Amanda Thoraldson

le combat pour la maison

2009-06-29T09:18:00.002-05:00

I was able to go back and photograph more of Lower Mid City this morning. This again is the area that LSU wants to build a new hospital as well as the VA. The residents of this area came back after the storm and rebuilt, some are still struggling to finish the repairs. They sit and wait as their fate is debated.

la bonne nuit, dorment fortement

2009-06-28T22:55:00.002-05:00

The perfect end to a long day...

Économiser la mi ville

2009-06-28T22:45:00.003-05:00

This morning we headed over to Lower Mid City to the area that LSU has proposed as the new site for their hospital. This area is filled with businesses and homes, some of which are still empty since Katrina but many that have come back and rebuilt.

golfe du Mexique

2009-06-28T22:24:00.003-05:00

Today everyone packed into the Van and SUV and headed to Mississippi. We arrived over an hour later at a beach on the Gulf of Mexico. The weather was fantastic, though everyone got sunburned.

temps de pièce en t

2009-06-26T22:09:00.000-05:00

While Colleen picked up R&R I photographed part of the City Park golf course. This golf course is currently not in use, back in September it looked much different. The grass had not been cut and there were weeds growing everywhere. Now the surrounding neighbors in the area took it upon themselves to keep the park up.

beauté par l'eau

2009-06-26T21:00:00.001-05:00

This morning we headed up to Lake Ponchartrain and I remade a photograph that I took last time. There once was an amusement park where this photo was taken...

It was a very beautiful sunrise over the lake...

We made our way over to where the locals like to fish and parked next to some friends...

bibliothèque

2009-06-25T18:00:00.003-05:00

This afternoon we went over to the Ogden Museum to meet up with Richard McCabe who showed us around the museum. Afterwords I was able to photograph inside the old library that the museum is in the process of getting ready to use.

Colisé

2009-06-25T15:29:00.000-05:00

On our way back we drove by another one of m locations. This empty lot was once the home of the Coliseum Theater. It had been around for over 40 years and survived for the most part during Katrina. They were almost done with refurbishing it after the storm and then sadly it caught fire and burned down.

videz avec les lumières dessus

2009-06-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

Bright and early Colleen and I headed over to the parking ramp we found on Wednesday that had an amazing view of the city as well as Charity Hospital. The light was absolutely beautiful on the empty building. From the ramp you could see rooms that still had the lights on and with my long lens I peered into windows that showed what's still inside the building. There was some workers doing something at the front entrance to Charity. One of these morning I will be photographing the section of Lower Mid City that is the proposed site for the new hospital.

vagues

2009-06-24T23:52:00.000-05:00

Before our critique Becky and I went to Lake Pontchartrain. The clouds rolled in quickly as we drove there and when we went to get out of the car the wind was unbelievable! The water was just as alive as the wind and was coming up over the barrier. Within 5 minutes of being there my shoes were drenched by the flooding lake water.

sur la tâche

2009-06-24T22:10:00.001-05:00

Today we got the amazing opportunity to go on ride alongs with photographers from the Times Picayune. Colleen, Kristyna, Nick, and I went with Ted Jackson on an assignment he had received. That assignment was to photograph the newly reopened LSU Medical Center. After the storm the facility was badly damaged and now they are in the process of finishing up the repairs. These photographs show the damaged basement as well as some of the parts that have been refurbished. The trip may not be over but I can definitely say this was the best day and the greatest experience. Thank you Times Picayune and thanks Ted Jackson.

fourmis

2009-06-24T21:46:00.000-05:00

The second beautiful morning I took the ferry again over to Algiers and this time Lisa decided to come with me. I was able to re-shoot an image that I had taken on the last trip. It was the perfect time of day to do so, as the light hit the front of the building perfectly.

