Four&Sons

Top of the world

BY Four, March 23, 2012

Last year, American photographer Theron Humphrey packed his Toyota and hit the road with Maddie, the Coonhound, to document the US’s heart and soul by photographing a new person, everyday, for a complete year. The project, called This Wild Idea, is a tribute to his country and his way to remind us all that ‘everyone’s life is valuable, that every story is worth telling’.

Five months into the journey, a side project emerged. Theron started to take images of Maddie standing on all sorts of places, on things, against all landscapes. These candid images are a beautiful counterpoint to the main project, a constant amongst change. They are endearing and hilarious too.

Theron is still driving across the 50 states. We catch up with this very humble, big-hearted man on day 235 of this amazing journey.

How long since you started documenting Maddie on things? How did the idea come about?  
I started taking photos of Maddie back in August of 2011, when I started this 50 state photo project. But her standing on things didn’t evolve until December 2011. It was organic. She’s a funny dog, she’d rather stand than lay down. She’s an amazing pause to my day, I love meeting and photographing folks, but Maddie is always up for it.

Why this obsession to get on higher ground?  
A lot of Coonhounds like to climb trees; Maddie will get into a Like Oak herself easily.

What’s your relationship with Maddie like?  
I love Maddie, she’s a great travel companion. We’ve spent everyday together for close to eight months, so I figure we enjoy each other’s company. But I am the pack leader, one of us needed to be. Dogs thrive with a leader.

In your personal work, images become a photographic diary. Are you are using photography to forge/understand relationships?  
For sure, what I love most about it is that the majority of people don’t love to be photograph. I suppose I just got better at talking and they trusted me, with a lot of grace. But the time we spend together connects us forever.

I honestly haven’t been too self-analytical about this work, sometimes its just better to react and create it. I do think that’s a part of it, me using the images to love my neighbour. But these days I’m just trying to learn to listen more, to slow down.

Some of your work also seems very rooted to a place or a landscape. Is this part of your Southern temperament?  
Sense of place is big for Southern folks, and I suppose for most people. But we celebrate what the land gives us down there. I’ve always understood life and geography by sayings like ‘The barn in the back of the 25 acre field.’

What did you want to be growing up? What lead you to this point?  
I was into computers when I was young. I’d build them and repair them and we’d make networks in our neighborhood. When I got to college I had a roommate that was very much an artist. He could draw, paint, and then throw a clay pot the same day. He got me stirred up about photography. And at that time digital imagine was hitting the streets, I think Photoshop CS2 had just been released. So the cameras were becoming affordable and getting close to 35mm film quality. So, I still get to be a nerd and make images.

Lots of photographers use images to replace words. What about you?
I’d say I’m better at talking to folks than trying to write about it. Winogrand has this famous quote, he said ‘I photograph to see what the world looks like in photographs.’ I like that.

Travelling across the 50 states, what are you listening to when driving?  
I have a little USB drive thumb drive that plugs into my car CD player, folks dump music onto that for me. It’s full of blues but I have no idea because the song/artist doesn’t always display! My favorite Pandora stations are some pop country ones. I think it’s my way of connecting to the folks I want to meet.

What’s next for you?  
I understand this question, but honestly I have no idea. If you have asked me ‘what’s next’ six months ago, I could have never said this interview. Does that make sense? I’m just trying to meet the folks that I drive past everyday, to tell them that they exist, that they matter, and be content with that. That’s enough.

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Photography by Theron Humphrey
To see more unexpected images of Maddie standing on things, click here
To follow Theron’s journey across America, click here
To see more of Theron Humphrey’s work, visit his site

Tags America, Collection, Culture, Documentary, Interview, Maddie on Things, Personal, Photography, Portrait, Product, Society, Theron Humphrey, This Wild Idea, Video