My Shots from New Orleans

[itsanaddiction]

wow! also, bourbon isn't just drugs and alcohol...lots of alcohol...

 

[MarcusM]

Exscuse me for being overly sensitive here but why is going to the "Ghetto" a good day. I can't see where you would take pleasure in documenting other people's misfortune for your own gain or enertainment.

A big part of photography is documentation as you said so yourself. Why do you assume he is taking pleasure in "documenting other people's misfortune"? Did you check out the link he posted? If you did you would see that it appears he actually takes pleasure in trying to help people to transcend their misfortune. Which to me seems pretty contradictory to taking pleasure from someone's misfortune, does it not?

So are you going to tell all the photographers from the Civil Rights movements back in the 60's who took all the famous photos of people being beaten and harassed by police, all the photographers who have ever taken a photo of war, all the photographers who have ever taken a photo of any civil rights violation whatsoever, that they were doing so for their own "gain or entertainment"? If so, I guess photography to you is nothing more than taking pictures for fun. Photography to me is on a deeper level than that. If we have the opportunity to show injustice to the rest of the world so others may understand, then why not do it?

thanks for replying. i understand and i must have missed that, but even so, i would never call someone else's town a gheyto. it looks like you were in the 9th ward or around the area. and yes it is the ghetto.

Sorry for ranting but I just saw this comment also and had to reply. With all due respect, it seems like you might be trying to sugarcoat. The ghetto is the ghetto, I think everyone can agree on that, whether you live there or not. You called it the ghetto yourself after pointing out that others shouldn't call it that.

People from the ghetto call it the ghetto. Anyone who has been through or around the ghetto can tell it's the ghetto. It doesn't mean that it's an insult, it's just being honest. I personally would think it would be more insulting to look someone in the eye from some of these areas and say "oh, this isn't too bad an area...you must like it here"

 

[Clutch]

New Orleans is a very, very old city and as such many parts of the area look to many to be the "ghetto". Simple fact of the matter is many people are used to an urbanized, sterile and generic America. New Orleans is one of those places that doesn't conform to that accepted norm.

The vast majority of the rebuilding has been done by volunteers and a huge number of those volunteers are and have been young people. I for one commend them for their compassion and desire to help.

New Orleans is still a severely wounded city and many areas are still in various states of destruction and rebirth besides the 9th Ward. As a native Louisianian who weathered the storm we know as Katrina (I live in Livingston Parish which was also designated a federal disaster area) it still pains me to see the blatant evidence of such a tragic event that literally ripped my state apart.

Not laying blame on anyone or anything here but Hurricane Katrina has been a difficult and painful event to live with and many places I knew in New Orleans as a child are gone forever. My father was born and raised in the 9th Ward during the Great Depression and my grandparents lived there until the late 1980s. I have many fond memories of Saturdays spent at my grandparents shotgun house in the company of what we call "yats".

If you ever get a chance - visit the city (it really is a photographer's dream come true). It's quite unique and has a musty, funky air about itself that you'll either fall in love with or hate with a burning passion. New Orleans refuses to let you sit on the fence when it comes to what you think of her.

For all those who have helped even in a small way to rebuild New Orleans... thank you.

 

[eminart]

New Orleans is a cool town, but there's no way to sugar-coat it -- much of it is GHETTO. I took a wrong turn down there one night and was happy to get back out. If you can't call parts of new orleans "ghetto" then you can't call the sky blue.

ghetto Anoun1 ghetto
a poor densely populated city district occupied by a minority ethnic group linked together by economic hardship and social restrictions

 

[itsanaddiction]

much of it is not the ghetto. there are city limits where it becomes something else and not new orleans. like any city it has its diff areas, majority of it is nice and prosperous (sorry if that is spelled wrong). and most of the ghettos of new orleans are gone now due to katrina

 

[chrisburke]

These pictures show real talent.

I would like advice on a subject however.

I have created a photography website for beginners.
It is not fully complete yet but i would like some feedback.

www.photographyplace.info

thanks for your kind words... in regards to your site.. i dont have time to read through it right now, but at a glance, its to busy... to many ads... also if i was going to a site to learn about photography, I would want to see quality pics at the start... so like the pics where you have the dogs.. i would put some better quality pics to show the reader that "this is what you will be able to do"

 

[passerby]

I like the 2nd photo. It "announces" itself as poor, uneducated, drug ridden population, unemployement, blame anybody else except me attitude, gangsterism - and what else?