As we were happily walking along we came across a giant gathering of ants!!! It was pretty disturbing.

obscurité

2009-06-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

As the sun went down Lisa and I decided to head down to the waterfront to take some night photos. The water was calm and the air was still hot. I managed to get one image that I really liked that I couldn't make the last time down here.

vallée

2009-06-23T13:32:00.003-05:00

619 Carondelet Street

Scottish Rite Temple--1954

Scottish Rite Temple--2009

guide d'excursion

2009-06-23T09:44:00.007-05:00

941 Decatur Street
French Market Branch--1933

What to See and Do in New Orleans--2009

lumière du soleil

2009-06-23T09:28:00.005-05:00

I rolled over this morning wide awake and thinking it was close to 5am and I was going to hear my alarm go off I checked my clock and it was 3:42am. Just before 6 o'clock I walked down to the waterfront to watch the sunrise over the river and then took my usual ferry ride over to Algiers. I walked along the path that curved with the river and got some really amazing light, there was a nice breeze as I shot frame after frame.

Sort de Stationnement

2009-06-22T20:35:00.005-05:00

Notre Dame and Magazine Streets

Orleans Rice Milling Company-- 1903

Parking Lot-- 2009

Bonheur

2009-06-22T15:06:00.006-05:00

I am excited to be back in this beautiful city and I'm excited to see what wonders I will find this time around. Thus far the trip has been wonderful, we had lunch at Mother's and I had some delicious Jambalaya. As everyone went on their tour of the city I went to one of my top favorite places in the city Cafe Du Monde, which of course need I say was amazing!! I am working on making a solid plan of where I need to go and when so that I can get the best shots with the beautiful light. Stay tuned for more....and for now here is the very first picture of the trip!

Also check out my new blog A.R.T. Photography I am going to try posting a few blogs while I am down here in New Orleans.

Directions

2009-06-10T15:19:00.002-05:00

I have created a Google map with all of the locations I have found and intend to photograph while I am down in New Orleans. I will be posting more specific information on some of the locations as I sort through my research that I have found. This time around I have found a lot more variety in the conditions these locations are in compared to the work I did in September.

Google Map

People Are Man's Medicine

2009-05-12T12:12:00.003-05:00

Friday night as I was looking through archives of old photographs I came across a post-Katrina photo of Charity Hospital. I started looking into the history of Charity and I found all the information about the potential future of the hospital. Charity has been around since 1736, and this particular building since the 1930's. The hospital stayed open during Katrina and for some time after the storm, today the building stands empty waiting for its fate. After the storm LSU declared the hospital over 50% damaged and in turn unsalvageable. LSU and the VA want to completely abandon the building and build a brand new state of the art facility in the Lower Mid-City area of New Orleans. This plan would mean destroying over 200 homes in a 27 block area of this historic neighborhood. If that doesn't sound awful enough maybe the $1.2 billion price tag and 8-10 year build time will. Architectural firm, RMJM Hillier, has proposed an different plan. The firm evaluated Charity Hospital and determined that it repairing it is a possibility, a possibility that would cost a substantial amount less and take nowhere near as long. The state as of right now is still going through and figuring out which plan is best.

I have become quite interested in this issue. However this ends up the city is losing a piece of history, whether it be Charity Hospital or the historic buildings in Lower Mid-City. During the week down in New Orleans I want to be able to photograph the areas of the city that could potentially be effected by the decision. Either way the photographs will serve as a reminder of what is at stake and will also be able to show these areas before anything is actually decided and construction starts.

For more information on Charity Hospital I have set up links to Save Charity Hospital.com, which is a website in favor of rebuilding and has a lot of background regarding Charity, New Orleans, and Lower Mid-City, also there is a link to nola.com that has up to date articles about what is happening.(The links are on the sidebar)

Photograph courtesy of Louisiana Division Photograph Collection

Oh the Places I Shall Go

2009-05-11T07:53:00.007-05:00

During the last trip I photographed two of the old Canal Bank branches, which turned out to be my favorite and the most interesting places I photographed. When I found the old photograph of the Algiers Branch I also found 13 other photographs of branches. I went through this weekend and read up on all the locations and found out that all but one of them are still standing. I plan on finding all of these buildings, including the one that no longer is standing, to photograph what has become of them almost 80 years after the bank closed its doors. Here is a link to the photographs of each of the branches.

Rising Interest

2009-05-09T00:51:00.005-05:00

In the last few days I have been doing some serious hardcore research into finding more old photographs of places and digging into each of the separate locations history, and can I just say whoa! Some of these places have a lot of great history to them, some places have current issues going on. In the next few days as I sort out all the details and find all my information I will be posting some of the locations and buildings that I am interested in, I even have some articles and video clips concerning a few places. I have a very good feeling that this trip is going to be very successful in furthering the essay I started and that it will give me a solid foundation to grow this essay into what I had imagined when I started.

