American Hitchhiking
In February 2015, Matt hitchhiked for 15 days around the United States in search of people who would put their trust in a perfect stranger. In the not-so-distant past, hitchhiking was very common in the US, but today many people say to Matt that "you just can't trust people that way anymore". Matt asks, has humanity become less trustworthy over the past 60 years, or is it only our perception that has changed?
Matt posted in real-time updates on instagram as @americanhitchhiker about the friendly strangers who gave him rides, a place to sleep, or showed him kindness.
He is currently searching for an editor to publish this project's follow up essay. Interested? Email matt@mattcairnsphotography.com for his query letter.
When the homeless man sitting in the corner laughing to himself walked over to talk to me about the rain, I got a little nervous. But after a few minutes, Chad invited me to join him for a cigarette outside and I caught little glimpses of the man trapped deep inside his schizophrenia. When I showed him this picture, he said "Nowadays, I see my picture and it don't look like me". Suddenly I realized that we could both use a shave, so I bought some razors and cream and we both went clean shaven in the gas station restroom. I was even more ashamed of my initial fear of him when he tried to pay me for the shave.