Students Out for the First Bit of Morning Light

A few students brave the 6:30am challenge this morning an went out to photograph with me and instructor Brett Kallusky. We stopped by the St. Roch Market, and photographed around the area before making our way to Holy Cross neighborhood, and enjoyed the last bit of sweet shooting light on top of the levee by the Mississippi.

Arrival Day

The students and their faculty got on a plane from Minneapolis at 6am (gulp) today to
come to New Orleans. I arrived on Friday night, and have been shooting all weekend. They will be arriving to a decidedly more Spring-like environment here--with temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s. It was very windy yesterday, and promises to be so today, but then calm and warmer temperatures will reemerge tomorrow. The Editorial class will be tackling the French Quarter tomorrow, with a respite at 1pm to join the more advanced Essay course for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Essay students will commence shooting on small group projects all over the city.

Travel 101

Well, it's two weeks away! Having had the chance to sit in on both pre-trip courses, I have to say that I think you are a terrific group of students who have great goals and inspirations. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to finally see this project come to fruition, with such capable individuals taking on the task of learning editorial or essay photography while thinking about engaged documentary practice and the ethics of disaster photography. I hope that the most important lesson we all learn from this, is that our art form can be as important in helping New Orleans recover as gutting a house.

Words have a power all their own, but images can resonate across generations. I encourage all of you to push past the imagery we have all come to know of post-Katrina New Orleans--that of a typical southern shotgun house, with a fading waterline and a big spray painted X on the front, to a deeper understanding of what it's like to live in that house, how your viewers can wash those marks away, and perhaps most importantly, make images that because they are new and different, refocus the spotlight on the United States' worst disaster in our lifetimes.

And now for business:
I know we all went over some of the travel tips last week, but here are some from the airline itself. To read the latest regulations with regard to security on American Airlines, click here.

As you start to think about what to bring, and what to leave home, you might want to check the American Airlines site for the latest baggage regulations. Click here to read about that.

And of course the important question: What am I going to carry on the plane, vs. checking. Click here to find out the latest on quantities of liquids, lithium battery restrictions, and dimension limits.

The new lithium battery regulations are among the most important to us, especially if traveling with spares! Where normally it seems that everything the airlines and TSA are worried about gets checked in bags. The batteries, if not inserted into a device, must be carried on, and packaged in a very specific way. Click here to read the government regulations on lithium batteries and air travel.

Excellent pre-trip planning won't guarantee that everything will be perfect on your trip, but it will sure help you have a smoother go of it, particularly on those stressful travel days. Don't forget: Everyone must be at the American Airlines Check-In counter at 4am on Monday, March 24th. Everyone has to check in together on our group reservation. So if anything, plan to be there a few minutes early, and if there are any difficulties, call your instructor on their mobile phone.

A Great Gallery to Visit

It seems funny to say--"In your spare time..." with so little time in New Orleans, but please try to make a point of going to A Gallery for Fine Photography. It is a treasure trove of amazing photography, and one of the best selections of older and out of print photography books for sale around. I will try to organize something, but in case you can't come, or it doesn't come together--write down the hours an address, the gallery is very near our hotel!

Finding the Faces Behind the Homes

Some of you will be working in the still destroyed areas of New Orleans. The City of New Orleans has a database to search property/tax records for owners' current addresses and contact information. This way you can contact people and interview them, or if it's soon enough, photograph those still living in the area. You can also send them a photograph this way.

New Orelans Participants to Have a Exhibition in Minneapolis in April!

Students attending the New Orleans Travel and Study Program will have an exhibition of their work at the Traffic Zone Gallery in Minneapolis, Opening Saturday, April 19, and running through April 25th. The exhibition, titled, "821 Days Later: New Orleans Now --A Photographic Journey to New Orleans by 17 Students
at the Art Institutes International Minnesota," will have an opening reception on Saturday, April 19th from 7-9pm, and will feature 17 Ai students. The gallery is located at 250 Third Avenue North, just south of Washington Avenue.

Still Looking for a Story to Tell?

I know quite a few Essay students are still honing in on that perfect story to tell with pictures from this excursion. Take a look at the efforts of the Global Green Initiative for inspiration. They have many great stories within the stories on their web page.