New Orleans On My Mind

2009-05-04T14:11:00.004-05:00

So as I've been doing research I came across this video and I find it to be important enough to share with all of you.

BY THE END OF THE DAY (New Orleans)
BY THE END OF THE DAY (New York)
TO WAKE UP (Brooklyn)
TO WAKE UP (London)

"New Orleans is my essence, my soul, my muse..."

2009-05-04T13:01:00.007-05:00

Quick Math: Day We Leave(June 22nd) - Today's Date(May 4th) = 48(seemingly long) days

(Figured since math was always my strong point I would throw that in there)

With trip #3 quickly approaching I decided that I would do like David Letterman and make a top 10 list..so here it goes:

Top 10 most exciting, can't wait for things about New Orleans

10. Warm Cookies at the Hotel(Crossing my fingers for the next 48days for Chocolate Chip!)
9. New Orleans Hospitality(it's like southern hospitality only 100x better.)
8. Beignets at Cafe du Monde
7. The Heat(that's right I went there)
6. Spending all my Quarters on the Street Cars
5. Hot Chocolate at Rue De La Course
4. Walking the French Quarter Early in the Morning
3. Jambalaya at Mother's
2. Beignets at Cafe du Monde(they're so good it's worth 2 spots.)
1. Ferry Boat in the Early Morning

We're Not Done Yet Folks....

2009-03-30T12:20:00.003-05:00

We're doing it again, New Orleans round 3! June 22nd-June 30th. I will be continuing on with the essay I started during the second trip, and I plan to expand the project and go further with it. So stay tuned!

One Last Day

2008-10-03T18:15:00.000-05:00

Today was my last day in the Crescent City. As much as I am looking forward to going home and to Melissa's wedding, there is a part of me that never wants to leave this city. Early this morning Colleen, Becky, Keith, Ryan, and I headed over to the St. Roch cemetery so that I could get some more photos for my essay. Inside the chapel there was some candles that had been lit and there was some money and a few letters that had not been there when we went on Wednesday. I was also able to get the shot I need of St. Roch Ave and the 100 year old trees, I think that that is one image that strongly shows the passage of time. The old photograph I found was taken just shortly after those trees had been planted.
Once we got back to the hotel I went with Ashley and Anthony up the St. Charles streetcar to get a few more photographs of my locations up there. The two of them went to the Audubon zoo and in the meantime I went up to the Saltwater Grill to see if I could photograph the inside of the building only to find out that they had moved to a new location on Wednesday.

Road Trip

2008-10-02T17:51:00.000-05:00

Another early morning down here in New Orleans, but today it was definitely worth it! We all drove up to Baton Rouge to meet photographer Thomas Neff. This was a personal interest to me because back when I took editorial I did a paper on him. He talked with use and showed us some of his prints. His photographs from his book are just amazing. After we had time to chat with him about our projects and ask questions we went and had lunch with him and a restaurant just around the corner, which was really good. After lunch Tom drove us over to a Barnes and Noble so that those of us who wanted to could buy a copy of his book and have him sign it. He was just so honored that we all had come up to see him.
On our way back from Baton Rouge Colleen, Ashley, Anthony, Antonio, and I went over to Algiers where Ashely had a shelter to visit. While Ashley was at the shelter the rest of us went over to the old Algiers Branch Bank so I could take some photographs. I have yet to find an old image of the building but I'm pretty sure I should be able to. After we picked Ashley up we took the ferry back over to the other side.

Today's Headlines

2008-10-01T17:10:00.001-05:00

We had an unbelievable opportunity today thanks to the Times-Picayune. We all got to go on a ride along with different photojournalists from the newspaper. Ryan and I went with David Grunfeld for the afternoon. He took us around the city sharing his personal experiences of Katrina. Before lunch he brought us to Today's Ketch where we got to see crabs get boiled. That was one of the best parts of this trip to date. I have yet to go back and look at the photos that I took but I'm pretty sure I got some good ones! For those of you who don't know the crabs get sorted through to make sure that they are still alive then they all get dumped into a bin of ice water in order to slow them down. If you were to put them into the boiling water first they would be more likely to drop their claws. The entire day was a great experience.

