London - Facebook users love to connect with old friends without having to meet them face-to-face, but one man has vowed to buck the trend by meeting and photographing all 788 of his friends – half of whom he’s never met.
Ty Morin believes our social media-driven society has weakened the bonds between individuals by making it too easy to brush off old friends or quickly connect without having real conversation.
To change this, or at least demonstrate that there is an alternative, the Connecticut man has decided to personally meet each of his nearly 800 online pals.
What’s more, Morin intends to photograph each person doing what they do best.
Morin explains his intentions, which include a documentary film of the project dubbed Friend Request: Accepted, on his Kickstarter campaign fundraising page.
“The idea is to capture everyone doing something they are passionate about, while filming the whole process… I want to sit down with everyone and witness what gets their blood pumping,” Morin writes.
Those passions include fighting fires and sculpting with fire, modern dance, and weight lifting, among many others.
Morin admits “that at least half of those 788 people, he has never even spoken to”.
Nonetheless, he won’t be quickly snapping a few digital photos of his subjects.
To parallel his analog approach to personal connection, the film-maker/photographer will be snapping shots using an old-fashioned 8X10 camera.
“The process of shooting with this camera is long and tedious,” Morin writes.
“It can be a pain sometimes, but it also allows me to spend time with these people. Each portrait takes about an hour to complete.”
So how long will a project that aims to photograph 788 geographically dispersed people take?
“My plan is to take five new portraits every week… it will take approximately three years.”
Morin’s original fundraising goal for the filming, photographing, and travel expenses amounted to $5 000 (R50 400).
With nine days left to donate, 212 backers had pledged well over double that with an impressive $12 500.
Meanwhile, Morin’s Facebook friend count has quickly risen from 788 to over 1 200. – Daily Mail