This is Fema the dog. I met him this morning during our sunrise shoot. He was just hanging out in the neighborhood (lower 9th ward). We were photographing the Make it Right Foundation homes, when I saw him wondering ar
ound.
ound. Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
First day in New Orleans
Our first full day in New Orleans has been amazing! Some of us started shooting at sunrise and the lighting was beautiful. We went on a bus tour as well and saw a lot of New Orleans. Our bus tour guide was very informative. It was hard to take in all of the information. It was also hard to believe all of the damage that still remains from Katrina, and the new damage from Hurricane Gustav. People who have been here before have told me that there's still major damage left from Hurricane Katrina, but now it's clear to me how bad it really is. It's hard to understand unless you really see it for yourself, and now I have.
Later this afternoon I shot at Animal Rescue New Orleans. It was my first shoot with an animal shelter in New Orleans and was a positive experience. ARNO is a small, no kill shelter. My favorite part was when I got to photograph Jill Fox and her soon to be dog, Salvador. Salvador was found under a home in New Orleans. Jill mentioned that he had to of had an owner because he's so good with people and he knows how to sit. Jill's a volunteer at ARNO. When Salvador recovers from his heartworm he gets to live with Jill's father, until she's finished getting her master's degree, and then Salvador will live with Jill permanently.
My day of shooting ended with sunset, and just like the sunrise, it was awesome.
Later this afternoon I shot at Animal Rescue New Orleans. It was my first shoot with an animal shelter in New Orleans and was a positive experience. ARNO is a small, no kill shelter. My favorite part was when I got to photograph Jill Fox and her soon to be dog, Salvador. Salvador was found under a home in New Orleans. Jill mentioned that he had to of had an owner because he's so good with people and he knows how to sit. Jill's a volunteer at ARNO. When Salvador recovers from his heartworm he gets to live with Jill's father, until she's finished getting her master's degree, and then Salvador will live with Jill permanently.
My day of shooting ended with sunset, and just like the sunrise, it was awesome.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Pawprints of Katrina
I also wanted to mention that I started to read "Pawprints of Katrina". It's a 236 page book all about the rescue of animals after Katrina. Hopefully it will help me to have more insight on my subjects.
Contacts
I've been contacting different animal shelters and organizations like crazy for the past two weeks. I've called and emailed the LSCPA, The Parish of Jefferson Animal Shelter, Southern Animal Foundation , and Animal Rescue New Orleans. As of last Friday, I hadn't heard back from anyone, and the people I had talked to were too overwhelmed from Gustav, to have someone photograph. Today I called Animal Rescue New Orleans for the second time and I actually got through to someone. Her name was Charlotte and she is more than happy to let me photograph at their shelter! It was a good start to my Monday and hopefully my luck continues as I call more people.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Photo Essays
Rob Finch is one of my favorite photo journalists. He has a lot of great photo essays. If you just go to robfinchphoto.com, you can check out all of his work One of my favorites stories is Finch's "Living to the End." A story about a women who choses when she wants to die.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
When the Levees Broke
This movie was vital to watch. When the Levees Broke reiterated a lot of coverage that I have already seen, but with more passion. It was more realistic and informative because the storm was covered through the points of views of people who actually experienced Katrina.
I never really thought hard enough about the total effect of Katrina, afterwards. I realize that people lost their homes and belongings. More importantly people lost their friends, family, and pets. If I were to sit there and watch one of my family members die, I don’t know what I would do. There are people whose health has gone downhill: people who can’t sleep at night because they can’t get the image of their mothers, fathers, daughters, or sons, dying out of their heads: people who can’t function properly without depression pills: people who were separated from their families and never got a chance to say goodbye. These are things that continuously run through my mind, especially after watching this video and hearing about some of the losses.
There was one woman, who was a lawyer, in the third act that explained how she and her husband had been educated well and were doing good before Katrina. They went from leading this good life to having nothing at all. Nothing mattered, not even their education. Another man explained that people think they know what they’ll do in a time of tragedy, but when tragedy strikes, there‘s no way to be prepared. I found this interesting because people work so hard to live. Like the rest of use, A lot of these people have spend their whole lives trying to earn enough money to make a living and in the end it doesn’t really matter, which leads me to my next point.
I have read and heard a lot about Katrina, but one thing that I was oblivious to, was how badly insurance companies cooperated with the hurricane victims. I couldn’t believe it. Especially the one eighty-year old man who had been with his insurance company for fifty years and paid his bills, and he didn’t even get back what half of his house was worth. I realize this is reality, but it stinks. After eighty years, he essentially has to start from scratch.
Towards the end of the film they show people celebrating Mardi Gras. It was hard for me to understand at first why they would even bother, but after what I’ve stated above, I can’t imagine anything else more necessary.
I never really thought hard enough about the total effect of Katrina, afterwards. I realize that people lost their homes and belongings. More importantly people lost their friends, family, and pets. If I were to sit there and watch one of my family members die, I don’t know what I would do. There are people whose health has gone downhill: people who can’t sleep at night because they can’t get the image of their mothers, fathers, daughters, or sons, dying out of their heads: people who can’t function properly without depression pills: people who were separated from their families and never got a chance to say goodbye. These are things that continuously run through my mind, especially after watching this video and hearing about some of the losses.
There was one woman, who was a lawyer, in the third act that explained how she and her husband had been educated well and were doing good before Katrina. They went from leading this good life to having nothing at all. Nothing mattered, not even their education. Another man explained that people think they know what they’ll do in a time of tragedy, but when tragedy strikes, there‘s no way to be prepared. I found this interesting because people work so hard to live. Like the rest of use, A lot of these people have spend their whole lives trying to earn enough money to make a living and in the end it doesn’t really matter, which leads me to my next point.
I have read and heard a lot about Katrina, but one thing that I was oblivious to, was how badly insurance companies cooperated with the hurricane victims. I couldn’t believe it. Especially the one eighty-year old man who had been with his insurance company for fifty years and paid his bills, and he didn’t even get back what half of his house was worth. I realize this is reality, but it stinks. After eighty years, he essentially has to start from scratch.
Towards the end of the film they show people celebrating Mardi Gras. It was hard for me to understand at first why they would even bother, but after what I’ve stated above, I can’t imagine anything else more necessary.
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