A surreal American love story, captured in photos
- Text by HUCK HQ
- Photography by Michael E. Northrup
Michael E. Northup has been capturing the idiosyncrasies of everyday America for over four decades now. During that time, the Maryland-based photographer has become known for his stark, surreal aesthetic – capturing moments in time that are laced with irony, mystery and a mischievous sense of humour.
Northup’s latest book, Dream Away, is released this month on Stanley / Barker. His third solo publication, it tells the story of his love affair with Pam; his former wife, who he was married to throughout the ’70s and ’80s.
“It’s an intimate book not so much about our marriage, but about how Pam’s image was a part of my growth in this medium,” the photographer tells Huck. “I was enamoured by her beauty and her willingness to be such an important part of my life and work. The images of her are from our daily lives. They are rarely planned.”
Dream Away tells the story of their relationship – including Pam’s pregnancies and the eventual birth of their children – through 66 images, all of which were taken over a 10-year period. It’s a body of work that Northup says he’s been sitting on for more than three decades. “I thought it was time to put that focus on her as muse and have it all under one cover. It’s happening now because I finally found a publisher, who found me, who wanted to do it.”
“[Photography] can grab so much information in 1/500th of a second, and at the same time take 1000 words to describe,” he adds. “My mind is travelling so fast when I photograph that I actually don’t know what I’m getting until after I take the image and have time to really look at it. I’m more percept than concept. To me, most of my images are experiments in that ‘I wonder what that will look like as a photograph…’ Click.”
Dream Away is available from Stanley / Barker now. See more of Michael Northup’s work on his official website.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
The last days of St Agnes Place, London’s longest ever running squat
Off the grid — Photographer Janine Wiedel spent four years documenting the people of the Kennington squat, who for decades made a forgotten row of terraced houses a home.
Written by: Isaac Muk
How Japan revolutionised art & photography in the ’60s and ’70s
From Angura to Provoke — A new photobook chronicles the radical avant-garde scene of the postwar period, whose subversion of the medium of image making remains shocking and groundbreaking to this day.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Artifaxing: “We’ve become so addicted to these supercomputers in our hands”
Framing the future — Predominantly publishing on Instagram and X, the account is one of social media’s most prominent archiving pages. We caught up with the mysterious figure behind it to chat about the internet’s past, present and future, finding inspiration and art in the age of AI.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The lacerating catharsis of body suspension in Hong Kong
Self-Ferrying — In one of the world’s most densely packed cities, an underground group of young people are piercing their skin and hanging their bodies with hooks in a shocking exploration of pain and pleasure. Sophie Liu goes to a session to understand why they partake in the extreme underground practice.
Written by: Sophie Liu
What we’re excited for at SXSW 2026
Austin 40 — For the festival’s 40th anniversary edition, we are heading to Texas to join one of the biggest global meetups of the year. We’ve selected a few things to highlight on your schedules.
Written by: Huck
In photos: The boys of the Bibby Stockholm
Bibby Boys — A new exhibition by Theo McInnes and Thomas Ralph documents the men who lived on the three-story barge in Dorset, giving them the chance to control their own narrative.
Written by: Thomas Ralph
