What would you save if your house were on fire? - Daily Telegraph

The photographs are carefully composed still-lifes, and most feature about a dozen treasured items. Objects range from the sentimental (old photographs, notebooks, childhood toys and pets) to the practical (camera equipment, laptops, mobile phones even guns).

Alongside each photo is a brief biography (name, age, occupation, location) and a list of the objects displayed, with almost no explanation as to their significance or provenance. The image itself is the story.

Huntington has received more than 1,000 submissions since May, but only a small percentage make it on to the website. 'I am pretty selective, he says. 'I want the entries to have character so that its not just Heres all the cool stuff I own.

Huntington left his job last month to embark on a year-long road trip around America, to take photographs for a book based on the Burning House, which will be published next year. 'Travelling around, I hope to encounter people who dont have a computer or know what a blog is.

So what makes an entry worthy of posting online? 'It is hard to identify, but you know when you see it. In a way its the same as meeting an interesting person, he says. 'One of the best comments I get is when someone says, I want to meet that person, I think we could be friends. Thats really what the website is about.

theburninghouse.com