Ryan Dyer Photography

2009-08-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

For my project I was concerned with the rebuilding effort in the neighborhoods along the canals. I focused mainly on the neighborhoods along the Industrial Canal, the London Avenue Canal and also the 17^th Street Canal. All encountered levee breaches during the 2005 Katrina Hurricane.

I was concerned with what had and hadn't been done in the city of New Orleans as far as rebuilding and why. There were a few things that really surprised me when I arrived. The first was to see how the progress of the rebuild has been going. There were areas that looked like no one had ever returned. I was also surprised to learn the great factor money has played in the rebuilding process. Driving around the city it's easy to see where the money is, just by looking at neighborhoods that have rebuilt. These elements are something that I really wanted to try and show in the photographs that I took. These image show the neighborhood's good, because a lot has been done in a positive way, and the bad because there is still much to be done. It's interesting to see how social classes affected a city after a disastrous flood. I didn't have the chance to see New Orleans before the hurricane, and it was sad to see all the reminders of that storm all over the city.

I remember walking around in the lower 9^th ward, a neighborhood along the Industrial Canal and feeling lost in the woods. The neighborhood was now made up of empty lots. In this particular neighborhood there are only 11% of the residents that have returned to their homes. Not because they didn't want to return but because it has not been easy for the resident to return. It's hard to find the money to move your family back to New Orleans to an empty lot. This was a neighborhood that was wiped completely away and is still bare. My goal was to capture the empty feeling that I got, and others must feel as they walk around this neighborhood.

The London Ave Canal was another neighborhood that was damaged by floodwaters. A neighborhood, that 80% of the residents had moved back in to their homes. Walking around this neighborhood you almost felt like nothing had ever happened until you ran across a random empty lot. In this neighborhood I want to show how accessible money come into play during a disaster like Katrina.

The gear that I used was the same from day to day. I used my Canon 30D and a canon 17-40mm lens. My most important pieces of equipment is my Inturo tripod. I shot most of my shots using multiple exposures, later blending them into one shot. So being able to stay steady is so important to me.

More From Day 7

2009-07-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some more image from day 7 in the lower 9th ward.

Day 7

2009-06-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my shots from the London Ave Canal.

Day 6

2009-06-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the Holy Cross neighborhood and shot some of the homes that have not been rebuild. Then I went and shot along the 17th street.

Day 5

2009-06-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today I learned that no matter what time you go to bed you should get up when you are told to, otherwise people get mad. Sorry again Becky.

I went to the Gulf of Mexico today and here is a photo from there.

Day 4

2009-06-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from today along the London Canal and the 17th Street Canal.

Day 4

2009-06-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the Lower 9th Ward and took photo of the rebuilding going on. There are some really positive things happening in the neighborhood, but a lot that still needs to be done.

Day 3

2009-06-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a great shooting day; I spent the early morning shooting along the London and 17^th St. canals. I was shooting in some of the areas where around 80% of the people have rebuilt their homes and are now living in them. The afternoon was spent riding around with staff photographer, Rusty Costanza, of The Time-Picayune. This was a great opportunity that I don't think I would have had if I wasn't on this trip. It was great to be able to talk about what it’s like to work for the New Orleans paper and what it was like working during Hurricane Katrina. In the evening I spent time photographing the Lakeview area, which was another neighborhood that was able to rebuild quickly. I think the contrast between the different areas of New Orleans is crazy. Some areas were lucky and able to rebuild quickly, while some are still struggling.

Day 2

2009-06-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

There is a future here, said Robert Green, on Tuesday when he was talking about his neighborhood in the lower 9^th ward. The rebuilding of the lower 9^th ward is going strong, homes are being built, and life with go on.

It was refreshing to hear Robert talk of such hope. Not just for him but for the generation to come as well.

The flood walls stand strong as a constant reminder of the reality of a neighborhood below see level. Something that will not stop residents of the lower 9^th ward from rebuilding the place they call home.

