Eye Contact

It will not be easy, but it will be worth the effort: turn off that iPhone, close your laptop, shut down your tablet, turn off the TV. Then grab your camera if you want to really connect with someone who isn't a digitized ephemeral image, floating on your screen, a real human being, face-to-face! That's what Max James Fallon suggests in his new book, Eye Contact: Social Networking {Face-to-Face} With a Camera. He's one curious guy when it comes to meeting people when he travels, and to satisfy our need to connect and interact with our fellow human beings, he uses his camera to engage them, starting a conversation that often leads to a revealing photograph. The results of those connections, compelling and evocative portraits, are on display in this beautifully produced large-format book. After reading it, you may picture yourself in conversations that result from these unique moments in time when we meet as strangers but leave as friends. Interspersed between the stunning portraits from around the world, Max discusses his methodology in meeting and photographing strangers, as well as additional text contributions from twenty other professionals: photographers, sociologists, writers, academics, who add their take on this intriguing exercise. After paging through the impactful portraits, Max hopes you'll be inspired to take your camera more seriously. Connect your curiosity about people, your empathy and your willingness to let your camera take you to a far more satisfying social experience - real people meeting real people! The over 90 portraits will show what can be done with your own curiosity, coupled with your camera, to connect with intriguing subjects, that will make your life far more interesting and meaningful than any connection you may make online!