French Quarter in a Day

[niels olson]

I have an interview at Tulane on 31 March and I scheduled an extra day

to shoot the French Quarter, and anything else (recommendations?). I'm

looking for location recommendations, as well as any particular

nuances of New Orleans in March (weather? lighting? crime?) I plan to

take 35mm and digital SLRs with lenses between 20 and 210, a flash

(guide number: 92 feet), and some filters (ND .9, polarizer, green,

red, yellow, 812 for warming), maybe a tripod, what would you

recommend? Browsing around the web it looks like wide angles are the

order of the day. Is it worth it to haul myself out of bed at 4am to

get good light? If so, where's the best spot to catch those precious

dawn photons? Likewise, recommendations for sunset? Any particularly

good travel guides or photography books on New Orleans? <a

href="http://www.photo.net/shared/community-member?user_id=425522">Antony

the Rokkor Fan</a>, has a good place to start <a

href="http://www.rokkorfiles.com/America.htm"> New Orleans

research</a>. Local artists or photographers you'd recommend (contact

info?)? How do I get to the rooftops to shoot the streets below? Any

film recommendations? Where's the closest camera store I could get

interesting film (tri-x pan, Velvia, TMAX, etc)?

[niels olson]

Here are some previous threads on New Orleans as well:

<ul><li><a href="/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00AuYo">Mardi Gras in New Orleans guide</a> by <a href="/shared/community-member?user_id=486572">Stan Strembicki</a><a href="/member-status-icons"></a> (2005-01-25)</li>

<li><a href="/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008CkG">Latest update to American Journey - New Orleans</a> by <a href="/shared/community-member?user_id=425522">Rokkor Fan</a><a href="/member-status-icons"></a> (2004-05-09)</li>

<li><a href="/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=006aEK">New Orleans, Again, Next Week</a> by <a href="/shared/community-member?user_id=503305">Stephen W.</a><a href="/member-status-icons"></a> (2003-11-21)

</li>

<li><a href="/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=005QzW">Looking for New Orleans locations</a> by <a href="/shared/community-member?user_id=696026">Dougal Ingram</a><a href="/member-status-icons"></a> (2003-07-05)

</li></ul>

[Spearhead]

The French Quarter is ridiculously overshot, like any tourist area. Venture (carefully) outside the Quarter - the area around Tulane is interesting and reasonably safe, anywhere along the trolley line is great. If you are going to shoot in the Quarter, get off Bourbon Street and find the people who live and work there instead of the tourists and entertainers.<p>

 

<center><img src="http://www.spirer.com/images/tasha.jpg"><br><i>Tasha on Her Birthday, Copyright 2000 Jeff Spirer</i></center>

[Jerry_]

It is most difficult to forecast the weather on the day of your visit. Could be foggy a.m., could be clear. It may be raining or bright. Parking garages may let you shoot from 'up above' but most building may balk at you up on the rooftop.

 

 

Are you sure you want two camera bodies for a one-day hike? If you go from Burbon Street to Jackson Square to the 'free' over the river ferry boat (from the opposite shore of the Mississippi, you can get fair skyline shots of New Orleans in the morning,) it is roughly a 1 to 1.5 mile walk. The streets (in the French Quarter) run from Canal Street and can go back four or five blocks...many little shops and food places and bars. Then there is the Riverwalk area and the casino.

 

 

Good luck.

[Jerry_]

A view from the Convention Center area towards downtown.<div></div>

[ben z]

Niels, it sounds from your question that you are not narrowly limiting yourself to candid street photography as being the only reason to carry a camera. Therefore, from my many visits there, I think you will find many interesting things to shoot in the French Quarter and won't need to snub it in favor of other neighborhoods which are more generic and less of the New Orleans flavor. The streets of the Quarter are rather narrow (but not as narrow as European village streets)so wider lenses are useful but I wouldn't leave longer lenses home either, as there are interesting architectural and other detials which a longer lens can isolate. 4AM might be a bit early, in fact you may run into some people just going home after a night of merriment. They wash the streets in the early AM, and I've gotten some nice shots when the streets were deserted but wet. A photo doesn't have to have a person in it to be a good photo, and also just because a place has been heavily photographed doesn't mean people should stop shooting there. Someone with imagination will always come up with a new and interesting viewpoint. Your comment about getting to the rooftops shows you have imagination and intiative. The only film recommendations I can give you is that the mostly dark ironwork on the buildings presents a contrast range that's fairly wide, so shooting a less contrasty film might be a good idea, or whatever is the digital equivalent of that. I would also buy film beforehand, since you'll have to go outside the Quarter to find a well-stocked pro shop, and that'll cut into your shooting time.

[the lone ranger]

Mothers... mmm mmm. Mulattes... mmm mmmm.

[rich_ullsmith1]

If I was going to do this again: first, find a good seat in one of the many

taverns that opens into the street. Get a beer. Put your camera on a tripod

and fill the frame. Stop down to get a little blur on the people in motion. Press

the button whenever something interesting comes by. Change film, move to

another tavern.

Point is, the french quarter is the kind of place where you can sit back, be

patient, and let the action come to you. These people are used to being

photographed.

[mrivers]

To me the Quarter is always about people. There are always people about 24/7, and even on a sunny day there is a lot of open shade in the narrow streets. I travel light, and a single camera and wide angle lens works for me.

This gentleman bet me he knew where I found my shoes (boots from the Australian Outback). After I took the bet, he answered, "Next to your bed this morning!" Ten dollars lighter I took his portrait at 6:30 AM.<div></div>

[niels olson]

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684845709">Frenchmen Desire Good Children</a> was recommended by the reservations clerk at the Ramada. Apparantly the tour guides have to be licensed and they use this as their study guide. In addition to the Weather Channel, she also recommended <a href="http://www.theneworleanschannel.com/weather/index.html">WDSU</a> for local weather.

[niels olson]

In the French Quarter I must agree Bourbon Street is worthless, the streets adjacent to it are far superior. The St Charles Street Ferry is a good route for old homes in general, I only wish I had a tilt-shift lens. City Park was also great.