Buford

Buford is one of my favorite images. He won't ever hang in a museum or live through a portfolio review, but he currently resides in places of honor ranging from homes, breakrooms, offices, retirement homes, and schools; those are just the places I know. He makes me smile every time I see him, even to this day. I never grow tired of him.

To really enjoy him, you need to know who he was. Buford lived directly across from the Union County Transfer Station, where you have to take your trash if you live in Union County, North Georgia. Everyone knew him. He would stand at his barbed wire fence, eagerly watching and waiting as people pulled in and out of the road to the transfer station. Why, you ask? Because he was such a personality, people loved to pull over and say hello to him; rural life is slower, and there is more time for pleasure. Often this interchange would include treats! He loved his treats. It got so bad towards the end of his life that his owner had to hand-scrawl a large sign by the fence: "Please do not feen Buford candy bars, they make him sick."

I made this image, Buford's portrait, about two seconds before he realized that all I had was a camera.