Day 2

Today was a long and interesting day. I started my day by getting up at 5 in the a.m. to get ready for my sunrise shoot. Amanda and I decided to break away from the group today and go to the river walk and on the Mississippi, and shoot the sunrise. We got on the Ferry and crossed the river, to shoot from both, sides and then walked the French Quarter. The Quarter is beautiful in the morning when everything is quiet, and the sun is just rising, it makes a city that is usually bustling with activity appear to be peaceful and silent. I think this was a very good way to experience my first real glimpse of the city.

After our sunrise shoot I met Ryan and Colleen for our tour of New Orleans. The tour took us through out most of the city. Showing aspects of culture, tourism, effect of Katrina and everyday life of the people of New Orleans. The most interesting place to me was, the lower 9th ward, and being able to see the watermarks and places that were once under water, and even seeing the levees that where breached. Once the tour was finished I was able to do some exploring of the city, before returning to the Hotel to get ready for my evening shoot.

For my evening shoot Becky and Colleen took me to Barataria Preserve, or more specifically Bayou Coquille & Kenta Canal Trails. It was a new experience for me. I was able to see for the first time a wild alligator. It was a baby and only seemed to be about 4 feet long. Becky and I followed the Kenta Canal Trails, almost to the end. The hardwooded forest seemed almost exotic and too me gave off a mystic feel. I loved, walking the trails and seeing all the different wildlife. I was also able to see more gators, one along the trail and three or four more once we got to the Kenta Canal. I think this was a successful trip and I look forward to going out again. This experience today allowed me to experience the beauty of these Bayou's first hand and succeeded in convincing me that these bits of paradise need to be protected and preserved.

Day 1

FINALY HERE! After weeks of planning and build up I'm finally in the Big Easy. I can't tell you how excited I am, to see and experience this city. Its been an interesting day filled mostly with travel (it was my first time in a plane!)but I was able to get a glimpse of the city this evening and I get I will be taking a tour of the city tomorrow morning. 

From what I have seen of the city it is every bit as amazing as i thought it would be, I am very excited to experience as much of New Orleans as I can in the ten days I'm here!

My Project

It's the night before I leave for New Orleans and I just thought I would establish exactly what my essay is going to be. What I  want to accomplish with this project, is to show the impact and recovery of the ecosystems, and wildlife following Katrina. I also want to show the importance of these refuges, and the animals and wildlife that they protect.

UPDATE

I made some calls today and got some really good contacts! I have to make some more calls tomorrow but the outlook is good that I might be able to have a volunteer that works at the refuge take me out to Mandalay which is a refuge that can only be reached by boat. I think that this if it happens will be a good addition to my project!

Change in Essay Topic

I have been doing a lot of research trying to figure out what I'm going to do for my project. I have decided to change my topic to photographing wildlife and nature in New Orleans, I have found 4  different wildlife refuges in and around New Orleans that are accessible to the public, they are  Bayou Sauvage, Bayou Teche, Big Branch Marsh, Bogue Chitto, Wildlife Refuge's. 

I am also going to call some of the other wildlife refuge's visitor offices that are listed on the site, but are only accessible by boat and I want to see if anyone would be able to take me to one. The Bayou Sauvage Refuge gives free canoe and hiking tours also so I will be calling to set one of those up as well. The site also lists Katrina damages at each of these refuges, and maps of where to find endangered species.

This is the site http://www.fws.gov/bayousauvage/

I'm really looking forward to this trip now, I was getting really discouraged!

Where I'm at

I have email, four different facilities and called  two and still have not had any response.  I am continuing my research and trying to find more contacts but I am running out of Ideas.

When The Levees Broke

            When The Levees Broke gives us an intimate and heartbreaking look into the destruction of what I consider one of the most amazing cities in the U.S. especially after watching this video. The video shows and tells the personal stories of who survived in the wake of hurricane Katrina. This film shows the trials and tribulations that this city and its inhabitants have endured, but more importantly it shows the strength, the courage, and the spirit that these people have shown in the face of the death, devastation, and disease. But more importantly it shown the spirit, strength and courage that the people of New Orleans have to look at all the destruction and still stand back up and rebuild. The video shows New Orleans will to survive, and keep their culture and city alive.

            When the Levees broke is an emotional four hour-film that crosses a variety of different backgrounds, to show the mutually devastation the people of New Orleans faced.  Despite the fact that I like I’m sure most everybody viewed the coverage on the news, the video shows a much more raw version of the devastation of New Orleans. Like the images of people standing on roof tops with signs pleading for help, the personal stories we hear throughout the video of the people that were lost in the flooding, and the most devastating of all at the end of the first chapter the coverage of corpses lying in the street some covered but most not left to rot because there were was no where to put them. The horrific volume of devastation, death, suffering and misery shocked me I knew that it was horrible but I had no idea what the New Orleans went through and I still really don’t.

            But what makes this movie spectacular to me is the hope, that despite the devastation and the fact that here we are four years later and still there are parts of New Orleans that look like it was only four days ago, the people of New Orleans show. The hope that their city will be rebuilt to its once glory. That to me makes me think that New Orleans is the greatest city in America