"Telling Their Stories" Katrina Exhibit Attracts Current And Future Photographers
By Denise McGill
NEW ORLEANS, LA (August 24, 2010) – The nation’s observance of the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina began this week with the National Press Photographers Association's photographic exhibit “Telling their Stories: The Lingering Legacy of the Katrina Photographs” at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans.
Hurricane Katrina hit landfall on the Mississippi and Louisiana coast on August 29, 2005. At least 1,836 people died, making it one of America’s worst natural disasters.
The opening reception Thursday drew around 250 people, including about 30 photographers. The gathering was emotional at times, as it is served as a reunion for many photographers who hadn’t seen each another since covering the hurricane.
Melissa Phillip, a staff photographer at the Houston Chronicle, scanned the walls and the crowd for familiar faces. She hugged Willie Allen, Jr., a staff photographer for the St. Petersburg Times. “Your photo is right under mine! That’s great!" she said.
According to Allen, the two of them “spent intense hours” documenting the deplorable conditions at the Superdome.
The exhibit features 53 photographs, chosen from hundreds that were submitted, and 35 photographers are represented in the show. Many of the images were winners of NPPA's Best of Photojournalism competition, the NPPA Monthly News Clip Contest, the University of Missouri's Pictures of the Year International contest, and Pulitzer Prize packages.
Robert Green attended the reception to reconnect with friends. Green was photographed by several journalists after he lost two relatives and his home in the flooding of the Lower Ninth Ward. He's kept in touch with many of the photographers. It’s part of his healing process.
“I told my story to [Times-Picayune photographer] Ted Jackson, and that was the first time I cried,” said Green. “I told it again and again, and now I don’t cry anymore.” He and Jackson stood arm in arm as Green picked out neighbors and landmarks framed on the museum walls.
On Friday, photographers taught a day-long workshop for school children, “The Soul of New Orleans.” Ten team leaders guided 26 area students as they documented their city as it is today. Many of the students had lost their homes in Katrina.
The event culminated on Saturday with a seminar to reflect on the progress of the Gulf Coast since the hurricane. About 150 people packed the Odgen’s library when Jim Tucker, Louisiana Speaker of the House, opened the program with comments about Hurricane Katrina.
“We are moving in the right direction, trying to put back the pieces of a city that is so unique to the world,” Tucker said. He introduced the keynote speaker Douglas Brinkley, author of New York Times bestseller The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Brinkley said the media did a good job overall in covering Katrina. He thanked photographers in particular for bringing attention to the plight of New Orleans when relief was slow to arrive.
The panel “In Your Own Backyard” allowed photographers from Florida, Louisiana, and Texas to share insights about covering disasters that impact their own families and homes.
John McCusker, a staff photographer for The Times-Picayune, reduced most of the crowd to tears retelling the story of his own emotional trauma since Katrina. McCusker’s home was destroyed, he faced insurance complications, and became depressed. In 2006 he led New Orleans police on a car chase and tried to provoke them into shooting him to death. (See history and NPPA’s response.)
“I want you to pause, and I want you to remember that there was a human beating heart, a human being behind the camera for each of those pictures,” McCusker said of the exhibit.
McCusker said his life has improved immensely despite continued challenges. In 2009, he was an Ochberg Fellow at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. But his wife, journalist Johanna Schindler, died unexpectedly in March 2010.
(In 2005, nppa.org and News Photographer detailed the difficulties journalists faced to document the storm. Journalists worked without power or water, faced violence and injury, often while their own homes were damaged and families were displaced. For Hurricane Rita, nppa.org served as a clearinghouse of information about health concerns and fuel availability. NPPA and NPPF created a relief fund for journalists in need.)
Jackson led a group from the Times-Picayune who discussed the recovery of their city. Staff photographer Eliot Kamenitz said, “There is more of Katrina behind us than there is ahead of us.”
“Like anything else in journalism, this idea started with a conversation,” event organizer Smiley N. Pool said. Pool, Jackson, and Kevin Martin dreamed up the concept in April. Pool is an NPPA Board member and Martin is Region 8 Chair. Pool and Jackson both shot photographs of Katrina that helped their respective newspapers earn Pulitzer Prizes.
NPPA supported the exhibit, while planning and fundraising was done entirely by NPPA member volunteers. Word spread, more sponsors signed on, and media attention about the event grew.
The exhibit will hang at the Ogden through September 19. Organizers hope it will travel for the rest of the year. A print auction is also planned, but details are still in formation. More information about the event and contributing photographers is available online at http://tellingtheirstories.com.
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