Good Morning New Orleans

2008-09-30T17:33:00.001-05:00

Today I decided to break from the group and go off on my own to explore the city. I left at 6:30am and walked down to the riverfront where I watched the sunrise. It was a beautiful morning, the light was glorious. I took the ferry across to Algiers so I could get a few shots of the skyline with the nice light. The ferry is so peaceful in the early morning because there is not as many people on it, and the few people who are on it are residents on their way to work. I got my favorite shot of the entire trip this morning on the ferry. After I got back from the ferry I walked around the French Quarter. It is a lot different in the morning than it is any other part of the day. There isn't anybody around except the store and bar owners, and the city comes around and cleans up all the streets. I took the St. Charles streetcar back up to Rue de la Course where I got some hot chocolate while I took some photographs of the interior of the building.
All and all it was the best morning of the trip. It was really nice just to separate myself from everyone and do my own thing for once, I think I as able to see a different side of the city this way.

Simply Weird

2008-09-29T19:18:00.003-05:00

So today as been a very strange day for me. Twice while I was taking photographs we were addressed by the NOPD. The first time was up in city park where I was taking care of the Katrina damaged golf course, this officer reversed his squad car to tell us about the great places along the pathway through the golf course. There are a few bridges back in there some that have been around since the 1800's. The second officer came up to Becky as she waited for me to get my shot up on Lakeshore Drive, apparently we were not suppose to be parked beyond the road block closing of that section of the street. Also just a few minutes ago as I was sitting in the lobby doing post production work on my images some random old man came up to me and tickled my foot while he and his wife passed by....why he felt the need to do that is beyond me. And just a note there are still no chocolate cookies in the lobby only sugar cookies which is a total disappointment, but I am not giving up the hope that maybe at some random moment during the week there will be 1 chocolate chip cookies, though with my luck it will be Saturday after I leave.

To start off our Monday morning we all headed out to the Lower 9th Ward. The light was beautiful as usual. I got quite a few great pictures in the neighborhood. There has been some progress in the neighborhood since I was here in March, but there is still a long way to go. From there we headed up to the lake where we met some people who were fishing. Then Becky, Ryan, Keith, and I drove over to City Park where I took some photos of the golf course, which is the point when the first police officer approached us. This evening we went back up to the lake where we had been told there would be a bunch of people fishing with shrimp. It was gorgeous weather and the breeze coming off the lack felt wonderful. The fish in the lake were jumping out of the water like crazy, it was like nothing I had seen before.

I hoping to get up early tomorrow and catch the light on the cities skyline and the French Quarter then from there follow the St. Charles street car line back up to all my locations up and around the Garden District. It should be fun...and hopefully less run ins with the police!

Feels A Little Like Home

2008-09-28T19:15:00.007-05:00

First off let me just say....IT'S SO GOOD TO BE BACK! Thus far there have been only two problems...the room we have received is much the same as the first room we had the first time, there is no window!...well there is but it looks out to the hallway so it doesn't count. Secondly and I think more importantly, we have been here at the hotel for almost a full 24hrs and I have yet to have a warm chocolate cookie!! They seem to be lacking in the baking department, I have had two sugar cookies that were tasty...but it's not the same!

Now that that's out of the way...IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK!! Keith and I woke up early and to the St. Charles street car line up past Audubon Park to Carrollton Ave where 4 of my 38 locations are. The first one we came by was the old Canal Bank Carrollton Branch. The building is now being used as a coffee house. It was really crazy to see these places now while comparing them to the old ones as I took pictures. With the bank there are still some clues of its past, on the side of the building above the door it reads: Carrollton Branch Erected MCMXXVII . The other location was the H.G Hills store. That building is now being used as the Saltwater Grill. I want to go back up to Carrollton Ave later in the day so that the other 2 corners I have more light on them.

Looking at Change

2008-09-25T08:36:00.004-05:00

After spending the last going through more pages of photographs I have found 18 additional images that I'm interested in.

