NOTES
What One Year in New Orleans Looks Like Part 2 (January-March 2015)
These include Carnival (Mardi Gras, etc.), Super Sunday, St. Louis Cemetery #1 and #2 and more.
A Time Lapse of the Photo Essay Sequence for "Die and Let Die"
A time lapse video of putting together a photo essay that takes place at St. Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans, LA.
This is me sequencing a photo essay with a working title of "Die and Let Die" (it was scribbled on the side of a tomb) about spooky humans haunting the dead of St. Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans. It's part dark humor and part sincere commentary.
I've posted several blogs dedicated to the process of photographing this series. The project changed during its course and has now become two distinct collections. The rest of the posts with plenty of photos inside, can be found HERE.
The End of One and the Beginning of Three
The St. Louis Cemetery #1 project ended with some photos of tourists haunting the dead. Also some information about my three upcoming, New Orleans-based projects.
Well, that's it for St. Louis Cemetery #1. From here on out we can only go with tour guides so there's a solid chance that I'll never see it again but I've made so many photographs of it. Hundreds. It's conceivable that one day I will have life sized prints of it in my home. I even made audio recordings at the site throughout the day. Other than a few exterior shots of the cemetery, principle photography is over.
On to the next...
My current projects, one of which I will begin are currently without names but here's a list of subjects that I'll be covering with slight future adjustments to theme and coverage. One or two of these may be vague while the others are more clear:
1) The economic impact of wetland loss throughout southeast Louisiana.
2) The borderlands in New Orleans where the realm of the living blurs with the one belonging to the dead. It's a very strange, difficult one to photograph being that it will be done documentary style. How does one actually photograph something like this? Months of research and location hunting has already been done. It's based on several books that I've read in the last six or seven years. This is the project that, if done successfully, I can leave this planet happily.
3) Ruins of New Orleans will cover just that. There's a dilapidated house on Esplanade below the I10 expressway that reminds me of the house in Interview With the Vampire where Louis returns to Lestat at the end. It looks exactly like it. I decided to build this project because I am always wondering what neighborhoods must have looked like before that ugly expressway was built. This is the one that I'll be starting this week.
Below are a few other photos from yesterday's very fun shoot.
Please feel free to comment, ask questions or whatever in the comments section below. If you'd like to chat with me, go ahead and email info@carlosdetres.com.
More posts about this project at this LINK.
The Haunting Tourist
The biggest challenge of shooting at Saint Louis Cemetery #1 is the tourist walking into the frame. But maybe it actually enhances this collection? A before and after is included in the post. Feel free to tell me what you think.
What is the tourist's role at Saint Louis Cemetery #1?
This is what I'm considering today as I finish up shooting at Saint Louis Cemetery #1. The biggest challenge of shooting at one of the most essential visits of anyone's vacation to New Orleans is this cemetery, which leads to the inevitable, "Shit! They walked into my frame!" At some point, I said, screw it, I'm going to photograph them away. The first time I did this, I returned home, uploaded and scanned through my photographs and found that the tourists who walked into my shot actually gave the scene an eerie feel...as if they were the ones haunting the site.
I've never felt or seen any spirits at the cemetery. Who'd want to linger with such massive crowds? Nope. What has happened, however is, on a few occasions, a tourist would walk past a corner I was shooting from, not expect me and become frightened. I've seen other tourists do it to each other, too. It's an old, crumbly cemetery and beside stories of hauntings it used to be a huge problem for safety. The crime used to be so bad that not even family members of those deceased would visit. Much of the reason why the cemetery looks as it does is because of the lack of upkeep due to the dangers associated with criminals. It's now relatively safe but I digress.
It's not certain whether these shots of tourists will end up in the final collection. I vacillate, considering whether it would be a distraction or enhance the narrative. In the pictures below, you'll see how the scene looks with and without the tourist. Which do you prefer?
I'm off to prepare for my last shoot day. Thanks for reading.
Any questions can be emailed to info@carlosdetres.com. You can read more posts and see more photos HERE.
One More Day To Go!
"...then there was another feeling, one of accomplishment because, no matter what, principle photography was almost over."
I waited at the gate of Saint Louis Cemetery #1 before it opened. I was both excited for the days prospect of shooting and also a bit bummed that I could count the number of days left to freely visit one of my favorite locations in New Orleans. But then there was another feeling, one of accomplishment because, no matter what, principle photography was almost over.
