Katrina update

[sam_portera]

Made it to our house in St. Bernard parish. there is 1.5-2 feet of

mud in my house, the ceiling has collapsed along with the

insulation and the attic contents. We were able to save my wifes

china and a few items from my duaghters room and a few peices of

crystal. My darkroom is no more the D2 is upside down in the muck

and the Omega B22 is corroded to a white powder. Could not find

anything becuase of the ceiling and insulation and mud. My little

Zorki collection was no where to be found. I did manage to find one

stainless dev. tank and some reels, and my 11x14 trays. Words can't

describe how it it was. The smell was aweful. There was a dead

nutria and two dead snakes in my house. No pictures that were left

survived, blank sheets of paper. I'll write more later, were late

to bring our pets to get shots.

[arthuryeo]

I am sure what I am feeling now after reading your post can never be compared to what you've gone thru. Nonetheless, thanks for sharing with us. Take care, Sam.

[lee hamiel]

Very sorry to hear all of this Sam - I'm glad your family survived & hope that you are able to piece your lives back together.

 

I will be more than happy to donate some equipment towards rebuilding your darkroom/camera equipment/household needs & I will pay for the shipping as well.

 

Why don't you post a list of needed items here & we'll all see what we can do to help. Please do so.

 

Best regards & good luck

[paul_rybolt]

Lee- That is a terrific idea. I have a camera store with a basement full of tanks, trays , timers, safelights and enlarging lenses that I would love to donate to any of our group who need them. I even have some enlargers though they're a little hard to ship.

[lee hamiel]

Sounds great Paul - where are you located? I'm thinking it's going to be a while before Sam can start to receive anything & people tend to forget after awhile - may be best to verbally donate & then wait for Sam to give a go ahead for sending.

[kent_tolley2]

Hi Sam - The hearts and the prayers of an awful lot of people go out to you and Dennis C. New Orleans has been such a great city. Now so much has washed away. What do you need that members of this forum can provide?

[sam_portera]

I appreciate the offers. My wife and daughter will be living with my parents in Bellchase Louisiana, I will continue to live in my travel trailor in Alexandria (a 4.5 hour drive from my family) because I have a job there. No photo labs or stores withing a 2 hour drive. I have my 4x5 camera and Leica along with other gear but no means to process what I have been shooting.

 

If you have any gear I would be interested but I must purchase it! All I ask is that you hold on to it until I can pay for it. Email me off line. And again thanks to all for the emails and offers of help.

[paul_rybolt]

I'm in southwestern Ohio and as Sam requested I just sent him a private message. If any other forum members have been hit by the storms and need to rebuild a darkroom will contact me privately I'll try to help.

Thanks,

[kelly_flanigan1]

Sam; sorry to here about your loss. IF you find any lost lenses; be sure not to force the aperture/f-stop ring. This can often shear the pivots off the iris blades.<BR><BR> Sometimes in a pack of 4x6 C41 1 hour prints; one or two will be ok; and the rest a white mess.<BR><BR>To ALL; The clutter and dis-array of ones items is a huge mess. The refrigerators float up and return in odd positions; often spilling their contents; adding to the funky aroma. Ripping out the first 4 feet of sheetrock; removing the still damp insulation of exterior walls; spraying the studs takes time. Some folks use Clorox dilluted 1;4; or ProForce Disinfectant Cleaner from Sams; etc 2oz per gallon. The work required for a cleanup is massive; overwhelming. Many items that got soaked in salt water are really totalled. Circuit boards with 1960 technology can be toothbrushed clean in water; ansd sometimes dried and serviceable. A modern cellphone with dinky space between the traces with an active circuit is toast in minutes. In camera gear aluminum radically turns to crud with salt exposure; brass has some robustness. A 13.5cm F3.5 Nikkor LTM I have went under the Katrina flood; and still works after many rinses and drying. The Russian aluminum LTM lenses go to pot quickly with salt spray or a dunking.<BR><BR>Travel is slow in Katrina areas; many STORMERS have arrived; making a quick buck as mold experts; crap removal crews etc.<BR><BR>After the storm ALL the 35mm film disappeared at a super walmart I visted. One day they or Home depot might have dinky 5000BTUH AC's; then quickly they are sold. <BR><BR>Sam if your house is saveable; using ozone generators will kill off alot of mold etc. At a summer home here I have 4 5000BTU AC's; 3 dehumidifers; 2 ozone generators going. The larges dehumidifer is a Sears 70 pint/day unit. It and the 50 pint unit will fill a 5 gallon bucket in a portion of a day; thus one needs to run a hose to a sink; or do the bucket trick many times a day. Finding a dehumidier or AC in katrina land can be a tall order. The ozone genertors are not cheap; mine were 400 bucks each; from <a href="http://www.jenesco.com">Jenesco.</a> I am not associated with Jenesco; just a happy customer with several FM-1 units. <BR><BR>Pulling out the wet carpet and padding is a mess. It stinks; is heavy as hell. One cannot move a dresser often because they are tooooo heavy; the drawers still swelled shut. One trick is to remove the back of the dresser; and tap lightly the drawers out. It may take a month/weeks to remove the drawers. With some furniture; it just falls apart. Particle board when flooded is often a bio-city of fuzz; one may puke as one drags the pieces to the street curb. The FEMA paid crap cleanup crews are paid by the cubic yard of crap removed from your yard. Sometimes the crews just remove the big light stuff; and move on to another yard, <BR><BR>RC prints that are Katrina flooded are often still ok; just stuck together. With some priceless Bettie Page 4x5 B&W original negatives ; they dissolved in their negative sleeves due to the salt water. <BR><BR>During the katrina cleanup one might find some camera items have floated; pushed to another rooms; or even outside.

[sam_portera]

Kelly are you in N.o. area??

 

You described it very well.

 

Paul thanks so much for you help.

[Alex_Es]

Sam, thank you for writing. You have my deepest sympathy. Thank heavens you and your

family are all right.

[magumi]

I know what it is like. A friend of mine lost his house, including the darkroom and 50-years-worth of negatives and prints, virtually his entire lifetime work, as well as the biggest private theatre photography collection in the country in a flood that occured over here several years ago. My sympathies,

 

M.

[david_doyle]

I understand this parrish to be of the hardest hit, mold damage is unbelievable. I am sorry

for your loss, but am glad to hear that you and your family are safe and sound (as much as

one can be under the circumstances I guess...).