ONWARD Compé

The second mini-deadline for ONWARD Compé ’12 has come and gone. This time around our second featured submission comes from Jason Vaughn of Madison, Wisconsin.

One of the things that stands out most about Jason Vaughn’s photographic output is his multifaceted approach; he has many projects going at once. While Hibernation might be Jason’s linchpin at the moment (especially with winter looming) he also has other ongoing series that see him doing everything from tracking down Bigfoot stalkers in Canada to photographing hunters’ tree stands in the woods. Regardless of the series, a sense of desolation seemingly always ties his photographs together. It’s as if you were to take a solitary walk through a deserted water park that then turned into the woods, then into a wrestling ring, and then into a rural road in America’s Midwest.

While Vaughn’s travels have taken him across the US and eslewhere, his photographs focus almost exclusively on this fascination with solitude, and those on the fringes of society (see his portraits). “The US is such an amazing place to drive through and experience. There’s a real richness to the people and places,” he says.

“I think I am drawn to people on the fringes and rural landscapes for the same reason that I’m drawn to photograph winter–the tension and the peacefulness are always happening together.”

It’s that richness and sense of peace that culminates most in his Hibernation series that has a particular focus on the Wisconsin Dells.

“The Wisconsin Dells is this crazy little town filled with attractions (indoor and outdoor water parks, casinos, go-karts) and tourists shops. During the summer […] it’s filled with people from all over coming to experience the ‘water park capital of the world,’ but during winter, it’s your typical small Midwest town filled with people who work typical jobs and move at a much slower pace. The town is built to accommodate the summers, and everything closes down till the following summer. So it actually seems like a ghost town. I read somewhere that the population goes from 250,000 to 2,500 in the winter.”

It’s this slowing down during the winter months that prodded Jason to make the connection between the way many animals slow down their metabolisms in the winter and what gives the series its name. “I started doing a little research on the habits of animals and comparing them to what I was witnessing as far as preparation, hiding away, and reemerging. I found subtle parallels and variations and since I like to focus on subtle emotional subject matter, it was a perfect fit.”

So many of Jason’s photographs contain an air of mystery, leaving the viewer to grasp for answers to their questions surrounding each photo’s subject matter. In order to provide some of those answers, we asked Jason to share his experience and stories behind a few of his photos. Here’s what he had to say:

“On a road trip from California to Maine, I passed through West Virginia for the first time. I immediately fell in love with this state. In Jolo, WV, I stumbled upon some amateur wrestlers in their yard practicing jumping off the ropes, etc. I was really surprised to find such a professional ring in the middle of a yard near a bunch of trailer homes. I was invited to a match and made this picture of one of the wrestlers. He goes by “Renegade” and was outside before a match in Caretta, WV. These matches (this one was held in a school gym) are the most entertaining thing you could ever imagine. The audience interaction with the wrestlers is as entertaining as the match itself.”

“This photo was made in the Wisconsin Dells at Mt. Olympus. I was really looking to capture summer activity and thought, ‘Why not explore these massive water parks?’ I liked this scene because of the architecture, it almost seems like it was taken in another country. I also like the fact that there are so many people that you can stare at and wonder about.”

“This photo was made in Portsmouth, Ohio. It’s the town my father grew up in and hasn’t visited in decades. He had a terrible upbringing there and so growing up I always heard about Portsmouth but never visited or really spoke to family still living there. So as an adult, I decided to explore it. Portsmouth was once a thriving industrial town but fell on hard times and never recovered. In my exploration, I met this metal scrap collector at a racetrack on the outskirts of town. He rides all over town and lives in the scrap yard about 15 miles away. To me, he embodied the preparation of hibernation.”

“I was staying at my wife’s grandparents house in the downtown area of the Dells. One of her uncles was also staying at the house. His daughter Olivia came up from South Carolina with her family to visit for the first time. She stayed to herself mostly but once her husband left town, she seemed to be more talkative and interactive. She and her daughter were outside playing with the hose and that’s when I decided to make this photo. Her daughter was so open and loving and Olivia so quiet and stern that I wanted to capture their personalities in the picture. I ended up giving the photo to my wife’s uncle a year later and I think it’s the only photo he has of his daughter and granddaughter.”

All photos © Jason Vaughn.

The third and final mini-deadline is this Friday, November 25th. Be sure to submit by 11:59pm EST to be eligible for prizes and the last chance to be our next featured submission!