Between Shows

Miley had just blown up the Hannah Montana thing and everyone was waiting to see what she’d actually do. The Bangerz Tour was the answer - not a press release version of rebellion, but something genuinely in-progress.

Cheyne Thomas shot the whole thing on Polaroids. Los Angeles, Helsinki, London - just hanging with her, documenting the tour in the gaps between shows. There’s something about Polaroids that forces you to be honest. No digital undo, no filters, no second takes. Just what happened when the camera flashed.

The photos ended up in V Magazine under With a Little Help from My Fwends which is the kind of joke that only works when you’ve actually been there the entire time. And that was Cheyne - not a hired photographer, just a friend who knew how to use a camera.

What gets weird is how little those photos actually confirm. Everyone had a story about who Miley was supposed to be - the rebel, the victim, the exploited kid, the provocateur. The Polaroids don’t really support any single narrative. They’re just someone moving through a moment, caught by a friend. More complicated and less useful than any story the internet wanted to tell.

I still think about those photos when that era comes up. Not for what they say about Miley, but for what they document about friendship and documentation and the difference between watching someone and actually seeing them.