THESE SWEET HALLOWEEN TREATS LAST A LIFETIME

CHAD HUNT

Far sweeter and more satisfying than any candy, one man created Halloween treats that give neighborhood children and their families each year treasures that will last forever.

 

In the small NJ commuter town, where photographer Chad Hunt lives with his wife (former BN Team member extraordinaire, Angela Matusik) and their 9 year old daughter, the kids and grown ups take Halloween very seriously, as his photos testify.

 

Every year, the tightly knit community comes out to show off their creativity, looking forward to the night as if it were a theater opening. Their colorful soulful costumes are often handcrafted and speak as much to their dreams and ethos as they do to popular culture.

 

While there is a fair amount of Wonder Woman, Superman, Supergirl, and Harry Potter characters represented, the costumes tend to have a charming old-fashioned vs commercial feel.

 

We also see aspirational NASA figures, literary characters such as Pippi Longstocking, retro robots, and antique pilots in the neighborhood. And, of course we see the cutest little cherubs too.

The children and their costumes were so beautiful to behold, Hunt decided to start taking portrait photos of the children who came to his house for trick or treat, gratis, as a way to give something back to his neighborhood. He began the project 6 years ago.

Each year, Hunt sets up a simple backdrop and one light source. He spends only a few minutes with each child and family so he has time to photograph everyone.

Over the years, Hunt’s Halloween portraits became so popular, that it began to draw crowds. Now kids need to line up for their turn in front of his camera. Last year he photographed 325 people in 4 hours!

For over 20 years, Hunt has been documenting people and the world around us through award-winning photo journalism and editorial photography. He has made 3 journeys to Afghanistan as an embedded photographer with the U.S. Military. Hunt's primary goal was to capture the day-to-day life of the soldiers stationed there, and to help tell the human story of an often-overlooked war.

More recently, Hunt has shifted into assignment work that is less dangerous, including commercial work and editorial human interest stories. His series of Halloween porch portraits has become a beloved personal project -- one that is beloved by all who participate.

This year, while looking at all the images from the previous 6 Halloweens, Hunt realized that he’s seen how the neighborhood kids have grown over the years, marked by each annual appearance on his porch -- a photo version of the tick marks on doorways that parents use to measure kids as they grow taller.

Now Hunt’s house is a Halloween destination point. Even kids who have moved out of the neighborhood come back each year to have their costumed portraits taken.

Today, when Hunt looks at this collective body of work, he now realizes that what started as a simple gift to his community has turned into something much bigger.

 

 

Hunt’s Halloween portraits became such a moving force with so many people, the numbers grew to overwhelming proportions, too much for him to handle on his own. He’s decided now to discontinue to the project this year and return to the role of candy-giver. However, perhaps we can all convince him to figure out a way to resume. After all, the neighborhood kids need more of him -- and so do the rest of us! C’mon Chad…. How can you say know to these faces????

 

Read more about Beautiful Masquerades in  The Most Beautiful Costume Game and Costume Envy: Princess Lockerooo,

 

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

All images by Chad Hunt.