After tomorrow, with the exception of one more day of shooting exteriors, I'll be in the process of sequencing and sorting through hundreds of photos. I've learned a lot of a lot in the last month since this project began. Every minute provided was filled with complete joy and concentration. I met a lot of people and discovered the cemetery's most intimate corners.
The purpose of this project is more art than historical. It is a showcase of years of decay, architecture, loss of life and the preciousness of every moment. When this project is completed and showcased, no one single tomb will be identified. It is, in a way, a collective of people who lived and traversed these streets, painted the city's character with a wild brush, and perhaps even wandered through Saint Louis Cemetery while they lived. New Orleans began and continued with those laid to rest within its walls and it grows within us who live and purvey the old traditions and create new ones. This is obviously a passion project and I can't wait to share the completed vision.
Here are some select photos from today. These were made with a lot of joy, love and sheer curiosity and persistence.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at info@carlosdetres.com or leave a comment below.
The Last Week
Since there I have only have a few days to shoot this project before the cemetery closes for good, I took out my Lensbaby kit to see what kind of inspiration would occur.
After a very short work trip and an amazing shoot with Brugal and an hour and a half of sleep, I rushed to St. Louis Cemetery #1 to get what I could today. The temperature sucked and the sky was gray but I was glad to get an extra couple hours to work.
Since I have only have a few days to shoot this project before the cemetery closes for good, I took out my Lensbaby kit to see what kind of inspiration would occur. Well, it worked. It helped me find a mood that would underline my theme of a "haunting portrait of the ruin, mystique and beauty...".
So here's what I got today. In the photo directly below, I had my shutter open for about 25 seconds and caught this interesting, anomaly undoubtedly caused by something in the lens. Either way, it was a very nice, eerie effect.
My goal for this project has been to create a unique photographic experience that takes the viewer through an intimate journey into the heart of New Orleans' oldest and one of its most unique cemeteries (Holt Cemetery is probably the other one that comes to mind as far as uniqueness). If you'd like more photos and info, click HERE.
Please feel free to forward any questions to info@carlosdetres.com.
Thanks for visiting!
Almost There...
Well, getting closer to the end of my St. Louis Cemetery #1 project.
Well, getting closer to the end of my St. Louis Cemetery #1 project. I lingered a little longer than usual, realizing that I'm closer to the public closure date. Anyway, I'll keep this short because it's Lundi Gras and I have some partying to do.
If you're curious to see how the other photos look, I posted more HERE.
The photo directly below this is Nicholas Cage's ostentatious, pyramid tomb. It's actually pretty cool.
New Endings
A dramatic title for sure but it was the only one that described my feelings.
A dramatic title for sure but it was the only one that described my feelings. I started this photography project on St. Louis Cemetery #1 as a way to preserve the experience of my many visits. Right now, here in New Orleans, we're in the midst of our last week of Carnival, which also means we're nearer to the end of casual visits to my favorite cemetery.
This photography project is the first one that I've dedicated, planned and executed. It's a project that perhaps no one could care about except me but I'm proud of it. I think I've captured some beautiful, timeless images. Some time in March I will begin to methodically piece the photographs to share the story of the ruined beauty of a wonderful place. I hope the Archdiocese of New Orleans will be able to refurbish, clean and preserve St. Louis Cemetery #1 so others can be inspired by its architecture and timelessness.
Day 2 of the St. Louis Cemetery #1 Project
My second day of photographing nearly every inch of St. Louis Cemetery #1 before it closes to the public on March 1.
I returned today to St. Louis Cemetery #1 to photograph as much of it as I can before it closes to the public on March 1, 2015 (you can still go with an Archdiocese approved tour guide). Since this may be my last chance to see it, I'm getting as much of it as I can. This is one of my favorite places to visit in my new home city of New Orleans but unfortunately some sick, twisted vandals and thieves decided to piss all over the city's heritage by kicking head stones, ripping through brick, grave rob, desecrate old tombs, etc.
My goal with this project is to photograph the beauty of St. Louis Cemetery #1. Much like its host city, it's beautiful, dilapidated and full of character and history. Here are a few of the several hundred shots I did today (I still have at least two more days to fulfill my goal of covering nearly every ground).
P.S. I wrote more details about the closure of St. Louis Cemetery over HERE.
PHOTOS ARE COPYRIGHTED 2015. If you'd like to reuse these images, please email info@carlosdetres.com.
