Hello...

...and welcome to People That Make Me Smile.
Although the name is pretty self-explanatory, I'd nonetheless like to give a brief introduction to this project/collection/community...? 

It began with a simple love for people.
I know, cliche right? But let me expand...

You only have to be vaguely aware of your fellow humankind to notice the obvious differences:  shapes, sizes, colors, dispositions, fashions, cultures, likes and dislikes, passions, beliefs, ambitions... smiles. There have been billions and billions of us, and never have two been exactly alike.  But this is nothing new or novel, so I'll spare you my sappy anecdotes.


What I am taken by is what each one of us adds to... well, us.  We all exist somewhere, at sometime, as the person we are and in doing so inadvertently contribute to this strange, complex, extraordinary puzzle of humankind.
(...ok, I'm losing you now aren't I? Stay with me though...)
Despite the bazillion (yea, thats right, bazillion) of people there have been, the coutless that we come into contact with daily, there are still those who for whatever reason, stand out.

It could be those people we know well, people we see often but know a little about, or strangers we pass only once.  But something about them... well, they just make you smile.

There are a number of reasons, most inexplicable, why some people bring me such joy.  But I think it has something to do with reflecting the truth of their character.  Not to say that what one does, or how they photograph, explains a persons character, or reveals an all encompassing truth of ones existance.  But there is something to be said for those who are unabashedly themselves, those who are comfortably different, those who take joys in life and its simple or complex pleasures, those who teach without words, and who radiate hope.

(Ok, I'll get to my point)

This collection is dedicated to those people.  Those who bring joy to this world, or at least me, by simply being themselves.

These are people that make me smile.