Photographing New Orleans

[Photolandscape]

I am going to be in New Orleans for two days in early April. I hope to spend both days walking and driving throughout the city to get my first look at the damage brought on by Katrina, and the extent to which the city has been able to recover from all of the devastation (not to mention, neglect).

I am very sensitive to the fact that residents of the city have endured a nightmare of almost unprecedented proportions in the U.S. I don't want to intrude, impose, or in any way be disrespectful or obtrusive. My goal is simply to meet people in neighborhoods, explain what I am doing, and go about my business of documenting whatever there is to document.

So, has anyone been to New Orleans and photographed the remnants of Katrina, and if so, what did you experience and what guidance would you care to give?

Thanks very much.

[ed35]

I am going to be in New Orleans for two days in early April. I hope to spend both days walking and driving throughout the city to get my first look at the damage brought on by Katrina, and the extent to which the city has been able to recover from all of the devastation (not to mention, neglect).

I am very sensitive to the fact that residents of the city have endured a nightmare of almost unprecedented proportions in the U.S. I don't want to intrude, impose, or in any way be disrespectful or obtrusive. My goal is simply to meet people in neighborhoods, explain what I am doing, and go about my business of documenting whatever there is to document.

So, has anyone been to New Orleans and photographed the remnants of Katrina, and if so, what did you experience and what guidance would you care to give?

Thanks very much.
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I spent two days shooting NO last April.  I arranged for a private guide through Tours by Isabelle that took me to areas I would never have found otherwise.  She was also very informative.  You are also wise to be sensitive to the fact that for many thousands this is a tragedy still unfolding and treating your subject matter with the sensitivity that such a situation deserves will be well spent.  I also spent some time doing something I rarely do, night street shooting in the French Quarter that yielded some nice images.

[lightstand]

Was just there in February, the assignment I was shooting was an environmental portrait, but I did get to explore the city some.

 Are you doing this project for a particular reason? Might be easier to understand what you want to shoot than just documenting - right now if I were documenting N.O. from a press angle it would be all about the ten o'clock news - the crime reports were horrible (and I'm coming from Baltimore) that or any of the city hall meetings that also sound bad

If I needed to shoot "destruction" my guess is the abandon neighborhoods (I saw) near downtown looked no different that the ghetto neighborhoods of baltimore - although you might not get shot down there cause well umm they're abandoned. So to capture the destruction you will probably need to drive out and capture areas on the outskirts of the city. It was told to me that the ward 9 neighborhood was still closed off- who knows what that means - I had no need to go there.

Honestly I think the problems from Katrina today are mostly found internally, the mental stress the people are faced with.

Hope you have a good trip and GO to Preservation Hall - I was there Sunday through Wednesday and they weren't open so i missed it this time.

[thewanderer]

just go to the 9th ward!! its still there, almost as it was,, you wont find or will find very few people there,,,,or if you want to go to an area that was just as completely devasted,but heard VERY LITTLE about,, go to Placquemines Parish,  (Buras, Venice, Empire, LA)  there you will find people who suffered total devastation,, when i say total, i mean nothing but a slab on the ground,, AND,,, had the eye of the storm go over the top of them,,,unlike NO,, that would have been almost unscathed had the levee not broke.... A trip to this area will reveal people putting there lives back together,, rebuilding,,, and moving on with life,, and with no help from Anderson Cooper, and all the sympathetic press,,,,,there you should be able to find people will talk to you about there ordeals,, good and bad,, and not have to worry about getting shot, robbed, beaten,,

If you have followed,,,New Orleans crime,, particularly murder is back on pace, with half the population there,,,,i suggest care and caution,,and dont wander around unknown areas at night,,,

Following link is from the area i described.. there is some duplication,,,but after a few,, you will get the picture,,

http://kimkaiser.com/Webkatrina/

[Photolandscape]

Thanks to you all. I look forward to my visit and am hoping to spend at least a day volunteering to help out some local organization. I also just watched When the Levees Broke, Spike Lee's HBO documentary on Katrina. At times it is a bit over the top, but overall, I believe it does an excellent job of capturing the pain, the suffering, and the incompetent response and does it very ably.

[thewanderer]

You will certainly get an unbiased opinion/documentary from Spike Lee.  !!   good luck with your trip,, would still highly recommend caution after dark !!  The thing is,, it was that way before the hurricane,, its not a new phenomena as the result of the hurricane,,,