New Orleans Slave Quarters (Excerpts)

[michael_elenko]

I served a grueling week-long assignment in New Orleans during the past week. Twelve-hour shooting days with

outstanding recuperation experiences at the best restaurants and bars in the US. <br/>

 

 

During my last day we had a break and a partner (I was part of a team) and I went shopping and shooting in the

French Quarter. While my partner was purchasing the best pralines in the universe, the business owner’s husband

was outside hawking samples on the street. After seeing me photographing anything that moved and did not, (and

having an excited discussion about the upcoming US election), he said “hey, follow me, I’ll give you five

minutes.” Sensing something was up, I yanked my partner outside and followed the man around the corner, where he

unlocked an undistinguished and barely noticeable door.<br/>

 

Inside was an dingy, obscured inner sanctum with small patches of daylight above. The building was the first

“skyscraper” in the early 1800’s and had three levels of dwellings. The environment was somewhat haunting, you

just felt there was more than you could see. The man told us that these were slave quarters. Slaves lived in

obscure, really oppressive conditions out of the public eye of the French Quarter. <br/>

 

So we pulled ourselves together enough to shoot what we could in five minutes. I was able to get my Metz 58 AF

strobe on the bracket and add a bit of light, and having the Tamron 17-50mm f 2.8 was very useful. <br/>

 

Overall I shot more than 4000 pictures during the week and haven’t begun the sort process, but this setting keeps

bubbling up in my dreams. I have this need to publish them prior to election day. Both the owner and his wife are

African Americans, and she grew up in New Orleans. Listening to her reflect on the space and the spirit of her

ancestors was worth taking on the whole assignment.<br/>

 

Here are three shots:<br/>

 

 

<img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/408121859_oU66A-M.jpg"/><br/>

Partial view of inner sanctum, K20D, Tamron 17-50mm @17mm, 1/60 @ f6.7, ISO 400</a>

 

 

<img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/408121779_AN2Js-M.jpg"/><br/>

Partial view of inner sanctum, K20D, Tamron 17-50mm @20mm, 1/6 @ f6.7, ISO 400</a>

 

 

<img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/408121684_YLPM5-M.jpg"/><br/>

Partial view of inner sanctum, K20D, Tamron 17-50mm @243mm, 1/60 @ f6.7, ISO 400</a>

<br/>

ME

[starvy]

michael, thanks for the post and sharing the pictures. i think many here would love to see the final post processed pictures from this slave dwelling series when you get a chance to share them.

[andrewg_ny]

Michael, looks like a promising venue. The second shot has particularly attractive angles on the stairs &

railings to go along with the weathered textures & colors..

[personalphotos]

I enjoyed the writing as much as the first photos. The last one with the weathered and crooked old door is excellent. Great work.

[garry_young1]

Your description along with the pictures is very moving. Would love to see more.

[roseberry guitars]

Thanks for posting Michael. I was to New Orleans in the mid 1990's to a guitar conference and happened upon a

musician who was able to give my buddy and me a tour through some very simular buildings.

 

Having grown up in relatively sheltered rural Canada it was my first look at what a great number of world citizens in

the past faced and some still face. A shocking eye opener for sure.

 

Sometimes when I feel negative about how we humans can treat our fellows I have to remind myself of a point the

Dali Lama made. "The path we traveled may have been long, full of hardship and frought with danger and death. But it

has brought us here so it must have been a good path."

 

I don't profess to be a buddist, Tibetian or otherwise, but without our past we would not be where we are. And to think

that in a very short few generations America has traveled from that "dingy, obscured inner sanctum with small

patches of daylight above" to what this coming Tuesday might bring...amazing!

 

I too would be interested in more photos when you get the time.