A few years ago, Amy Lombard photographed a pug Meetup in Staten Island, NY. She left the event curious about how the Internet had united a diverse group of people, based purely around their shared interest in pugs. From that point on, Lombard began shooting more and more of these gatherings, evolving the photographs into a long term series documenting Meetup culture around the country. "At a certain point along the way," Lombard tells us, "I kind of had to play the role of therapist on myself: What is it exactly that is appealing to me about the idea of documenting people coming together from the Internet and finding their people?" Lombard's latest book, Connected, designed by Elysia Berman, follows groups ranging from "Parrot and Kimono Lovers" to the Harry Potter obsessed, with a curious, yet non-othering eye, looking to how they use social media to find community in real life. We spoke with Amy to learn more about the series and her inspiration behind it. The project was supported by the VSCO Artist Initiative, and you can buy the book HERE.