Zoe Strauss

I have known E----- for a few years; she was a stranger when I first approached her to take her photo.


I didn't see her around for about a year or two and then I saw her working at 7th and Wolf about a month ago. She's a South Philly gal like myself. She had moved around a lot in the last few years and ended up living just 2 homes away from where I first met her.



E----- at her new home. I'm feeling this photo.



Photos of E-----'s kids.




E----- at her old home. This is one of the first photos I made of her and it's one of my favorites.

Today E----- was wearing a shirt, "Will Fuck For Food." It's hysterical, but it ain't no joke. Despite all the horror in the idea that this is a truth and not a joke, and because the level of desperation is laid out for everyone to flinch from, I've got to give it to you E-----. You are a fucking riot. See you when I see you, baby!

Hey Friends,
Just putting it out there that if you join my e-mailing list you receive my photo of the week. Just drop me a line and let me know if you're interested and you will receive one photo a week from me.

Here are some recent examples of photo of the week...









Occasionally, there will be adult content and I have begun to put a warning in the subject line if appropriate. Sometimes you don't want to be opening "here's my dick" at work.


If you're interested, drop me a line at info@zoestrauss.com with "Subscribe" in the header. Thanks!

As many of you know, I regard Lynn Bloom as the greatest person on earth.
She was not thrilled with my going to the South and was nervous while I was there. Ms.Bloom is a worrier by nature, so it's difficult for her knowing that I go into difficult situations sometimes.





The photos above were made in Camden. I was in an abandoned home with a stranger who was smoking crack.



I was arrested a few months ago for "defiant trespass" when I broke into the closed site at the now demolished Civic Center to make this photo. My arresting officer (thanks to her for making the call) called Lynn Bloom while I was handcuffed in the back of the car and told her that I had been arrested and relayed the message to just order pizza since I wouldn't be home for dinner.



I met this man last month and after talking with him for about 2 minutes he offer to pose nude. I immediately walked up to his apartment to photograph him. After I took this photo, I called Lynn Bloom to tell her about it while she was in the middle of a stressful 10 hour workday.


Art lives in Crystal, NV and I knocked on his door and asked if I could come into his home and take photos. I had met him the day before outside of his trailer and went back the next day. Art had several guns lying around his house, in this photo you can see 2, one in the blue chair and one on the table.

In all of these instances, the great Lynn Bloom was supportive, and by supportive I mean that she didn't break up with me after hearing about where I had been and what I had been doing. As I have mentioned before, Lynn Bloom and I are pushing 17 years together so she's really had to put up with a lot with me. I am without a doubt the luckiest woman in the world to be her girl.

Well, over the weekend I worked on the Mississippi photos and they're stronger than I initially thought. Because the scope of the devastation is so huge, it was difficult for me to see if I had pulled out any strong details from the destroyed cities. The photos are not representative of the size of this tragedy: they are details of a kind of destruction that is beyond the ability to see it fully, no less comprehend it. There's no fucking way I could represent the amount of physical devastation brought on by the storm or accurately represent the ensuing man-made tragedy of the Bush administration's response to the devastation. At least 10 of these photos are keepers though. Sometimes it can take me a year to decide where a photo fits into the larger grouping of my work.

these three are for sure and you can see all the others in the previous post, "Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi."




Biloxi, MS



Biloxi, MS



Gulfport,MS
This photo echoes "Bulletholes," a photo I made last year here in South Philly. The continuum is very important to me.


South Philly

So I went to Mississippi and took a look around and drove bags of ice to people who needed them and handed out pads.

Ice is worth it's weight in gold in Southern Mississippi right now and many people who need it are unable to get to distribution points because of lack of transportation. Some people never had cars and many, many people lost their cars due to the storm so I drove through the neighborhoods giving out ice and bottled water to those who needed it, which was almost everyone. I just picked up the ice and water at a distribution point on the main drag and would go back and stock up when I was out.

I met up with a group of doctors and nurses who just found each other after having come down to see if they could help. They formed a group of about 20 people- nurses, doctors, security, helpers- on the fly and drove around going door to door in MS offering medical assistance. I met them on Saturday and dropped off supplies that I'd brought down.

Then, on Monday when Manny flew down, we followed them on their route for a little. Manny and I were there on an off day. They were slightly disorganized and disgruntled after some tiff about RN or LN registration stuff that I didn't really understand.


They would give tetanus shots to whoever needed them. This woman was just walking by and asked for one when she saw the van.


We drove around and took some photos and distributed some of the over the counter medicine that I bought and Manny brought down on the plane: tylenol, asprin, diaper cream, etc. People always just took what they needed, which was pretty amazing.

I was happy I could go and help out even for a day. I want to go back at some point, for sure. Those folks are in for a long haul.

I took some photos, not a ton, though. None are color corrected yet, but I wanted to put them up.
I am too overwhelmed by the trip to know if I have any good photos. These are mostly documentation, not fancy fine art and shit.











