Hurricane Gustav
So...my previous plan of going to New Orleans to "cover" some of what is now Hurricane Gustav changed drastically as it was upgraded to a Category 4 Hurricane. Rational thinking and really having no other choice (contraflow/evacs) lead me to a back-up/secondary plan or idea; "covering" the evacuations. The plan was a bit safer as well; fly into New Orleans tonight (Sat) at 6:30pm, shoot all day tomorrow then fly out around 5:00pm (Sun), right before the airport is supposed to be shutdown. I found a ticket for really cheap, ie $220 so I thought I was good to go. My camera gear has been packed and ready to go since yesterday.
Unfortunately there's a catch and a big one at that..after some serious research, numerous phone calls, and lots of cigarettes I have found it to be impossible to find a hotel in New Orleans that has not been shut down or evacuated (no sh*t, eh?)
So at this point the question(s) I have to ask myself are, "Do I really want to go to New Orleans (for basically 20 hours) with no place to stay, 48hrs or so before a Cat. 4 Hurricane hits Houma, just west of downtown?" or "Do I want to fly there tomorrow morning, shoot for 5 or 6 hrs and fly right back?"
For me right now, I think the answer to the first question is a emphatic no, BUT if I COULD find a hotel to stay at tonight then things would be different, I would be on the way to the airport now! That doesn't seem very likely at this point.
As far as flying there and back tomorrow; well first of all I'd only have a couple of hours to negotiate and shoot amidst the craziness that is bound to happen on the streets tomorrow AND then get BACK to the airport. UGH, sounds a little too risky.
Getting stuck in New Orleans and the evacuation process 24 hours before a pretty major hurricane hits doesn't sound too appealing to me, especially with no direct link to a major media outlet.
So, I guess I won't be going, which I have to admit is a bit frustrating at this point. At the same time, it's a bit of a relief.
For me, at the very, very least this has been a definite learning experience as far as logistics go and a reminder that very simply, we have no idea what can/will happen.
I hope everyone has a safe weekend.
Cheers
btw, I do have another "photo-project" in the works; 10-12 days, cross country on a train at the end of October/beginning of November...i.e., election week, where I plan to shoot a photo-essay of sorts and interview people concerning what is definitely the biggest election in "awhile." More details on that later.
