NPR logo NPR
The Picture ShowPhoto Stories From NPR

Editor's Pick

If Your House Were On Fire, What Would You Take?

by Claire O'Neill

  • Nate Luke, 36, Springfield, Mo., advertising photographer. "Portable phonograph I used to court my wife. ... First camera given to me by my dad. ... Thai red-pepper seeds ... Shadow box of old dry flies ... Wedding photo with my wife ... Can of gun powder from my Grandfather."
    Hide caption
    Nate Luke, 36, Springfield, Mo., advertising photographer. "Portable phonograph I used to court my wife. ... First camera given to me by my dad. ... Thai red-pepper seeds ... Shadow box of old dry flies ... Wedding photo with my wife ... Can of gun powder from my Grandfather."
    Previous Next
    Nate Luke
  • Jason McCarthy, 32, GORUCK military gear: "Java, my dog, Green Beret and Yarborough knife, Family scrapbook I had in Iraq, one-of-a-kind duct-tape wallet made by a friend, Java's finisher medal from the Chicago half marathon, grandfather's burial flag."
    Hide caption
    Jason McCarthy, 32, GORUCK military gear: "Java, my dog, Green Beret and Yarborough knife, Family scrapbook I had in Iraq, one-of-a-kind duct-tape wallet made by a friend, Java's finisher medal from the Chicago half marathon, grandfather's burial flag."
    Previous Next
    Jason McCarthy
  • George Yanakiev, 23, Bulgaria, online guy at an ad agency: "Junk food, junk food, junk food, coffee."
    Hide caption
    George Yanakiev, 23, Bulgaria, online guy at an ad agency: "Junk food, junk food, junk food, coffee."
    Previous Next
    George Yanakiev
  • Justin R. Swaby, 25, Los Angeles, architecture student: "My dog, Rooster; Childhood toy truck; Vintage suitcase, a gift from my aunt; Nikon EM 35mm camera; Sewing machine; Baby doll head mug, a gift from a dear friend; Favorite gun-toting marionette; Small bird carved from bone, a gift from my boyfriend; Vintage porcelain black lady salt shaker."
    Hide caption
    Justin R. Swaby, 25, Los Angeles, architecture student: "My dog, Rooster; Childhood toy truck; Vintage suitcase, a gift from my aunt; Nikon EM 35mm camera; Sewing machine; Baby doll head mug, a gift from a dear friend; Favorite gun-toting marionette; Small bird carved from bone, a gift from my boyfriend; Vintage porcelain black lady salt shaker."
    Previous Next
    Justin R. Swaby
  • Michelle Ashton, 27, London, Web designer: "MacBook Pro. It's uninsured and full of work and personal photographs. Twenty-seven-year-old teddy bear, 'Teddy,' who has already survived one burning house."
    Hide caption
    Michelle Ashton, 27, London, Web designer: "MacBook Pro. It's uninsured and full of work and personal photographs. Twenty-seven-year-old teddy bear, 'Teddy,' who has already survived one burning house."
    Previous Next
    Michelle Ashton
  • Paul Mading Kwaje, 22, Sudan, farmer: "Bush knife, favorite shirt, wood bracelet, my largest bowls, hoe, water bottle."
    Hide caption
    Paul Mading Kwaje, 22, Sudan, farmer: "Bush knife, favorite shirt, wood bracelet, my largest bowls, hoe, water bottle."
    Previous Next
    bh
  • Cristina Cavallari, 43, Italy, crafter/graphic designer: "My family cat (not pictured), wool and wood knitting needles ... my best t-shirt, blue comfortable sandals ... felt monster I made, sea rock from my father ... old German vase."
    Hide caption
    Cristina Cavallari, 43, Italy, crafter/graphic designer: "My family cat (not pictured), wool and wood knitting needles ... my best t-shirt, blue comfortable sandals ... felt monster I made, sea rock from my father ... old German vase."
    Previous Next
    Cristina Cavallari
  • Manuel Platzer, 27, Austria, digital media: "... Headphones, Polaroid camera, photo of girlfriend ... drawing tools, iPad, T-shirt handmade by my girlfriend."
    Hide caption
    Manuel Platzer, 27, Austria, digital media: "... Headphones, Polaroid camera, photo of girlfriend ... drawing tools, iPad, T-shirt handmade by my girlfriend."
    Previous Next
    Manuel Platzer
  • Will Cheyney, 27, London, design director: "11" MacBook Air, Eddy the Teddy, Nintendo Game Boy, Ray-Ban folding Wayfarers, iPhone 4, white chino shorts, Lomo LC-A camera."
    Hide caption
    Will Cheyney, 27, London, design director: "11" MacBook Air, Eddy the Teddy, Nintendo Game Boy, Ray-Ban folding Wayfarers, iPhone 4, white chino shorts, Lomo LC-A camera."
    Previous Next
    Will Cheyney
  • James Oliver Lamont Fox, 40, Massachusetts, student: "Growing collection of old-timey Vermont pennants; Ede & Ravenscroft brogues bought for our wedding; box of cufflinks; ... Levi's Troy-lined jacket; ... my kilt, Lamont, the only made-to-measure thing I own; external hard drive of photos."
    Hide caption
    James Oliver Lamont Fox, 40, Massachusetts, student: "Growing collection of old-timey Vermont pennants; Ede & Ravenscroft brogues bought for our wedding; box of cufflinks; ... Levi's Troy-lined jacket; ... my kilt, Lamont, the only made-to-measure thing I own; external hard drive of photos."
    Previous Next
    James Oliver Lamont Fox
  • Erick Elliott, 22, Brooklyn, musician/designer/music hoarder: "Michael Jackson's Thriller and Moonwalker on VHS; OBEY GIANT handkerchief; Precious memento-ish pictures of my family ... Photo of my cat Morris, who passed away ... Axiom 49 keyboard, circa whenever I started making music; Native Instruments Maschine instrument, circa two months ago."
    Hide caption
    Erick Elliott, 22, Brooklyn, musician/designer/music hoarder: "Michael Jackson's Thriller and Moonwalker on VHS; OBEY GIANT handkerchief; Precious memento-ish pictures of my family ... Photo of my cat Morris, who passed away ... Axiom 49 keyboard, circa whenever I started making music; Native Instruments Maschine instrument, circa two months ago."
    Previous Next
    Erick Elliott

