New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

The Gulf Oil Spill and Louisiana

Five years ago Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans flooding approximately 80% of the city and causing massive destruction and loss of life. Whilst our focus has been on the Gulf of Mexico for the past months few of us have stopped to think about the continued rebuilding effort in New Orleans and the issues Katrina still raises within the city.

I went to New Orleans six weeks after the disaster. My work then focused on people returning to the city for the first time since the hurricane. It documented the devestation that the encountered. I used only natural light, a medium format camera and a tripod and hopefully created hauntingly beautiful photographs that also documents the story.

I returned to New Orleans earlier this year to see the city five years on. Whilst the tourist centre has returned to normal, of the 204,000 buildings in New Orleans that were damaged or destroyed approximately 27% are still uninhabitable. Unable to afford to come home and rebuild people have simply abandoned their houses.

I decided to take images this year at night. In contrast to the bright lights of the French Quarter these eerie photographs show the dark and menancing side of a wonderful city still struggling to rebuild five years on.

Check out my photos at http://www.mjmaybury.com

Hasselblad Support Film

Polaroid Film and the Impossible Project

The advent of digital photography has meant that the nature of a photographic print has changed. Printing from a negative produces different results from a digital file. I still think that you cannot beat a print from a medium or large format negative for quality and detail.

So I am delighted that Hasselblad has launched a company called Minute Film that will supply polaroid film and Holga cameras. The polaroid film will be produced by the Impossible Project. See Minute Film for more information. Hopefully this will keep photographers pushing their creativity, not only on the computer but also in the camera and dark room. It would be a shame if we lost of the art of photographing on film and printing from negatives forever.

New Orleans wins Super Bowl...

...and elects new mayor, Mitch Landrieu

Both times I have visited New Orleans it has captured my heart, firstly with it’s wonderful music and people and secondly with it’s hope and resilience as I returned only 6 weeks after hurricane Katrina.

So it is with great joy that I read that last weekend New Orleans won the Super Bowl for the first time. For a city that is still rising form the ashes this means more to many of the residents than just a sports victory.

Hopefully this win, together with the election of a new mayor, Mitch Landrieu, on 6th Feb 2010 will see a series of new beginnings for this wonderful city.

Is photojournalism expoitative

Photographs of Haiti

The role of a photojournalist in disaster zones is a difficult one. There has been some criticism about photographers in Haiti photographing rather than helping and it has opened up this debate once again.

Whilst I understand peoples sentiments about helping, photographers are there to do a job, to tell the story of a newsworthy event in such a way that helps the viewer to engage more fully with it.

It is not an easy thing to do and the suffering seen by photographers often stays with them throughout their life. So just let them do their job. That way more of us see and understand the story they are photographing and donate more money to the aid agencies who are there to help.

Photos of the Haiti Earthquake

James Nachtwey in Time Magazine

This week Time Magazine has an interesting article by the truly fantastic photographer James Nachtwey, who has recently spent some time in Haiti. His text reminds us that out of adversity comes great humanity. However, his images are disturbing and tell of the horror for people living there.

If you feel able to then check out his images at the link below. Either way my thoughts are with those people for whom these photos are a reality.

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1957522,00.html

BBC Radio 4 - Photojournalism today

Can photography change the world

As another decade has passed there has been much debate about the role of photojournalism and the publication of images which document conflict and other issues from around the world.

This radio program about former photojournalism students from LCP tells of a different era. One where great risks were taken, classmates died and incredible images were made.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00q3cm3

Slum Living - Dharavi and Kibera

Kevin McCloud: Slumming It - Grand Designs in Mumbai

It was with great interest that I watched Kevin McCloud's most recent program on one of Mumbai's slums. Having spent some time in Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa, I was intrigued to see what he would make of the situation there.

Kibera, although slightly different to Dharavi, shares many of the same qualities. The poverty, the poor sanitation and disease and the crowded living conditions. However, it also shares an amazing sense of community and a support for one another that is so often not seen in this country. The overriding feeling I always had in Kibera was one of great hope and so I was pleased to see that Kevin was able to see the positive aspects of slum living.

If you haven't seen Kevin's program then you can still watch it at


If you want to see some of my photographs of Kibera then check out my Kibera portfolio on my website

The Photographers Gallery

Photography Exhibition and an Evening of Performance

The Photographers Gallery in London has a evening of performance responding to Jim Goldbergs exhibition tomorrow from 6.30pm.

http://www.photonet.org.uk/index.php?pvid=1132

Haiti Earthquake January 2010

Red Cross in Haiti

You will all know by now about the earthquake which hit in Haiti earlier this week. There are an estimated 45,000 - 50,000 people killed and millions affected.

The photos at this link are graphic and show some of the devastation and human suffering. http://blogs.tampabay.com/photo/2010/01/haiti-earthquake.html

As ever, the Red Cross are there doing an amazing job. If you want to donate then you can do so here at the Red Cross site. https://www.redcross.org.uk/emergencysite/campaign.aspx?id=88917

New Orleans Jazz Photography

Magnum Photographer Dennis Stock 1928 - 2010

Magnum photographer Dennis Stock died on Monday night of this week. A truly great photographer he was particularly well known for his iconic photographs of James Dean and also his New Orleans jazz scene of the late 1950's. He will be missed but as with all great photographers his work will live on.

For more information on him check out the Magnum website: http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.aspx?VP=XSpecific_MAG.AgencyHome_VPage&pid=2K7O3R1VX08V

Top tourist attractions in London

The National Gallery in London

I love the National Gallery in London - the beautiful building, the quirky wall colours and of course the art. It's not difficult to find inspiration for my photography in such a wonderful place as that. So today I treated myself and spent a blissful few hours in one of my favourite galleries in London.

Photography in London

Photographing The Houses of Parliament, The London Eye and St Paul's Cathedral

As a photojournalist there are many ways to find stories that I find interesting and that I might want to research further. The natural break over Christmas provides me with a perfect opportunity to catch up on my magazine and book reading about issues that catch my attention.

I do find it challenging to find stories in the UK though, especially in London. It needs to be a really good story for it to hold my interest - such as my empty homes in London story on my website. www.mjmaybury.com

So one of my New Years Resolutions is to research some stories a little closer to home and to focus on things that directly affect the city I live in. London is such an amazing city so I'm sure that my research over the Christmas period will pay off. I'll keep you posted.

A photographic journey through Russia

Wintereisse by Luc Delahaye

This snowy weather makes me think about other colder places, like Russia, and so one of my favourite photography books - Winterreise by Luc Delahaye.

Luc travelled across Russia one winter photographing the ordinary people he met. The result is this beautiful and heartbreaking book. Its pocket sized so feels very intimate and it is stunningly put together too. Ill enjoy looking at that again today.