1. Pontchartrain Park
2. Gravier Street
3. Joubert House
4. Toulouse St.5. Dauphine and St. Louis
6. L & A - KCS Station
7. Canal and Salcedo
8. Carrollton Rail Road Company
9. Pirates Alley
10. Piggly Wiggly
11. Bruxelles St.
12. Willards
13. Drug Store14. Orleans Lumber
15. Old Sugar Refinery
16. Three Oaks
17. TP-MP Station
18. Lebeau Plantation

Image Source: Louisiana Division Photograph Collection

Mapping Out History

2008-09-14T16:09:00.008-05:00

I've been busing researching all weekend trying to narrow down all the dozens of photographs to just a handful of them to focus on while down in New Orleans. So far I have found 20 that I like and I'm hoping to find 15-20 more so that when it comes time to edit I have more than enough to choose from. Listed below are the 20 places that I have found, each of them are linked to the actual photograph. Most of them have a little information on what exactly the photograph is on the page, and I have found further information on almost all of them as well. Once I find more photographs I will add them to the list.

Here is a map of the locations: New Orleans: Mapping Out History

Source:Louisiana Division Photograph Collection

Digging Deeper Into The Past

2008-09-12T10:10:00.007-05:00

Image Source: Louisiana Division Photograph Collection

Here again are a few of the photographs that I have found that I am interested in. With my research I want to be able to find a wide variety of photographs that could potentially lead into individual ideas within my main idea. I have been able to find photographs with dates ranging from late 1800's to 1950's. I feel that this will give me a good balance when looking at the changes the city has gone through. From changes that have occurred over a longer period of time to changes that are a bit more recent. The earlier photographs will also give great insight to the parts of the city that have remained the same.

A Look Back In Time

2008-09-10T15:26:00.018-05:00

Source: Louisiana Division Photograph Collection.

The topic I am interested in doing for my essay is actually an idea that I have had for sometime now. I think it's important to be able to see just how much our world has changed over time. While down in New Orleans I want to look at older photographs and compare them to what the city looks like today and look at why that change has occurred. There are many things in the city that have changed, but yet there are somethings that have never changed. Some of those changes have been due to elements out of our control, such as damage from fires and hurricanes, but others have been at the hands of man. We demolish buildings in order to build bigger and better ones, we expand city limits to fit a growing population, and we of course have become a modern society that thrives on technology. My essay will focus on these changes and what has brought our landscapes to look so different than the ones our ancestors knew. The photographs above are a few of the ones that through my research I have found to be interesting and am considering including in my essay.

Pure

2008-09-03T21:01:00.002-05:00

As I told everyone I talked to last week and as I wrote in my earlier blog The Anger Revisited the one emotion that I felt greatest while watching the film was anger. Watching the last two acts of the film only added to that anger. I believe the first time I wrote on the film I made a comment about the words former first lady Barbra Bush had made at a Houston airport, and as I watched I waited for those words again, I think because I still cannot believe that she actually spoke them. How do you stand there among people who have been treated so poorly by their own government and say that the situation they are in now is better than the situations many of them were in even before the storm. Maybe it's just me and if it is someone needs to explain to me how being stranded in a random city completely unaware whether or not your family is okay or even alive is better? How is knowing that the city you've called home for so long is completely under water, along with all of your personal belongings better? How is no longer having a house to call home better? Maybe it's just me but I don't see what she saw.

The story of Paris Ervin stands out for me. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to first be given false hope that your mother may in fact be alive, then to come home and realize that the "search" that was suppose to have happened was nothing what it should have been , because as most people know for something to actually be considered a search there would have to be some kind of effort put into it. Then to finally have officials come back only to find your mother's body in the home after all. Life and death is not something that can so easily be thrown around like it doesn't matter. What is ironic is that New Orleans is a city that respects the dead and celebrates the life of the dead after they have past, and in the aftermath of Katrina the dead were treated with such disrespect.

Staff of the Goths

2008-08-31T22:04:00.004-05:00

I'm glad to see that we can learn from our past mistakes, I'm glad to see we are finally putting the people first. Three years after Katrina the city of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast are getting ready for Hurricane Gustav. As of this morning New Orleans has been issued a mandatory evacuation giving citizens the chance to get safely out of the city. Also as of today republicans have decided to cut back on the activities of the RNC. I must say that I am surprised and happy to see them reacting to the threat of Gustav. As I was watching the news tonight I heard a man who disagrees with the RNC being delayed, and it seemed that the only reason for this was because he wanted to make sure the Republicans can get their side of the story out there after the DNC last week. My guess is that if he had personally experienced Katrina he would be happy and relieved to see that party politics were being put aside in order to make sure that when Gustav hits the proper response can be taken.

