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.
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.
posted by hollywoodoutlaw at 1:26 PM
1 Comments:
There's always tent camping!
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