 

[anubis404]

If you want my opinion, Chris, I enjoyed the pics. I'm no photographer, however I still enjoy them. I do not think there is anything wrong in documenting the truth, no matter how hard it may hurt.

 

[One Sister]

Finally a subject I’m an expert at . I’ve lived in or commuted to New Orleans for nearly 35 years. The hurricane events were my personal loss and tragedy. Twelve of those years I owned and lived in a home in the lower ninth a block from the levee (believe me, Chris, we never called it a ghetto then, it was a very nice mixed neighborhood that we were all proud to live in). Currently I live on the northshore of the lake (Pontchartrain). We lost our roof and had some other relatively minor damage and I awaken every day and am grateful. My family and I made it out alive, but I have friends who drowned. Everyone in my sphere has suffered a personal loss.

I share this with you to give me cred for what I will say. I will defend JIP’s comments as I believe s/he (not sure which – sorry) has suffered the same loss that we all did at the sight of 9/11. Not all of us suffered the personal loss that New Yorkers did. Not that everyone shouldn’t have the right to speak their minds, but JIP, we want the people…we want the bus loads of gawkers…WE WANT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS. We want the attention, for we have been forgotten.

Every time we see the bus loads, not of looky-loos (and again, I am not knocking them either because they go home and tell others what they saw) but of young people like Chris we are grateful. I spend a lot of time in New Orleans and I see these people often and we are always thankful for their mission. America thinks it’s over. IT IS NOT. People’s personal tragedies continue to develop. There are parts of New Orleans and surrounding areas which are virtually untouched. COME. VISIT. EAT. ENJOY. SPEND MONEY. There are parts of New Orleans and surrounding areas which are recovering nicely. Restaurants have opened. Our festivals are back (Jazz Fest coming up in about 3 weeks!). Mardi Gras this year was phenomenal (contrary to popular opinion there are many family events surrounding the Carnival season). COME. VISIT. EAT. ENJOY. SPEND MONEY. But yes, there are huge sections east of the city where it is still desolate. It is amazingly forgotten. We need people to see all the sides of this and know that the government failed us, but it is not too late to do something NOW.

COME. VISIT. EAT. ENJOY. SPEND MONEY…bring your cameras and tell the world what you have seen. Thanks for reading this long rant. And thanks Chris and your group and all the groups who have come to assist. Oh and I like your photos. I particularly liked the brick with sun and the HDR. I’d like to see more. Good work. Itsanaddiction and Clutch, perhaps I’ll see you about. Nice cemetery shots (in another thread), Clutch. The cemeteries are awesome places for a person and a camera.

I personally invite the entire forum to visit New Orleans and shoot lots of photos and post them everywhere.

 

[CanAm]

to JIP Hurricane Katrina was something that has completely changed the world, whether its for the good or bad is your decision. This natural disaster was the worst one in DECADES,

I'd argue that the tsunami that killed 300,000 people worldwide was a worse natural disaster and that Katrina didn't change the world, but rather the lives of a few million.

I do like those shots though. In all reality, it's so hard to care for a disaster when you don't really see the brunt of it and who and what it affects. Those shots bring the reality of it all to us. Well done.

 

[chrisburke]

One Sister, thank you for your "ground zero" story, you are far braver that I'll ever be, I couldn't imagine going through something like Katrina (I'm 6'5" 280 lbs, but the thoughts of something like Katrina terrifies me). So very sad to hear of your friends who drowned. Things like Katrina make me realize how blessed I am to live in a place like Canada, despite all the cold and snow (record year this year). I pray for the people of Louisiana regularly, that someone of importance will realize the work is not finished.

We actually stayed on the north shore while we were there. We stayed in Covington (I believe it was called Trinity Church) where the EFCA Disaster Relief Team is based.

What a great time we had down there. We brought a group of 55 (11 adults and 44 teens) We actually have being doing this mission for 3 years now. We bring a group down every March Break... our first 3 trips were to Bogalusa (First trip being August of 2006.. Canadians should never go to Louisiana in August it was 128 degrees on the roof!!!) Then March of 07, December 07 and now March 08, where we went right to New Orleans.

