down south

My personal project focusing on Livingston Parish is slowly dying down. Over the past seven years I've brought my camera gear along on all the trips back home for holidays, birthdays, weddings, getaways, to wake up early in the morning and hit the road, camera in the passenger seat beside me, and whatever I found along the way. Often the road would bring me old buildings, old churches. Some pictures were planned, shots of my old school, shots of my grandparents, and I had a blast capturing every image. Knocking on doors, meeting the folks whose property I was traipsing around, visiting with those whose old broken down car interested me. A lot of times they didn't understand it, but still kind enough to let me do my thing. This image is not the last image I took, but the journey is nearing its end. This spring I plan to drive back and capture a few more portraits that I lack in telling the story of the place I grew up. And after that, a new one begins as I write and piece together images and stories and search for a publisher who's willing to help me make my book a reality. I hope everyone has enjoyed these images as much as I've enjoyed getting out there and making them, and when the book is complete my true goal is to have told a story about Louisiana that doesn't come from the department of tourism. Louisiana isn't just New Orleans. Louisiana isn't just fishing and hunting. Louisiana is a sort of diamond in the rough, and to find it, all one has to do is drive a few miles down the road and knock on a door or two, have a cup of coffee, and sit out on the porch.