My thoughts are with all of the residents of the Gulf Coast.
Be safe.

The Anger Revisited

2008-08-28T08:34:00.003-05:00

I have begun to re-watch When The Levees Broke and decided I would start to write my feelings and reactions to the film this time and today on the eve of the third anniversary of Katrina.

I was angry when it happened, I was angry after it happened, I was angry when I first watched Spike Lee's film, I was angry when I saw New Orleans two and a half years later, and I was angry again as I watched the first two chapters of the film. It still amazes me of the reaction time of the government. Here we are the most powerful country in the world, with the smartest intelligence and it takes days for our own citizens to get help. We are the country that others look to when they need help, and yet we are the country that lets our own sit and wait while we figure out what to do. Politics might be filled with rules and laws and there might be certain ways to go about things, but when you have ten of thousands of people stranded in a city that's under water those rules, those regulations go out the window. You deal with who is going to fund it later, you don't waste time debating who is to lead the recovery efforts. When you have a situation like there was you just go and do what is needed, you put the politics and the policies aside and you show the citizens that you are there for them and that you care.

Nearly 300 Years of History, Only 1 Week to Explore

2008-08-27T21:50:00.005-05:00

I've been thinking and re-thinking about ideas since the end of April and I've come up with several, so here is what I have so far:

JAZZ

NOJO Jazz Jam: How the program is keeping Jazz alive by connecting young musicians with Jazz legends.

Preservation Hall: It's been a place to keep New Orleans Jazz alive for over 40 years, and the building has been around for hundreds. The history the lies within the walls of one of the oldest buildings in New Orleans.
WWOZ 90.7 FM: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage station. Volunteer based station that has been on the air for more than 20 years. Why do the DJs and other volunteers give their time to the station? A day at the station.

The Evolution of a City

Looking at how the city of New Orleans has changed throughout the years due not only to mother nature but also the effects man has had on the city.

The French Quarter: What has changed and what has remained the same.
New Orleans' Skyline: Looking at how the city was built up around the original city of New Orleans
Neighborhoods of New Orleans: A look at how time has effected different parts of the city.
Places of Jazz Past: What has become of the places that were once, and still are, home to Jazz legends.
Pre-Katrina/Post-Katrina: The effects the storm had on the city and how much has been done to rebuild.
Plantations: How well they've been kept up and what role they play today.
Garden District vs the French Quarter: How history shaped two important neighborhoods, the American city compared to the French city.

Rebuilding New Orleans

Volunteers: Why is it important for them to help New Orleans? How long have they been there? What are their feelings toward the recovery efforts?
Musicians Village: What it's doing for local musicians. What it means to those who are living there. How much has been completed and what is still to be finished.

New Orleans Stole My Heart

2008-08-20T22:42:00.001-05:00

The trip to New Orleans is something different for me this time around. The first time around I was going to a place I had never been to. The only things I knew about New Orleans was that of what I had heard and seen on TV. So when we landed in March I really had no idea what I was in for. This time around when we arrive in New Orleans I wont be wandering what it's going to be like, I will be arriving in a city that captured my heart with its tremendous spirit. My feelings towards New Orleans have grown a lot since coming home, and re-watching American Experience: New Orleans has allowed me to be reminded why I gave no second thought about doing this trip again. At the beginning of the second chapter John T. Scott said something that until you experience New Orleans you will never be able to understand, he said, 'New Orleans is the only place I've ever been where if you listen sidewalks will speak to you." The city of New Orleans is so much more than Mardi Gras, and the people are so much stronger than any hurricane could ever be. The culture fills the air, the streets, and the hearts of its residents. It is truly hard not to fall in love with New Orleans, and even harder to convince yourself to leave.
The thing about New Orleans is that the diversity and culture that make the city great have been there from the beginning. As I was watching the film I found myself interested in the details of the cities history the most. Chapter 2 talked about how the Americans and the French came to establish what we know as the Garden District and Vieux Carre`(the French Quarter). I found it interesting how Canal Street was the dividing line between the French and the Americans, and how the street names would change after Canal Street depending on what part of the city you were in. I absolutely love the fact that despite the Americans being set on getting the French out of the city, the French culture was and still is a huge role in the city. This is the sort of history that I want to explore while I'm down in New Orleans this September. I would like to look at how much the city has changed in the almost 300 years since the first French settlers came upon it and how much of the rich history has remained a large part of the city today. I want to document the change in the cities landscapes over the years due not only to Mother Nature, but also at the hands of man.

