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the photograph galleries)
I live here, in New Orleans. I was in the city and Gulf Coast every single day
from before Katrina, to its landfall, to its aftermath. I lived the months it
was without regular food, water, electricity. I know what we all in the Gulf
Coast survived through.
I have travelled from New Orleans to Mississippi to Texas to Plaquemines
to St. Bernard and Jefferson Parish to cover every aspect of the storm with
tenderness, intimacy, integrity, and honesty.
This is a small sample from 30,000 photographs taken since just before
Katrina made landfall.
I continue to work closely and side-by-side with first responders, residents,
government leaders, and volunteers to capture their stories in photographs
and video. Working alongside the heroes, residents, and people afftected by
Katrina, allows an intimate and detailed portrait to be made. I have been on
body recovery with Urban Search and Rescue, and in the destroyed houses
of victims, and in the morgue with the coroners, and in airplanes and boats
looking over the disappearing wetlands.
Many journalists only spend 15 minutes with a person, often at a distance
and without their consent or permission. They often do not credit or tell the
full story of their subject, and twist words and events around to make it
dramatic enough to sell a million newspapers or make the evening news.
This angers me as a fellow journalist. As I always believe the truth is
dramatic enough, and those directly involved in disasters from first
responders to residents deserve their whole story to be told, with their own
words, with the only agenda being to let the world know who these real
people are - and that they are often heroes, in big ways and small ways,
from rescuing hundreds to helping hammer in a new roof on a new house.
I spend many hours, and sometimes weeks with each person and group, so I
may hear their story, from their mouths, and so the world may know them
as personally as I do - their name, their face, their contribution to the
Katrina story. I do not look for controversial or sensational topics as other
reporters do. I look for who these people are inside, the hard work they do,
how they have suffered yet continue to carry on and help others - be it first
responder or resident.
If they are a firefighter, I ride in the truck with them - if it is a volunteer, I
often put down my camera and help hammer in nails - if it is a resident, I
help them dig through debris looking for cherished items - whoever they
are, whatever it is, I help carry equipment, belongings, tools, and get dirty
with them all. I share lunch and dinner, and even eventually share personal
stories only friends share.
I become friends with all I photograph. This is extremely important to me,
to earn the trust of all involved. Very few photojournalists earn this respect
from their subjects. To me, it is a sign of a job well done. That we can all
agree that the story is told properly. And that the person involved, is proud
to hang the pictures I have taken of them and their job, on their walls at
home.
I live here, and I see the hard work done on all levels from all people, and
the courage so many have inside of them. This is what I capture.
Ride Hamilton
Photojournalist