When The Levees Broke

2009-06-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

When the levees broke is one of the best film about Hurricane Katrina have seen. It was a documentary by Spike Lee about the before, after and during events of Katrina for the people who lived it. I really enjoyed this film but I found it hard to watch. It really made me angry to hear what these people had been though and the slow response for everyone. There was a lot in this film I was hearing about for the first time. You can hear about it on the news or read about it in the paper but until you hear t from the lips of people of lived you can even begin to Imagen what it was like. I wasn't just hell during the storm but well after and still is today for the people just trying to get home.

I found so much in this film that helped with my project. There was a lot of good information about how the people of New Orleans felt about the levees. Why didn't the city do there job about maintenance the levees? Cause if it was about the money maybe the city should have said something to the people of New Orleans. This tragedy should have never happened. I guess thats what is so hard for me to understand and know from the film that its really hard for the people of New Orleans.

I like how the film told the stories of people from walks of life. The couple from the 1^st disc were unbelievable. Betty and Charlie from Park Island. He has is own law firm in the France Quarter. They left for vacation before the storm hit, must be nice. I could not believe there lack of care for the rest of people of New Orleans. People are different but no one should have to go though anything like Hurricane Katrina.

The True Meaning of Pictures

2009-05-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

I just watched the film, The True Meaning of Picture. This was my

second time watching this film, and I really enjoyed it. Shelby Lee Adams

photographs were similar to what I would have envisioned to see in

Appalachia. The photographs that Adams took during his

series with the Appalachian people were really interesting, but I felt

that Adams was misrepresenting the people of Appalachia as a documentary

photographer. I think that Adams makes a good argument when he talks

about photography, the people he knows and the area in which he grew up.

He spent many years with the people that he photographed, so I think

that he really knew the people in his photographs; however, when I look

at the photograph I cannot tell that he knew the people. By looking at

Adams photography you may assume everyone in Appalachia would look the

way he depicted, but I see people that look the way Shelby Lee Adams

wanted them to look. One of the professional from the film made a good point in said that the people in

Adams photographs looked the way they didn't on that day through Adams viewfinder under Adams light.

Here are some of my ideas for NOLA

2009-05-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

- What has not been done with the rebuild, why its not finished.

- New Orleans Now, three years after the Hurricane.

- The Levees

- Is New Orleans prepared for the next hurricane? This topic is one that I really found to be interesting. I read an article about how some experts don't think that the new levees are being build to hold up against another large hurricane. If thats the case then what is the point of spending millions of dollars rebuilding home.

-People Living in neighborhood below sea level. I read another article about how the government doesn't think that people should be allowed to move back into neighbor hoods below sea level. I found this to be interesting because a lot of New Orleans is under sea level.

- Music

- Culture

- Jobs in city, what are they and how where they affected by the storm.

- Schools in the city

- The contrast between the different neighborhood in the city. The area that where affected by the storm VS the one that show no sign of damage.

2009-05-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

At the end of June I will be taking a photographic essay trip to New Orleans. This is a trip that I'm really looking forward to. I'm really want to learn more about New Orleans after the storm, what has been done and what is being done. I'm also looking forward to hear people story's of what happened.

American Experience New Orleans

2009-05-12T22:50:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching the film American Experience New Orleans. I liked this video. I Like how it shows the history of New Orleans then relates that to the present time. It really helped show to me how issues in the past help shape the present New Orleans.

I really thought this was a good film to start out with. I really knew nothing about New Orleans history before this film. I think it was good to learn about how the city came to be. The different types of people that would create the melting pot culture of today's New Orleans. I think it important for me to know the past so that I can understand the present.

It was interesting how much of a French influence is still present in New Orleans and the artists have made this area of the city their home. It was also interesting to hear about the 1927 flood and how a pump failure was the first time that the people of New Orleans became concerned with the idea of the city becoming flooded. So the city wanted to insure to the people that they were safe by blowing up part of levees. Late, the city would flood anyway because of hurricane and there was no need all to blow up the levees.

Music has always been a big part of what New Orleans is. Music today would not be the same without the city. Jazz was born in the city of New Orleans because of the culture that was there. It was really interesting to see how music played into the melting pot of culture in New Orleans.

In looking forward to learning more about the city of New Orleans after the flood.