payne and many others voiced concern for Stanton’s new path.

“I didn’t think it was a good idea, but he was just so passionate,” said Payne. “I said ‘you’ve got to follow your dream.’”

Stanton took this advice and traveled from Chicago to New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and eventually New York City where he fell automatically in love — not with the scenery like the other places he travelled, but with the people. Stanton recalls the very first shot he ever took.

“I remember seeing these two on the subway,” he said. “These kids don’t know each other, and the parents don’t know each other either, but the kids had the exact same look on their face.”

Stanton remembers the fear of judgment before snapping the shot and receiving an uncomfortable side glance from the mother.

“Even though I had only been photographing for a few months, I took a photo that even some professional photographers might not take. Why? Because I got over that fear,” he said.

The fear didn’t leave for quite some time, but Stanton didn’t allow it to prevent further pictures.

“I had some real unorthodox techniques,’’ Stanton said. “I would just bend down in front of somebody and wait until they looked up to snap the picture.”

Fear of rejection or judgment still remains prevalent in Stanton’s work.

“I’ve been to 20 different countries. I get rejected in New York more than any of them, by far. I’ve been rejected 8,000 times,” he said.

The impersonal methods of photography captured thought-provoking moments, but they still didn’t capture the minds of Stanton’s few blog followers. The premise of Humans of New York rapidly changed when Stanton came across a photo he found rather mundane, so he placed a small comment beside it which he remembered from the day before.

“Suddenly, it was the most liked photo I’ve ever had,’’ Stanton said. “It got 27 likes or something!”

As the blog evolved, the stories and the purpose of the HONY did as well.

“HONY is no longer about photography. I don’t see myself as a photographer anymore,” Stanton said.

Thousands of pictures after the subway shot, Stanton has become one of the world’s greatest stranger greeters.

“[It’s not easy] to take an inherently awkward situation of meeting a stranger on the street and then 10-15 minutes later be talking about something they might not have shared with even their wife or friends,” he said.

So how does he do it?

“I go for somebody that normally is alone…and sitting. If they’re next to their best friend, they’ll completely glam,’’ Stanton said. “I also never approach somebody from behind. That’s generally a bad idea in New York.”

The interviews average about 30 – 45 minutes and follow a series of standard questions such as ‘What is your biggest challenge? Who is your greatest influence? What is your happiest, saddest, guiltiest moment? What is your biggest goal? What’s your greatest weakness?’

From random strangers on the streets of New York to President Obama, the questions remain the same.

“Everybody gets asked the exact same questions,” Stanton said. “It brings out the commonness in everyone. The president gets asked the same questions as the green lady.”

While Humans of New York revolves around the city and its people, Stanton has traveled to nearly 20 different countries. Some of his trips were associated with the United Nations, to continue the efforts abroad. Stanton recognizes that HONY has the ability to shed new light on subjects within countries that are represented in the media as little more than war-torn or poverty-stricken countries.

“I can go to another country where all the other journalists are asking ‘what do you think about terrorism, what do you think about violence, what do you think about the bombs,’ and ask that person ‘what was the happiest moment of your life?’” Stanton said. “Suddenly, that’s bringing out a narrative about the country that doesn’t get shared very much because everyone’s focusing on the most sensational aspects of the country.”

Stanton has also channeled fundraising efforts through his blog, raising funds for Hurricane Sandy, a public high school in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and many more causes, including oversea charities. While HONY has successfully raised money for charity, Stanton remains wary that HONY is not in existence for fundraising but rather storytelling.

“My inbox is full of ‘I have a great cause’. I don’t ever want the stories to be told for money,’’ Stanton said. Payne fears that HONY may not last forever.

“Brandon has mentioned that this might not be his entire future, and I think that’s okay,’’ Payne said. “He’ll pursue other things, all of them with equal passion.”

While the future of HONY is unclear, Stanton is certain of the present.

“This is currently my purpose in life – to do this as much as possible, get as good at it as possible, and share it with as many people as possible,” Stanton said.

While HONY has expanded off social media into books and across the globe capturing the minds of millions of followers, Stanton acknowledges the beginning was just taking that first step in the direction of his passion—or in this case the first photograph.

“This all started with that,’’ Stanton said.  “All because of that wide eyed guy—when I took a picture of those kids. No likes. No validation. No shares. No money. It just felt awesome, ya know? And if you have something that feels like that, just go for it like it’s your job. At least for a little while.”