I'm a native of the city - lived there from birth to my mid twenty's - and the French Quarter is the safest district in the city, day or night. The Quarter swarms with under cover police and is heavily patrolled by uniform cops. That said, watch closely on what you place on the ground. It's far more likely that a lens will suddenly "disappear" than you getting hit over the head and robbed.
Thomas
I'd want someone with me and a system of warning. Beware of being tag-teamed by two folks working together.
My wife and I were there during Christmas, armed, and used to watching out for each other even while iphone-imaging. At one of the restaurants along the street the waiter advised us to move our iphones off the window side of the table- someone would snatch and be gone with them. I wondered the same things about taking LF down there.
There is currently a youtube vid of a car pulling up and a dismount guy robbing an iphone user at shotgun-point, the victim got ahold of the shotgun and got it away....but they did drive off with his iphone. French Quarter.
I'd pick my spots and not linger long enough for someone to make a plan. Be more tempted to ask permission to photo from one story up at several places. Safer and better viewpoint and who knows what else you would see.
Best wishes and good luck!
I live in Canada but have spent time in New Orleans - my favorite North American city. I have stayed and photographed in the French Quarter with a huge old Fuji GX680 and never had any issues. As others have mentioned the police presence is solid and I have never felt at risk night or day.
The only time I have had issues was in the cemetery area. I was walking beyond the cemetery when a grandmother walking 2 lovely grandchildren (I assume) came up to me and told me I was walking in the wrong direction and to get my white ass back to downtown - not safe for me here. I took her advice.
Take some great photos and be sure to have some oysters.
Hahaha thats one of my favourites, when someone leads with that I just reach into my pocket for the dollar because I know I will get at least a dollars worth of entertainment out of the conversation I'm about to enter into.Originally Posted by BrianShaw
p.s. When some toothless yokel approaches you and says, "I'll bet you a dollar you can't tell me where I got these shoes at."... the answer is NOT Walmart, but "right there on your feet".
The trip went exceedingly well (assuming the darkroom is kind to me tonight). I did draw a lot of attention to myself, but none from anybody of concern. I stuck to the well-trodden areas, and a gallery owner came out with a glass of water for me and told me I should put out a tip jar. Got lots of questions from all sorts of people and no hint of trouble to speak of. The people of New Orleans may love the big old Ries tripod and 5-pound lens, but I was drenched after a few miles in the humidity! Thanks for all the good advice. Looking forward to the next trip. I was down for a conference and so was unable to visit Metarie, uptown, or the cemeteries, but I hope to try again soon.
William
Good for you... glad you had a good time. The last business trip I had to NOLA was cancelled the morning of my flight due to hurricane. I was very sad.
For folks taking future trips - I shoot 4x5 in the quarter frequently. The quarter is dangerous - being the safest place in NO is not saying much. But during the daytime, especially early in the morning, there is little risk. I doubt that theft would be a big issue for LF, since it is not something that looks pawnable. But we tend to have random shootings that nick bystanders, and those are mostly in the evenings or during big events. The police presence has little effect. I think one night we had 7 people shot in the Quarter right in the middle of all that policing. But who knows what it might be like without the policing. (Of course the NO police can be pretty lethal themselves.) Early morning has good light and few people. The crowds are the biggest problem during the day.
Ed Richards
http://www.epr-art.com
I don't know if this has changed recently, but I've repeatedly seen warnings about the cemeteries as being dangerous, especially alone. They are best visited in a group (not just a pair of folks, but three or four, or better yet as part of a tour group), at least according to commentary. The last time I was there was in the mid 1990s, and I was on crutches at the time, so I never did visit the cemeteries (too much walking).
Depends on the cemeteries. The ones by the Quarter were right next to a big housing complex with a lot of crime. That has been mostly closed post-Katrina, but I don't know how safe they are. But the big cemeteries out in the city of the dead on Canal are fine, as is the huge Metarie cemetery.
Ed Richards
http://www.epr-art.com
That's the Iberville Project and is was built on the site that was originally Storyville. At the corner of...Iberville and Basin stood Tom Anderson's saloon. Anderson was the unofficial "mayor" of Storyville and Lulu White's "house" was about a block away http://www.old-new-orleans.com/NO_Storyville.html. After the Feds closed Storyville down in...1919, Storyville stood vacent until it was bulldozed in the 1940's to make way for the project. This was a stupid decision IMO because a refurbished Storyville reborn as an "Historical Park" would have brought gabs of money into the City than that eyesore project. Can you imagine walking into the original bars and whorehouses that were the incubators of Jazz - where the likes of such famous musicians as Jelly Roll Martin, Buddy Bolden, King Oliver...even Louis Armstrong got their start!
Personally I've never found that section of the City particulary dangerous but then I didn't associate with anyone in the Iberville project - just frequented some of the business establishments located there (e.g., The Chicken Shack late at night after the bars). As far as the cemetaries, except for Woodland, where the family tomb (above ground) is located, I didn't go into them much at all. Marie Laveau's tomb is in St. Louis cemetary in the Quarter which I've been in several times during the day without concern or incident. But then again I'm a New Orleans native and knew the city quite well and always felt comfortable walking its neighborhoods. That said, there's certain neigborhoods that I wouldn't have went into - either in daytime or at night - such as the Desire Projects. But as I said, I was boorn there and knew the city quite well. Shoot, waslking down the street and having to go to the bathroom I would enter the first business establishment I came across and use their bathroom without the slightest hesitation, consideration or interference. That was what your were supposed to to! It's not like that elsewheres...only in NO.
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