The Human Stories of Reed Young

Reed Young grew up in Minnesota and moved to California to attend photography school, which he did in 2002. After graduating from the Brooks Institute in 2005, he qualified for a year to live at the Bennetton Group's FABRIKA Research Communications Center in Treviso, Italy. At FABRIKA, he worked on several publications, and then found his place in the genre of journalistic portraits. He now lives and works in New York. We bring to your attention one of his projects.

(Total 18 photos)

1. "Goldie" crossed the border at 16 and started dancing topless in a bar staffed mostly by illegal immigrants from Juarez. She soon abandoned that lifestyle and now owns her own cafe in a remote corner of south-central El Paso. The walls of the cafe are hung with photographs of Marilyn Monroe, one of her idols. “Marilyn often said that a woman should be free, that a man should not limit her, and that a woman should be what she wants,” says Goldie.

2. Tegvir Singh Sibia is an agronomist and owner of a mechanized farm. He was twice President of the Chandigarh Golf Club. Tegvir lives with his son and daughter. Together with his brother Sunny, he is on the board of directors of two educational institutions in his native Sangrur. “We have always been first in what we do, especially in agriculture. We started the first "seed" business in India and were very happy with it. We gradually approached machine agriculture, it was a time of change, and if we had not changed the primitive agricultural methods, our business simply would not have paid off,” says Tegvir.

3. John Anton is a 47-year-old man with Down syndrome who serves in the Massachusetts Parliament as a representative for people with disabilities. While half of all children with Down syndrome have a congenital heart defect, new surgical techniques have helped increase their life expectancy from 25 years in 1983 to 60 years now.

4. Until 1960, Brownsville was a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. Now Leon Sternhell is one of only two remaining Jews who still work here. Before his eyes, Brownsville's crime rate rose as stores and shop windows began to be cleared. In response to street brutality, Mr. Sternhell locks the front door of his shop after each customer, for which the customers are very grateful to him.

5. Mabel Panigeo, 81, has lived in Barrow, Alaska all her life. Modern conveniences such as internet, television and branded clothing have only recently arrived in this remote town. Like most older natives, she made this traditional Eskimo jacket from patterns that have been passed down from generation to generation for over 1,000 years. Maybelle worries that her grandchildren's generation will lose these traditional values and customs if she doesn't remind them of them every day.

6. Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack explains to Federico why the sky is blue.

7. Erwin Royal is a scrap metal collector from Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Most of his clientele are commercial fishermen. Since the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, his business has suffered markedly. Erwin (right) is pictured here with Ernest Montgomery, former head of the fire station. They have known each other for over 50 years.

8. Mail truck driver Hakim Bashir delivered packages without a security guard for about a year until he was robbed. Hakim believed that he would be safer alone, but reality convinced him. The parcel stolen then was left in the corridor, but this robbery prompted Hakim to ask his company for an armed escort. He is now accompanied by retired police officer Curtis Walston.

9. Seven days a week, 23-year-old Galson Mgaya travels from his remote village of Mtwango to the nearest town of Makambako, Tanzania. He ties 20 hens and roosters to his bicycle, which he then sells in the city for twice as much as if he were selling them in his village. The trip takes him 3.5 hours each way, but it's worth it because he earns about $8 a day. The money goes to support his parents and two sisters.

10. Carpenter during a break.

11. Guy Singh - the son of the last noble man in Alsis, Rajasthan. He was born in Jaipur, served in the army and then opened his own hotel. He now owns three hotels in Rajasthan, two of which are residences of his parents, which he has converted into hotels. He is married with two sons and lives in his hotel in Jaipur. “There were so many people around us, but gradually all this changed back in 1968, when I graduated from school. We didn't have many people working for us then. But now this hotel business has helped me bring back that era,” Guy says.

12. Hoshitaño Imachi is a 44-year-old Argentine who moved to Tokyo at 21 to attend Chuo University. Arriving in Japan, he became a sumo wrestler in order to earn a living and send money home to his relatives. Now he is an official citizen of Japan and works as a professional wrestler for the Japanese company DDT.

13. A typical summer holiday in Italy.

14. Min Li is an informal representative of the Vietnamese community in Baiou la Batre, Alabama. About a third of the population of this town are of Asian origin, and most of them are Vietnamese. Minh was adopted by an American soldier in the 1960s and returned to Vietnam in the 1970s with the US Navy. After retiring, he moved to Bayou la Batre and bought several shrimp boats, including the Sunrise boat pictured here. After an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Ming converted his ships to help clean up.

15. Eight-year-old Oscar works every day with his father in the fields, taking care of the animals. They have five goats, two cows, two horses and five chickens. This horse, worth 4,000 pesos ($120), will only be sold by the family if absolutely necessary. Oscar's mother works at a local shop.

16. Konishiki Yasokichi is a 45-year-old retired sumo wrestler and one of Japan's most recognizable celebrities. He has now retired from the sport that brought him popularity, has become a hip-hop artist, and also hosts his own children's TV show. He was the heaviest sumo wrestler of all time (264 kg). Two years ago, he underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost most of the weight that threatened his health.

17. On the way to my cousin's birthday party on Saturday afternoon.

18. Waiting for the husband to come out of the bathroom. This married couple has been happily living together for almost 60 years.