"To Jazz or not to Jazz, there is no question!" Louis Armstrong

2008-06-03T14:03:00.000-05:00

After much thought I have decided that I will be focusing on music this time around in New Orleans. More specifically Jazz! I have already begun to research about the history of jazz in New Orleans and the current role jazz is playing in New Orleans today. While I'm not sure of the exact direction I will take for the essay I am sure that I will be using my style to make it something more than ordinary.

it's time for a return...

2008-05-01T22:04:00.000-05:00

So I have decided to go to New Orleans again in the fall. This time I will be taking the Essay class. I am really excited about it and I hope that I am able to go...(cross your fingers that there isn't an overflow of people who want to go) I already have a few ideas of what I want to do my essay on and have already started doing research so that I can be fully prepared come Sept. It feels right for me to go back, when we left in March I didn't feel ready, I didn't feel like I had had enough time there and didn't get to experience everything that i wanted to. There is something about that city that makes me want to stay forever!

oh and if you would like to see more of my images from the trip I am hoping to get things up on flickr within the next week so be looking for that!

Now that it's all said and done

2008-05-01T21:08:00.000-05:00

We've been back now for a month. I have gotten a chance to really look at my images and really had the time to think about the trip. While there were plenty of things that could have gone better overall I think the trip was a great experience. New Orleans is truly a one of a kind city. I tell everyone who asks about the trip that the people of New Orleans are the nicest people I have ever met. I cannot recall a time that I have ever felt so welcome anywhere as I did there. It is a place that I can see myself going back to time and time again.

We had our gallery showing at the Traffic Zone Gallery. As much stress as printing and framing was it was worth it. I was extremely pleased my final images and I think that the photographs showed my personal style very well. Now we all have one of our photographs hanging in the library at AI and in June West Photo will be displaying our photos as well.

are we ever getting home??

2008-04-30T21:00:00.000-05:00

So today was are final day in New Orleans. I really did not want to leave. I was a little tempted to just stay down there. A few of us decided to wake up very very early in order to get over to the Lower 9th Ward to shoot the sunrise. Best day of the trip for sure. The light was so beautiful and there was this amazing fog that surrounded us. I got some of my favorite images from this morning. It was worth waking up at 5am to go. I had wanted to be out early enough to get the sunrise so it made the trip for me.

We left for the airport at 10am Sunday morning. We did not make it home until MONDAY! we had to spend a night in some small middle of nowhere town in Arkansas!!!!!! Our first flight was delayed which made us miss our connecting flight. We got shipped to Arkansas for the night sand then got a flight to Chicago where due to snowy weather are flight was cancelled. After a very long stressful day we all managed to get flights home. We landed 25hrs later than we were suppose to.

Thank You American! ha!

did someone say gator?

2008-03-30T01:30:00.000-05:00

Today the majority of us went on a swamp tour! It was a cloudy day so the tour guide told us we might not see any gators, but...WE DID! and he ate a marshmallow..which was pretty great! I had a lot of fun just being on the water since I know that the lakes up in MN are all still frozen. I actually ended up getting some of my favorite shots from the trip on the tour. It was nice to be able to photograph something different and something that is more in line with what I like to photograph.

After the swamp tour we headed over to the St. Roch neighborhood where there was a tree planting event going on. We stayed for a couple hours and photographed the volunteers and some of the residents that had come out. I talked with two high school girls, Tabitha and Nicole, who were there with Nicole's dad. They told me about how important it was for them to help rebuild the city and give back. They also were telling some of us how there school had over 6ft of water in it and how their principle worked extremely hard to get the school up and running as quickly as possible.

We all decided to drive over to the Lower 9th Ward after the tree planting. It is unbelievable the damage that was done to that area. There are not that many houses left standing anymore. Our time got cut short there because it started to rain. I however took advantage of the rain sat out in the grass while everyone made there way back to the vans. I think its one of the highlights of the trip for me!

