Once suicidal and depressed, Corey Hudson, a photographer in New Haven, Connecticut has embarked on a personal mission to photograph The Hearts of Strangers. Similar to StoryCorps, Corey spends his time getting to know complete strangers and asks them a series of questions about their life.

I've always been curious to see how this could be done at the local level after seeing the Humans of New York project take off. But Corey's approach is different and remarkable because he dives in deep to ask people those very things that they might often suppress within themselves. That might be due to feeling disconnected from society or unwanted by their family members. By giving people a channel all their own to express themselves, Corey hopes that their stories will inspire others and convince most who read these stories that they are not alone at all.

Project has had a cathartic effect on Corey, who is now clean and sober, is not on any anti-depressant medications and sees every day as a special gift. He feels more connected to society and thanks to a fully funded Kickstarter campaign is set to get on the road to discover strangers all across the US who will talk to him and allow him to photograph them in this intimate manner.

We chatted quickly about the project. Give this is a listen:

Some of the “strangers” Corey has photographed. Remember, their stories can be found here.

Please spend the time watching this interview Corey gave to WTNH's Ann Nyberg:

Would you like to support Corey's project? You can by buying his first book from this project called Every Heart Has A Story To Tell. Feel free to follow Corey and the project via his Facebook page.

Can embarking on a personal photography project help you overcome your obstacles and challenges? Brené Brown who wrote “Daring Greatly” explores the power of vulnerability. I highly recommend you read it!

What I find remarkable about Corey is his perseverance to pivot from a lousy situation and find purpose and meaning in his life through photography, writing and sharing stories contributed in large part by strangers. In the video, I tip my hat to Skip Cohen who at Shuttefest presented a fantastic idea to photograph local business owners and celebrate them through blog posts or social media channels. Imagine for a second if you are feeling like nothing is going right in your business or life and you suddenly start to connect with these strangers in such a positive manners. What could happen to your business and you? There is no downside to knowing more people in the world in an intimate and authentic way.

Are you working on a project you would like to share with us? Contact me to tell me more. I'll be in touch with you right away.

Meet Brandon Wong, a wedding photographer based in Orange County, California, and listen to the story behind how he and his wife Katrina Santos decided to launch Photobooth Supply Company.

As a busy studio they began to cap off at 30 weddings a year. Savvy business owners, Brandon and Katrina were looking for ways of expanding their business and bring in more revenue without having to be personally involved in the service. They hit upon the idea of offering photo booths but the only ones available were expensive and kludgy.

After sinking nearly $15,000 into a photo booth set up that didn't work for them at all, Brandon and Katrina resolved to bring to the market a more elegant, cost-effective solution that creates a revenue stream for photographers.

I wanted to know more about how Brandon and Katrina decided to launch their photo booth and so I spoke with Brandon earlier this year (yes, when it was winter time and I was wearing three layers of clothes here in Connecticut).

Learn more about Photobooth Supply Company here. If you decide to lease one or buy one, please come back here and let me know what you thought of it. Let's say you go in for the top photo booth (that's $9300 right now), and you charge $1500 an event, it will only take you six rentals to recover the cost of the set up. Surely, if you are a wedding photographer or an event photographer, you can persuade your clients to have one of these fun and easy to set up photo booths at their event!

Here is a few frames of my buddy Dave Jackson and I at Inspire Photo Retreats. Hat tip to Lulawed and Maine Snapshot Studio for making a Photobooth Suppply Company photo booth available for all of us at the photography convention to play with and experience first hand!

You don't know Becky yet. She is married to David, a photographer just like you.

In fact, it was only a few months ago that David and Becky celebrated their wedding with family and friends in Connecticut. Soon after they returned from Hawaii, where they were vacationing for their honeymoon, Becky suffered what in medical terms is called Acute Liver Failure. She has been hospitalized for the last seven weeks, now waiting for a liver transplant at Yale-New Haven Medical Center.

David is a wedding and fashion photographer based in Connecticut. As a neighbor, friend and peer, I couldn't stand by the sidelines and do nothing for him and his wife. So, I decided to find out more about Acute Liver Failure and spread the word about their medical and financial challenges.

The local news channels are talking about Becky and David and how you can help. Becky's friend Tracy Burek started a campaign online to help the newly wedded couple face some very challenging financial times ahead.

If you can step up and help a fellow photographer, please do so. As David says in the video interview, it doesn't even have to be a financial donation at this time. Simply let others know about organ donation and if you can make a financial commitment, then great! Please share this post with your friends and family.

Please note: In the video above, David states that Becky can't receive a liver donation from a living donor. He later corrected himself by saying that she can receive a liver from a living donor.

Update: David was recently interviewed by WFSB, a local television channel. Please check out that video below:

WFSB 3 Connecticut