South Louisiana Project - Ideas?

[Ed Richards]

Since Katrina, I have been working on images of south LA, the region below I10 and south of Baton Rouge, that is at very high risk of being inundated by ocean rise over the next 100 years, if not destroyed by a major hurricane well before then. This includes New Orleans, as well as a lot of Cajun country. I have begun to put images on the WWW beyond my Katrina stuff:

http://www.epr-art.com

What I am curious about - and this is partially triggered by Carl's Drive-in project - is what would people want to see when this area is gone? While most of us will gone by then, if you know this area, what would you want to have images of in 2100, when it is mostly covered in water? For myself, there were large areas I had not seen before Katrina, and all that was left was ruins. I wish I had images before the storm, esp. of the areas below NO. This is not a new problem - the Acadia that it was named by the French settlers was been reduced to a shadow of it glory more than 100 years ago when the last of the old grown cypress was cut. We are not talking about the last shots of a pristine wilderness, but the last shots of an interesting cultural area in an already profoundly changed environment.

[Hal Hardy]

Overhead images of the above ground cemetaries. The larger ones would probably have to photographed from a nearby roof top.

[Robert Hughes]

Roller-skating drive-in waitresses! Might be a challenge with 8x10...

[Ed Richards]

> Roller-skating drive-in waitresses!

Have not come across any of those. But I do have a Technika if the opportunity presents itself.:-)

> Overhead images of the above ground cemetaries.

Interesting thought! Most do not have a tall building nearby, but I have a 9 foot Gitzo Giant tripod that has not gotten much use. I will have to strap a ladder to the roof rack. There are a couple that you can get an overlook view of, I will check that out.

[Hal Hardy]

Most do not have a tall building nearby...

The one I have in mind was in the movie Easy Rider. It looked and sounded like it was in or near an industrial area. Maybe you can get a crane operater to give you a boost up.

When I lived in Baton Rouge, I thought it was kind of creepy to bury people in cement boxes above ground even though they have to. At least I never saw one with the lid ajar.

[Ed Richards]

> At least I never saw one with the lid ajar.

Should have been here after Katrina - coffins to rebury the dead who washed out of the tombs:

[mandoman7]

In many instances good art comes out of a particular craftsman's take on a moving subject. It may be the twist he gives it, or maybe his unusually penetrating vision. The thing that elevates the project (in my opinion, of course) is often the character that this photographer invests in the work. As coarse as it may be, many photographers do go to sites of tragedy looking for evocative imagery. Its the ones who are really paying attention and not just taking advantage of an opportunity that get the worthwhile imagery.
As preachy as it sounds, the good photos are coming from inside the shooter as much if not more than the evocative subject matter. Forgive me if I sound too much like another know-it-all

[Daniel_Buck]

Being born and raised in Louisiana myself, I look forward to seeing the results of your project!! :-)

The marshy areas, flooded forest "lakes" and such, that's what I miss about Louisiana (living in California now). But I guess if the areas get flooded by more water, we won't really loose those areas, we'll gain more. haha!

The back-road highways can be beautiful too, rolling through the forests. That's one thing that I really look forward to when i go back home every year for Christmas, riding down the country roads on the back of my father's motorcycle

Logging is big down there in some parts, maybe try and get some of "clear cut" areas that have been re-seeded with small tree saplings? That's probably not unique to Louisiana though, but I always remember the big square (many acre) plops of forest being leveled, and then replanted. It's interesting, each year at christmas time how the saplings are so much bigger each year If you find one with some gentle rolling hills, that could make for a nice image I've got some photos of my father's truck infront of the big yards that store the trees after their cut, kind of interesting.

[Hal Hardy]

Should have been here after Katrina - coffins to rebury the dead who washed out of the tombs

Yuck!

I did a project similar to yours. As urban sprawl crept closer to my area, I realized that some iconic businesses and other land marks were going to be swallowed up so I photographed them when my schedule allowed and the light was right. One of them was a permanently docked river boat converted to a resturaunt. As I was setting up on a nearby dock, I noticed two people watching me through an upstairs window. A couple of weeks later I drove by it and saw that they had made some repairs to the paddle wheel and painted the exterior of the boat. I guess I shamed/inspired them to spruce the place up.

[Jim Michael]

The anthropologist in me says photograph the people living in the environment. It's their way of life that is being affected/destroyed. Any folks you know make their living in the bayous hunting, fishing, making/cooking boudin etc?