Not too long ago I featured a blog entry with a picture of a partner in Texas, at work in his store.  It was a great candid photo, and it made me think that there might be more of these kinds of photos out there.  It’s always fun to look at pictures of smiley faces, and surely working at Starbucks produces some happy faces, and so I put out a call to gather such photos.  This was easier said than done.  The previous blog post was here:

The faces of Starbucks: Seeking pics of real people, real partners

I had outlined a long list of rules, but most people sort of half-way followed them.  I ended up cropping people out of photographs where the permission to use the person’s image appeared ambiguous to me.  In other words, if a partner sent in a pic with him or her standing next to someone, and that other person didn’t provide me permission to use their image, I cropped the photo.  As a result of this, a few of the photos below may appear oddly cropped.

I realize this was a tough request that I made.  Most people aren’t really all that fond of sharing face pics.  Furthermore, I asked for just partner participation which limited the number of emails I would get.  I didn’t imagine that I would get a bunch of close ups, because I thought candid pics will sometimes be at a distance.  I got a mix of both.  I really have to thank every single person who sent in a picture.  It is much appreciated.  Those people who sent an address with the emailed photo will get a ‘prize’ from me – The prizes, listed in a previous blog post, were a very cool Starbucks coffee stirrer, and a $10 Starbucks gift card.  Oddly, very few people included an address with their picture submission.

The photo that is the anchor photo for this blog requires a short explanation.  The barista is now, only just recently, a former partner and right here in Seattle.  She is someone whom I used to see regularly.  Although she’s left the company, we talked on the phone recently and she shared this photo and said I could use it. It doesn’t really count as a pic for a prize, but this person is one coffee knowledgeable and passionate person!

The kind of passion that people have for Starbucks as a brand is inspiring, and you can definitely see it in these pictures.  It makes each and every one of these pics its own precious gem.

Enjoy and please comment!