Posts Tagged → photography

Exploring The Bywater In New Orleans

“Ideas Are Sexy Too” it says, a photo of a body-builder with the head of Albert Einstein, on a house in the Bywater district of New Orleans. It’s amazing to me how the art in their neighborhood is shown on the outside of homes. Most houses in most neighborhoods in most cities in America have the art, the photography, the creative details on the inside of the house. Yet, in the Bywater, a working class neighborhood in between the Marigny and before the bridge to the Lower Ninth Ward, the art is on the outside.

I’ve asked around, but I haven’t figured out why that is. It definitely shows the personality of the person living inside, but is it more than this? Is about a cultural or historical reference I don’t know about? The marks from Hurricane Katrina I do know are a source of pride (or in the case of brick homes a way of life – and almost impossible to remove).

For the photos is it a long and windy story told through the time? Or is it just because the outside of the house is falling apart and putting art up is a good way to distract the eye from the falling paint chips? Regardless of what it is, I’m finding myself drawn to these examples of “everyday art” and the street art that follows.


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Crude Awakening and Life In New Orleans

New Orleans, and the entire Gulf Coast is suffering an inconsolable crime. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, also being called the “BP Oil Spill” and also being called “Crude Awakening” that happened on April 20th is still gushing oil into the gulf threatening and destroying the wetlands, leaving a lifetime of environmental effects and causing the loss of billions of dollars in revenue and jobs to locals who depend on fish and seafood as their means of employment.

In the midst of all of this disaster is life. You know how emergencies work. The psychology. Disaster is everywhere, and yet, life is everywhere too. Sometimes when life if so sad, so heartbreaking, it’s hard to know when to open your heart and when to close it. It’s hard to see so much devastation. And even though I’m always talking to people about how to get involved in their communities and to look past the overwhelming cause and dive into parts they can affect, well, there are moments when I too find life hard and complex and simply sad.

These photos, taken on the same bike tour as yesterday’s photos, remind me of the life that exists everywhere, the color, the brightness, the essence of New Orleans that will never disappear. And then, I think, it’s my job to push the sadness aside and find a way to get involved. Any ideas to share?


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My Eyes Are Open

“And you find as a writer there are certain spots on the planet where you write better than others, and I believe in that. And New Orleans is one of them.” Jimmy Buffett

I love so many things about New Orleans, and so many things drive me crazy. This, they say, is what it means to truly love New Orleans. One of the things I love is how no matter where I am, my head is always turning. “Look at that,” is a phrase I often say. And that can refer to a gorgeous uptown home with rocking chairs on a picturesque porch just beckoning to be rocked in, sazarac in hand. It also refers to giant empty plots of land, or buildings still not demolished, or houses condemned and neighborhoods still struggling to recover in a post-Katrina environment. I’m always looking around, always curious to my environment and because of my constant connection to the environment around me, I’m also constantly thinking of ways I can contribute and give back.

Often, my relationship with New Orleans is just me and her. We have conversations, I’m ok being alone and getting to know her as I go. As I recently told someone, this is not an experiment, this is my LIFE. And so it goes. Here are some photos I took on a recent bike ride through the Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods. A good reminder that I have to get out and do this more often – take in the environment and not get wrapped up in my head, my clients, my projects and remind myself of why I’m here, to be connected to a greater good, a cause bigger than myself, and continue to put the pieces together of my own journey.


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Shady Side Academy’s 2010 Cum Laude Society Induction

Last week I had the esteemed pleasure of being asked to give the address during my alma mater, Shady Side Academy‘s cum laude induction. As a 1997 graduate of the Academy, I appreciate deeply the wonderfully rigorous academic environment the school provided me and the many lifelong friends that I have from my years there.

During Homecoming weekend last fall, I was given an award, the Paul R. Pigman prize. An award for a young alumni who has demonstrated excellence in citizenship. The head of the school enjoyed my acceptance speech and asked me to come back to talk to the entire Senior School (9-12), plus faculty and parents during the cum laude (high honor) ceremony which inducts the top scholars in the senior class to the society.

Having family and friends in the audience of about 700 especially warmed my heart. But what really is amazing to me is how far I’ve come! I never would have dreamed sitting where those students sat that I would be the one at the podium addressing them. Nor, would I ever had imagined (dreamed yes! imagined no!) the accomplishments that I could reflect on while talking to them about cause-filled living, the art of giving back and why those pieces are so important to incorporate into their lives now and forever.
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First Quarter Review: Acknowledgments and Influences

When I think back on the beginning of 2010 years from now, I will remember it as a whirlwind. How else can I ever explain moving to a new city, diving into new projects and clients, entering my first contest (EVER) and then winning and finding myself in Switzerland days later for the World Economic Forum then jumping back to New Orleans for festivities already described?

Through it all, my main and most important constant has been the amazing Taylor Davidson and Carl Nelson. Without these two NOLAlicious wouldn’t have happened, would not have grown and I would be experiencing this new city without them – an idea so preposterous I can’t even imagine it.

It’s not just their spirit, it’s their ability to launch new projects, take ideas and make them happen and be tremendous friends.

The influences I’ve had this quarter are many. The Young Global Leaders I met at Davos moved and shook me, and the opportunity to connect with incredible individuals at talks I’ve given this Spring including at Rise Austin and SXSW. But if I had to pick two, it would be Taylor and Carl.

And (selfishly) I want them to stay in New Orleans as long as possible, which means they need support for their projects. Let me share…

Narratively: Taylor’s a true photographer. In high school he wrapped his own film, shot it and then developed it himself. As a photographer he’s shot landscapes and weddings, creative series and had public shows and self-published a book. As a lover of photography, he knows cameras and how to promote photography and has written extensively about how to make money as a photographer, the future of the stock photo industry and where the industry is going. In addition to photograhy, he now offers his services as consulting to share experience and wisdom for other aspiring and established photographers and also online strategy and marketing for brands. His approach is analytical yet thoughtful and I recommend hiring him in any capacity you can.

The Dancing Nomad: Carl is an amazing dancer, to be sure, but the fact that he can teach dance makes his contribution to both New Orleans and the dance community that much stronger. Classes in Lindy Hop and Charleston can be had out of his Shiny Step Studios and he consults to other dancers and dance studios about how to navigate the social web and find a space online to promote their business and services. You can sometimes find him busking on Royal Street in the French Quarter on the weekends or at The Orange Couch in the Marigny. I completely recommend taking one of his classes or hiring him for online services.

Here’s to many more experiences with both of them and to more reflections and posts about those who move and inspire me in the months and years to come.