1 of 11

View slideshow i

That's the question Foster Huntington asks on his blog, The Burning House. And to answer the question, you have to submit a photo of what you'd take.

Few of these piles really resemble what one might grab in a panic. They are carefully contemplated and arranged. And the responses vary. Some interpret the question to mean: What would you need to survive? (Advil, scissors, rubbing alcohol.) And others take it to mean: What are your most irreplaceable possessions? (Photos and stuffed animals.)

The Burning House
The Burning House

by Foster Huntington

Paperback, 265 pages | purchase

close

Purchase Featured Books

  • The Burning House
  • Foster Huntington
Your purchase helps support NPR Programming. How?

More on this book:

Huntington, who started the blog, falls into the latter camp. He'd grab family photos and a few blank rolls of film, he says.

At the time of its launch, he was a fashion designer in New York City, "surrounded by a culture interested in definition by possessions," he writes via email.

Last summer he quit his job and bought a Volkswagen van, and since then he's been living on the road — dispatching his photos on a personal blog and via Instagram, with the hashtag #vanlife.

"Hearing and interacting with thousands of people's responses to the question has helped me realize I need a lot less to be happy," he writes.

A book edition of The Burning House: What Would You Take? will be released next week.

And how would you respond? Submit it to The Burning House — or to us!

Comments

 

Please keep your community civil. All comments must follow the NPR.org Community rules and Terms of Use. NPR reserves the right to use the comments we receive, in whole or in part, and to use the commenter's name and location, in any medium. See also the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Community FAQ.

NPR logo NPR
The Picture ShowPhoto Stories From NPR