Full Frame Close Up: Humans of New York revisited

Full Frame

When CCTV America cameraman Duane Watkins traveled to New York City on assignment in 2013 to film the Full Frame Close Up on Brandon Stanton, the man behind photography blog Humans of New York (HONY), he didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. It was just another day on the job, but it changed his family’s life forever.

When Duane and his wife Kristen discovered that they could not have children, they didn’t give up their dreams of starting a family. After realizing that profound love doesn’t only stem from biology, the two chose to adopt from Ethiopia.

Full Frame Close Up: Humans of New York revisited

When CCTV America cameraman Duane Watkins traveled to New York City on assignment in 2013 to film the Full Frame Close Up on Brandon Stanton, the man behind photography blog Humans of New York, he didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. It was just another day on the job, but it changed his family’s life forever. It's a story that is very dear to all of us who work on this program; it also serves as a reminder of the profound joy that can be found in family and that the kindness of strangers is not a relic of a bygone era.

Their daughter, Chaltu, brought them so much joy that they were eager to adopt again and expand their family. As anyone who is familiar with the adoption process will tell you, adopting a child is not an inexpensive endeavor. Although the Watkins’ were ready to bring home a sibling for Chaltu, they simply did not have the finances necessary to move to the next step.

Upon hearing Duane’s story, Brandon Stanton decided to put the power of the wildly popular HONY community to good use. With Duane and Kristen’s permission, he offered to share their story on HONY and ask followers for donations that would help them bring their son home. What followed was a fairytale series of events that truly celebrated the generosity of the human spirit.

“A lot of people say that humanity is not near to what it used to be,” says Kristen. “That’s not true. It just really hit me that all of these people care enough about our son to help him come home. It wasn’t about Duane and I. They want this boy to be with his family. And now he can.”

This Full Frame Close Up is a story that is very close to the hears of all of us who work on this program; it also serves as a reminder of the profound joy that can be found in family and that the kindness of strangers is not a relic of a bygone era.

Humans of NY on Twitter: @humansofny

Click below to watch our original story on Humans of New York.