The Solitary Life of Mr. Potter – by August Kryger

August Kryger, masters candidate, photographed a story about Mr. Potter, a man who lives a content, solitary life in rural mid-Missouri.

I met Potter after driving up to what looked like an abandoned town. After driving in, his dogs jumped on my car and tried to kill me. Potter trundled out of a rotting trailer and came up to me. After a brief conversation, he called off the dogs, invited me in, and my four-month period of documenting his life began. I didn’t want this to be another sad story about someone down on their luck. Potter’s been there for 10 years, and is quite content. But he’s lonely, really lonely, and I needed to show that in my images. It’s been an intense experience working on this project. I nearly went to the hospital after drinking his coffee, and I constantly worried about being spiked by a nail covered in toxic chemicals. His life in this condemned chemical warehouse is both tragic and beautiful. He in many ways both represents the refuse of society, and the ideal of the noble hermit. It’s been a challenge and an honor to work on this story. Hopefully my pictures convey some of this.

Check out more photos on August’s blog.