i heart louisiana

In just an hour or so, the family and I will be headed to Louisiana to celebrate Easter with our extended families. This trip also marks the last trip intended to be a part of my personal photography project focused on Livingston Parish. Tracing back some of the photos, I believe the project began itself the weekend of fourth of July, 2005. I took some fine art shots that weekend, came home to edit them and before I knew it I had made it a personal mission to continue doing so, every trip, capturing as much of the landscape, and way of life, as possible. The photos are half auto-biography and half documentary, the motivation behind the images always being to show a side of Louisiana one may never see unless you've lived there. Below is the road map I've used to trace out and keep track of the highways, back roads, and pathways I've been down during the project, hopefully not leaving too much undiscovered. It's the best tribute I can think of to a parish, and a state, that for all it's faults, I hold in pretty high esteem.

the house...

My dad parks his John Deer tractor right here when he's done with it. It sort of greets you as you drive up the drive way as if it were an abnormally large yard ornament. It's right off the drive way just on the very edge of the top of the hill where the house sits. It's parked there, in that same spot, every time because it doesn't crank. Nope. The reason is a bit cloudy, I don't quite remember why it doesn't crank but the point is that here it is parked on the edge of a hill so that Dad can hop up on the tractor, push and hold down the clutch, let it slowly begin to roll down the hill in neutral, then he puts the tractor in gear and waits, rolling, rolling, rolling down the hill gaining a little speed until he pops the clutch and jumps the old Deer off. Well, hey. At least it's better than hooking the chain up to the pickup and pulling it off, which was the way I did it growing up. Somethings really never change.

morning treat

Another vacant building whose outsides tell tale of what was, not too long ago. The faded words say 'morning treat' and I picture a store front selling bread, a bakery, the owner lived just across the road. He or she awaking every morning early, walking the thirty or so paces to the store that sat on the same property. Opening up shop, watching the hunters come in before sunrise for donuts or honey buns or biscuits. Maybe you see something else. That's fine, as long as it tells a story, yours or mine.

hidden

Hidden away from what could be called the main highway, at a junction right before you cross the Amite River and leave Livingston Parish there is a convenience store, an antique store, and a drive through liquor shop. Beyond these things, if you pull over onto the dirt shoulder, park, and walk about fifteen paces, is this scene: an abandoned house boat just off of a pier that I wasn't sure could even hold me up as I walked out onto it's rotted, wooden planks to get this shot. The scene, both peaceful and haunting, is one of the many I set out to capture along my "Livingston, Louisiana" journey. The magic being found in the fact that a 'sportman's paradise' is literally a dirt shoulder away from the street one drives on to reach the convenience stores and liquor shops of the Parish.

roadside monument

On the border of the Amite River is an antique shop of sorts, not a shop really but an old wooden building with all sorts of stuff in the yard. I met the owner as I was taking this shot. Good man, told him I'd get him a copy of the final book once done. Hey, it's the least I can do for letting me capture gems like this pic below. I love this place.

headin' back home

Today we're heading back to Louisiana. I've got a bridal shoot and a couple of grandparents that just can't wait to pinch my kid's cheeks and then buy them whatever in the world they want. My ongoing, seemingly life long project of photographing the parish and people I grew up in and around is still out there somewhere, coming together slowly, so today I leave you with this, a quickie I shot on my last trip home (just to get in you the mood for the sepia soaked shots that await my return). Have a great weekend everyone! More to come...

return to the fair

During my visit I shot both with my Holga (a roll of 120 film, color), but I also took my old Mamiya C330 for a spin simply out of love for that camera. With my Mamiya I shot a roll of 120 film black and white. A few of those from the fair are below:

tree house

So, today a little break from New York City and back to the ol' Louisiana project. A project still near and dear to my heart that I'm still working towards. This shot, taken on the outskirts of Livingston caught my eye one day. I love this house and the trees that seemingly have grown and become a part of it; taken with my holga...love that camera.