Day 5 already...it's almost over

2008-03-28T23:30:00.000-05:00

So this morning we headed over to the St. Louis cemetery. This was one of the cemeteries on my list to visit so I was excited to finally be able to go. This cemetery is a lot older than the one we went to on Wednesday. I found myself more interested in the history of it rather than photographing it. There was actually a tour that was going on while we were there and I was tyring to listen to the lady talking about the cemetery to get more information on it. From there we took the street car up to Audubon Park and met up with the Essay class to have a picnic in the park! The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was nice to finally have some time to just sit back and enjoy the city.

After the park we walked through the Garden District and photographed the beautiful homes. That area is so much different than the area we had seen all week. The homes had beautiful entry ways adn gardens.

We finally got to be tourists and go out! Emily Steph and I all went shopping. I had a hard time deciding what to buy because i wanted to buy everything but yet I didn't want to buy too much so that my luggage would end up being over weight. We went to the famous Cafe du Monde and had some wonderful BEIGNETS!

Day 4 Photographs

2008-03-28T00:30:00.000-05:00

Busy Busy Day

2008-03-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today was a really busy day for us. Right away in the morning we went back to the Holy Cross neighborhood where we were introduced to Sidney Davis a resident of New Orleans who had been there during the storm. His home was being rebuilt by Rebuilding Together. We spent some time after talking with Sidney to photograph the home in the neighbor hood. I came across a home that was completely abandoned. The window were broken and you could get a good look and the damages on the inside. From there we went to another home that was being gutted in order to start the rebuilding process. We got to go inside and watch as the volunteers worked at emptying what was left on the inside.
Near the end of the afternoon we took the ferry over to Algeirs. The ferry was a nice nice way to get a good view of the cities skyline. I think I everyone not been so tired by that point it might have been more up to photographing Algeirs. But it had been such a long day already we all just really needed some down time.

all the things my eyes have seen

2008-03-26T23:28:00.000-05:00

Today we woke upu nice and early in order to catch the beautiful morning light. We went over to the 9th ward and photographed the neighborhood for awhile before heading over to Habitat for Hummanity. I have always had such respect for the organization and the great things they do for people. It was an experience to see so many people from all over coming to help the people of New Orleans.

FINALLY we went to a cemetary. Before heading out we had no idea that all of them close early so we were lucky to find one that was. I have been waiting to photograph the cemetaries for a long time. It was amazing!! i took well over 400 hundred sots and i am hoping we go back to some older ones before we head back to MN. The lighting was perfect, we went around 5pm. I think thus far that has been my favorite thing.

a new canvas for the eyes

2008-03-25T23:33:00.000-05:00

We went to the Holy Cross neighborhood today and we were able to see the damages done by the storm first hand. It amazes me that after two and a half years there are still so many people still living in trailers because their homes are not safe. We met a woman named Betty who told us about so many people who have no plans on returning, their homes sit with the soft echo of what used to be there. I've seen so many pictures of the homes but to actually see it in person is a whole different feeling.

Today we got to walk around the French Quarter and photograph the people of New Orleans. This city is full of spirit that just spreads to everyone. It amazes me how welcoming and friendly everyone is. Its really great to be able to talk to people and have them tell you how much they love this city.

New Orleans!

2008-03-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

After waking up early to catch a 6am flight we are finally in New Orleans!! The first thing we did was take a bus tour of the city. It was a really great way to get an overview of the city. I wish we could have stopped at some of the places to take photographs but it didn't work out.

the eyes never lie

2008-03-18T19:58:00.000-05:00

So here is what I'm thinking...

2008-03-05T17:50:00.000-06:00

So the trip is coming up really fast and I am more than a little excited about it. I have wanted to go to New Orleans for some time now so I'm hoping it will be as much fun as I want it to be. I can still remember watching the event of Katrina on tv with disbelief that something like that could happen here and people could be treat so poorly. I am ashamed at how our government responded and even more ashamed at how little progress has been made. Watching the Spike Lee's movie and hearing the residents tell their stories was truly heart breaking.

my eyes lead me

2008-02-16T15:08:00.001-06:00

Some of my work from the last year