Beautiful People by Thomas Hackenberg
My series revolves around using music to inspire candid, unstaged street photography and incorporating music into pictures. I am passionate about street photography and have been in love with music since childhood. Recently, I was listening to a beautiful pop song, 'Beautiful People', by the late NYC-born singer-songwriter Melanie. This song inspired me to use its title as the name for my street photography series. I found it interesting to try to capture the essence of lines like "You live in the same world as I do", "You ride the same subway", or "We've got so much in common. I go the same direction that you do" in my street photographs. We all share the same world as fellow humans, with similar fears and needs, regardless of where we live. This idea gave me the motivation to interpret the song through my candid, unposed shots of ordinary people on the street. In my series, I also focus on style and fashion, two elements that I find fascinating when exploring the streets and looking for interesting and beautiful people to photograph. I hope you enjoy my series!
The song goes like this, and I have tried to translate it into pictures with my series:
Beautiful people
You live in the same world as I do
But somehow I never noticed
You before today
I'm ashamed to say
Beautiful people
We share the same back door
And it isn't right
We never met before
But then
We may never meet again
If I weren't afraid you'd laugh at me
I would run and take all your hands
And I'd gather everyone together for a day
And when we gather'd
I'll pass buttons out that say
Beautiful people
Then you'd never have to be alone
'Cause there'll always be someone
With the same button on as you
Include him in everything you do.
Beautiful people
You ride the same subway
As I do ev'ry morning
That's got to tell you something
We've got so much in common
I go the same direction that you do
So if you take care of me
Maybe I'll take care of you
Beautiful people
You look like friends of mine
And it's about time
That someone said it here and now
I make a vow that some time, somehow
I'll have a meeting
Invite ev'ryone you know
I'll pass out buttons to
The ones who come to show
Beautiful people
Never have to be alone
'Cause there'll always be someone
With the same button on as you
Include him in ev'rything you do
He may be sitting right next to you
He may be beautiful people too
And if you take care of him
Maybe I'll take care of you
And if you take care of him
Maybe I'll take care of you...
This series was a finalist in the 2023 Street Photographers Foundation awards.
