As Told By the New Orleanians
March 7th, 2006Evelyn Rodrquez in Passport to Understanding: Seeing Through Muwa’s Eyes
Best decision I ever made was to take a simple point-and-shoot digital camera that I could hand over to locals. I gave it to the most curious ‘kid’ in a crowd. It made me a lot of friends along the two-month journey to Thailand and Sri Lanka whenDsc01064_1 language was a seeming barrier.Muwa’s first day shots were formal, posed. The subjects were stiff. I think they’re all accustomed to posing for photographs for foreigners - the strangers that swooped in after the tsunami and gave international exposure to the plight of the indigenous Thai sea gypsy community.
Wherever you go the world over, “cheese” smiles are contrived.
I’d like to affirm Evelyn’s sentiment. It’s much more interesting to see a locale through the eyes of the locals. That’s the mission of Think New Orleans. We’re recording town hall meeting, and home owners association meetings, and placing them online.
I don’t feel that people in New Orleans need to be given cameras, though. There are plenty of talented writers, sound techs, and photographers here. They need to learn how to use the Interent to effectively disseminate their message.
I’m seeing a future in New Orleans, producing and disseminating the story of the rebirth.
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