I have lots of other pics from our most recent trip, (as I posted a link) but I haven't had a whole lot of time to spend on editing them, but that part is coming slowly. I am also waiting for a disc from a friend who came with us last year. He is a photo journalist who is now in Shanghai doing stories, the disc unfortunately got lost in the mail, so who knows when that will come along, but I wait for it in anticipation, as he is an amazing photographer.

We will be coming back again next year, despite the pain in the ace is it to cross the boarder (4 hours this trip) one thing I don't understand about USA... if you coming to spend money, it takes 2 minutes to cross the boarder, but if your coming to volunteer to do disaster relief, you get the 10th degree... not a good experience, but, nevertheless, it didn't stop us.

 

[itsanaddiction]

One Sister - amazing! thanks! you sound like me at times! maybe i'll see you around!

Chris - thanks again for y'alls hard work! i'm sorry they gave you the 10th degree.

 

[asfixiate]

This might have already been said but hasn't war photography been around since the ability to take pictures? At least Chris is using a nonbiased mature way to share his work.

The only poor taste really is seeing oprah, sean penn, or other celebrities while they're there. If you're going to help just go an help...don't make it a publicity thing.

Seeing real everyday people to me means difference and true dedication to helping the cause.

What I see here is a photographer taking shots of something that affected all of us. He used an artistic edge to truly turn tragedy into memory.

 

[EricBrian]

New Orleans is a very, very old city and as such many parts of the area look to many to be the "ghetto". Simple fact of the matter is many people are used to an urbanized, sterile and generic America. New Orleans is one of those places that doesn't conform to that accepted norm.

The vast majority of the rebuilding has been done by volunteers and a huge number of those volunteers are and have been young people. I for one commend them for their compassion and desire to help.

New Orleans is still a severely wounded city and many areas are still in various states of destruction and rebirth besides the 9th Ward. As a native Louisianian who weathered the storm we know as Katrina (I live in Livingston Parish which was also designated a federal disaster area) it still pains me to see the blatant evidence of such a tragic event that literally ripped my state apart.

Not laying blame on anyone or anything here but Hurricane Katrina has been a difficult and painful event to live with and many places I knew in New Orleans as a child are gone forever. My father was born and raised in the 9th Ward during the Great Depression and my grandparents lived there until the late 1980s. I have many fond memories of Saturdays spent at my grandparents shotgun house in the company of what we call "yats".

If you ever get a chance - visit the city (it really is a photographer's dream come true). It's quite unique and has a musty, funky air about itself that you'll either fall in love with or hate with a burning passion. New Orleans refuses to let you sit on the fence when it comes to what you think of her.

For all those who have helped even in a small way to rebuild New Orleans... thank you.

Clutch, your comment is right on. Thanks for saying it.


Chris, great shots. I hope you will post more. Thanks.

 

[deudeu]

Just to clarify a little thing here. I am not a native speaker so i could be wrong, but as far as i know, the definition of a Guetto is a place where people of a minority are confined, because of outside pressure.

The first guettos where in Italy (italian word actually) and where places where the Jews were forced to live.
Anyways, the meaning has evolved to become "a crappy place to live", but that's slang.

I have lived in the US for a while and there is loads and loads of guettos there. Actually, i have traveled quite a bit and i have never seen a country (talking mostly about europe and North America because it is irrelevant in non western cultures) with that many Guettos. There are black guettos, latino guettos, jew guettos, white guettos... If you are in a place which is massively populated by members of one community, you are in a ghetto and there is nothing to be offended about. Whether or not you think this segregation is right is a different problem altogether.

The fact is, The US are a place where segregation is part of the culture. It is sad that only something like a hurricane can bring people together.
I don't want to put the US down, this is a great country and the American people are, for the vast majority, lovely people.

I just find it silly that people drive past "guettos" with their huge SUV everyday on their suburbian commuting, cause the global warming responsible for hurricanes, vote mostly against the people who try to get some more healthcare and help in those guettos, then cry and go rebuild when the S**T hits the fan, and are offended when people take pictures...

Without those pictures nobody would know. Take pictures! Lots and lots of them, of all guettos. Most people out there don't know what it is like to live in those places, and don't want to know. Take pictures and shuv them in their face. Maybe it can make a difference.

But also remember that New Orleans is not the only place where people need help. There are probably places where you can help that are much closer to home. If you come from Canada, you should check out Gary IN. Also a lovely place to take pictures, and some help would not hurt there.