I wanted to have a meetup in New Orleans when it got cold enough (although of course it managed to be like 76 degrees the day we went), and I wanted to have it in a neighborhood that’s NOT the French Quarter. Don’t get me wrong, I like the French Quarter, but it’s the only part of the city I ever get to see. Well, once I rode the streetcar through the Garden District. And I think St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is technically in Mid-City.
The Marigny is the next neighborhood upriver (I think? I have a terrible sense of direction. It might be downriver.) from the French Quarter and is generally thought to be like how the Quarter was before it got devoured by drunk tourists.
The center of the Marigny is Washington Square Park. There’s a sign at the entrance admonishing people not to bring dogs, bicycles, or alcoholic beverages into it. So naturally, every single person you see has at least one of those things. That pretty much sums up New Orleans.
I could shoot entire rolls of nothing but porches and front doors in New Orleans. The Marigny has a lot of Creole-style housing, one of the hallmarks of which is bright colors.
I took this in Island of Salvation Botanica. It’s one of the few non-touristy Vodou shops in the city (they didn’t have any Voodoo dolls). Normally I’m very shy about photographing in retail or religious establishments, and this was both; but one of the reasons I formed the meetup group was for moral support in situations like this. I bought a bottle of perfume, so I was a customer and not just some rube who wandered in off the street.
There was a “wellness center” next to the botanica, and it had a cute little band playing. Welcome to New Orleans: there’s always a band playing somewhere. (I put $5 in their tip box. My personal photographic code requires tipping of public artists whenever you photograph them.)
St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church wasn’t on the itinerary, but I saw the top of the building in the distance and it looked interesting. It’s been closed since 2001, although I couldn’t find out any info why.
I also shot 2 rolls in the Brownie Hawkeye. I did the lens flip mod on it beforehand, so I’m eager to see how it turned out.
