A picture's worth 1000 words, but these online photo projects might leave you speechless.
1. The Love Train
Courtesy of James Doernberg
College students James Doernberg and Kai Jordan have only been dating a month, but that didn't stop them from going the distance and photographing themselves at every Manhattan subway station last Wednesday. The couple started at 14th Street on the 1 line and made their way up, down, and crosstown, snapping a quick picture and scrambling back through the closing doors at each stop. The 118-station photo shoot took nine hours to complete. Doernberg and Jordan are moving away from the city—and each other—when they attend separate colleges in the fall.
2. Mila's Daydreams
Courtesy of Mila's Daydreams
If you've seen one sleeping baby picture, you've seen them all ... unless you're looking at the blog Mila's Daydreams. Finnish mom Adele Enersen created a whole new genre of infant photography when she began creating imaginative dreamscapes around her sleeping daughter in 2010. The successful blog has launched an art book entitled When My Baby Dreams, a popular wall calendar, and many adorable imitators.
3. Switcheroo
Courtesy of Hana Pesut
Canadian photographer Hana Pesut's Switcheroo photo series first captures couples in their normal clothes and then makes them swap outfits. Hey, it's more fun than walking a mile in each other's shoes ...
4. Brooklyn Theory
Courtesy of Brooklyn Theory
Photographers see the world differently from the rest of us. Exhibit A: The blog of Brooklyn photographer Matt Coch. He won't even go to the laundromat without his camera.
5. Maddie On Things
Courtesy of Maddie On Things
Maddie the coonhound isn't just her owner's best friend. She's also his muse. Photojournalist Theron Murphy started taking pictures of his graceful rescue dog atop ladders, bikes, and even a basketball hoop as a hobby. Now the two are on a national tour to promote the book Maddie on Things: A Super Serious Project About Dogs and Physics.
6. The Shadow Project
Courtesy of Color Me Katie
Watch your back! In The Shadow Project, Brooklyn photographer Katie Sokoler matched unsuspecting pedestrians with whimsical construction paper shadows. Sokoler hid out with her camera to capture the moment that subjects walked into art. She previously employed the same technique to make Thought Bubbles.
7. Dear Photograph
Courtesy of Dear Photograph
"Take a picture of a picture, from the past, in the present." The premise of the website Dear Photograph isn't as confusing as it sounds. Contributors return to the place where they took an old photograph, picture in hand, and then take a new photo. The result is a poignant reminder to "take a picture, it'll last longer." Site founder Taylor Jones published a Dear Photograph book in 2012.
8. Noah K. Everyday
Courtesy of Noah K. Everyday
A selfie a day won't keep the wrinkles away. But if you do it as long as photographer Noah Kalina—13 years and counting—you might actually appreciate growing older. (Watch him age 12.5 years in under eight minutes.)
Feeling camera-shy? Try documenting every day of someone else's life.
9. Humans of New York
Courtesy of Humans of New York
Who says New Yorkers are stand-offish? Photographer Brandon Stanton captures the people of the Big Apple with revealing portraits usually accompanied by a quote. Since launching HONY in 2010, Stanton has also photographed people in Iran and Boston. The Humans of New York book hits stores in October.
10. Young Me/Now Me, Back to the Future, and more
Courtesy of Less Human; More Being
If you thought your childhood photos were funny the first time around, try recreating them as an adult. Young Me/Now Me is one of many sites in which contributors submit new-old photos. We're not sure who started the trend, but Argentinian photographer Irina Werning's Back to the Future project does an especially great job replicating the look and feel of vintage photos.
Courtesy of Back to the Future
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What else deserves to be on this list?