London: Facebook users love to connect with old friends without having to meet them face-to-face, but one man has vowed to personally buck the trend by meeting and photographing all 788 of his friends—half of whom he’s never even met. Ty Morin believes our social media-driven society has weakened the bonds between individuals by making it too easy to brush off old friends or quickly connect without having real conversation. To change this, or at least demonstrate that there is an alternative, the Connecticut man has decided to personally meet each of his nearly 800 online pals. Unblock facebook What’s more, Morin intends to photograph each of the men and women who grace his Facebook feed while they do what they do best. Morin explains his intentions, which include a documentary film of the project dubbed ‘Friend Request: Accepted,’ on his Kickstarter campaign fundraising page.get on Facebook “The idea is to capture everyone doing something they are passionate about, while filming the whole process…I want to sit down with everyone and witness what gets their blood pumping,” Morin writes. Those passions include fighting fires and sculpting with fire, modern dance, and weight lifting, among many others.Facebook proxy Interestingly, Morin freely admits “at least half of those 788 people, [he’s] never even spoken to”. Nonetheless, Morin won’t be quickly snapping a few digital photos of his subjects. To parallel his analog approach to personal connection, the filmmaker/photographer will be snapping shots using an old-fashioned 8X10 camera. “The process of shooting with this camera is long and tedious,” Morin writes. “It can be a pain … sometimes, but it also allows me to spend time with these people. Each portrait takes about an hour to complete.” So how long will a project that aims to photograph 788 geographically dispersed people, all doing what they love, take? “My plan,” writes Morin, “is to take five new portraits every week…it will take approximately three years.” Morin’s original fundraising goal for the filming, photographing, and travel expenses amounted to $5,000. With nine days left to donate, 212 backers had pledged well over double that with an impressive $12,500. Even with the extra money, Morin’s goal is a lofty one. But he remains confident. “I’ll roll with the punches,” he promises donors, “making this my number one priority until it’s Sundance material”. Meanwhile, Morin’s Facebook friend count has risen right along with the popularity of his project. From 788, it has quickly risen to over 1,200.