Photography Challenge “The Burning House”

“THE BURNING HOUSE”: WHAT WOULD YOU SAFE IF YOUR HOUSE WAS ON FIRE?

Flipping through the newspaper today I see this headline: “The millionaire who gives everything and lives with 15 objects”. It got my attention, so I decided to have a look. This was the first paragraph:

"If your house suddenly caught on fire, what would you grab as you fled out the door? That’s precisely the question Foster Huntington asked herself and  posted in her blog The Burning House in 2011. She gathered her belongings she herself would take and photographed them, then asked a few friends to do the same. Her blog, considered by the Times magazine one of the best blogs of 2012, has inspired many people to think, photograph, and share their most valuable belongings"

Huntington writes in the introduction:

“Today, developed countries are consuming more than ever before. This culture of consumption is often fueled by people’s desire to define themselves by the possessions they amass. The Burning House: What Would You Take? takes a different approach to personal definition. By removing easily replaceable objects and instead focusing on things unique to them, people are able to capture their personalities in a photograph.”

Here is part of the article:

“Last April, the most bizarre self-help guru in New York, James Altucher had a similar revelation. Only that his house did not burn. And he did not pictures of what remained.

He simply took 15 things in a sports bag and left. The rest, including his apartment, donated or thrown away.

Three shirts, three pairs of pants, two shorts, two pairs of socks, two shoes, a bag of frozen plastic zip with $ 4,000 in bills two, a laptop and an iPad. All in a black sports bag. Since then, he has been sleeping on his friends' couches or in rented appartments. Altucher’s reinvention has the peculiarity that is absolutely voluntary. He was a millionaire twice and he ruined in both occasions, but after recovering his fortune, he decided to deny everything he had achieved, and get rid of it. What is curious is that in Altucher’s list there is nothing personal. No family photos, or travel souvenirs or gifts, nothing. Just enough for day to day.

Pragmatism with message, yes. Because a guru is nothing without founding a movement, and a movement is nothing without a name. Minimalism. That’s how he calls his new life.”

Today I was thinking about this article while I was moving all my things to a new room on campus. I was surprised of the amount of clothes, shoes, books that I had stored on my room.

-Oh man… I have 7 different jeans, 5 different pairs of running shoes…why do I have some many things?!

After moving all my stuff, I googled “The burning house” and I found some really cool pictures! Some of them were from the article (which has become a bestseller) and some others came from people who, after reading the book, have also decided to photograph their most valuable belongins.

But before you see the photos…

THINK ABOUT WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE TO YOU.

WHAT 15 THINGS WOULD YOU SAVE IF YOUR HOUSE WAS ON FIRE?

It is not easy to get rid of our things right? 

“Focusing on things unique to us, things that define us, we are able to capture our personality in one picture.”

Now have a look and get some inspiration!

And well, HERE is mine!

If my house was on fire… First I SAVE my running shoes! haha. These HOKAS are awesome!! =)

In my list I have:

·        my passport,

·        credit card,

·        my diary,

·        the silver chain my dad gave me (with the shark tooth from Ecuador),

·        my smartphone + headphones,

·        my little bag that has always been with me the last 2 years,

·        my portable hard drive…

·        and I almost forgot my toothbrush and my contact lents!

It makes a total of 11.

I CHALLENGE YOU NOW 

What 10-15 things would you save if you house was on fire?

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