This woman stayed in Gulfport during the storm and had to leave her house in waist deep water and get to higher ground. She stayed in this same house during Camille and was sure she'd be ok. She told me that the storm was at least 12 solid hours, it started at 5am and kept on until 5 or 6 pm. I hadn't even thought about how long the storm would be going on. This lady was awesome. She's now living in front of her destroyed home in a little FEMA trailer. Her home had never flooded before but during this storm she had about 6 feet of water in her house.
































This guy got his tattoo in Philadelphia, in Chinatown. How is possible? I don't know. He's lived in Biloxi for over 30 years.
We started to talk and he told me he'd been in Philadelphia before. He was 16 when he got the tattoo and had borrowed a fake ID to get it. When he got in the chair, the tattooist asked him if he wanted the name "Mike" or "Michael" on his arm which was the name on the ID. This guy said how about my girlfriend's name, "Jerry," which is actually his name. He ended up with hearts adorning the name instead of the stars that men usually get with their names. He's also living in front of his destroyed home in a little FEMA trailer. His home didn't flood but the roof blew off and the rain and wind destroyed everything inside.
































































































































































































Many people repaired their roofs with vinyl billboards that had blown down from the billboard frame.









As far as you could see, the houses that were still standing had all of their contents piled up outside to be picked up as trash within the next couple of weeks. Hardly anything could be salvaged if the home was flooded.
































These cars had been submerged and snakes were living in them








This was a barge that had floated inland and landed on the north side of highway 90.

So, I came back on Tues. and was very tired and then almost forgot that I had to go back to court on Wed. morning. My time has been served for photographing the civic center at long last. I was in court most of the day waiting to just hand in my paperwork for paid court fines and completed community service.


My response to this entire debacle?
"Fuck You"

Also, you think this last arrest can hold me back? Dream on, motherfuckers!

More on the South tomorrow.

I am back from Mississippi and I am exausted. I drove bags of ice to people and bought supplies and passed them out. I took photos, but didn't come back with any great ones. I brought some medical supplies to this group of doctors and nurses who just drive door to door seeing if people need medical help. I passed out a lot of pads, and let me tell you, ladies loved the pads.

More tomorrow.

I went to the Atget opening at the PMA, and, let me tell you folks, super great. 1st, who doesn't want to look at Atget? This is a superb exhibit. Curation, aka, Kate Ware and Peter Barberie, is top notch.

I'm not sure why I found this to be so interesting, but Bernice Abbott, who printed many of Atget's negatives, was dissatisfied with the printing technique she had to use. She thought there was too much contrast in her prints for the subtlies of Atget's work. I agreed when you could compare the prints made by Atget and Abbott.

Peter Barberie wrote the book. I suggest you buy it. A book about looking at Atget by Peter Barberie. Buy it!


The other thing, and it's insane that I haven't put it up here yet, is that the Mavericks of Color exhibit, curated by Kate Ware, is not to be missed. I said don't miss it!

I just talked to this guy, David Trout, who is working in Gulfport, MS. He's just a regular guy, a nurse, who is driving around gathering up prescriptions from people who have no transportation. He's going and getting them filled and driving the prescriptions back to them. He's asking for cash now, as well as supplies, and he had his mother wire 200 bucks to him earlier today, so he can buy the drugs. Within the week he should be able to have a stockpile of prescription medicine to bring with while traveling around, but people need their stuff right now.


Right, so here's just some guy getting his mom to wire him money so he can buy strangers' prescriptions.

Then here's some other people who are getting money wired right to them.


Firms with Bush White House ties get Katrina contracts
September 10th
(Reuters)


Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.

One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton.

Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., has also been selected by FEMA to provide short-term housing for people displaced by the hurricane. Bush named Bechtel's CEO to his Export Council and put the former CEO of Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.


Halliburton continues to be a source of income for Cheney, who served as its chief executive officer from 1995 until 2000 when he joined the Republican ticket for the White House. According to tax filings released in April, Cheney's income included $194,852 in deferred pay from the company, which has also won billion-dollar government contracts in Iraq.

Cheney's office said the amount of deferred compensation is fixed and is not affected by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings.

Allbaugh's other major client, Baton Rouge-based Shaw Group, has updated its Web site to say: "Hurricane Recovery Projects -- Apply Here!"

Shaw said on Thursday it has received a $100 million emergency FEMA contract for housing management and construction. Shaw also clinched a $100 million order on Friday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Shaw Group spokesman Chris Sammons said Allbaugh was providing the company with "general consulting on business matters," and would not say whether he played a direct role in any of the Katrina deals. "We don't comment on specific consulting activities," he said.

Party people, and this includes Socialist Workers Party members, just get on my brother's mailing list and get your party on.

What's really good?
Cosmo Baker.

Weekly listing for the slide show...thanks Roberta!

Saturday is the day I go South. I was worried that it was insane to go and that resources would be best spent by donating money.

Then I talked to David and Amy who are working at a shelter in Gulfport, MS. David is a nurse and is driving around the surrounding Biloxi/Gulfport area seeing what medical attention people need. Apparently many people don't have cars and can't get into Biloxi. David said they need medical supplies, but I'm not able to get prescription drugs to bring.

And then I talked to Amy, and she said they need everything, but especially staples. "PLEASE BRING SUPPLIES." Here's the list she gave me...

Hand sanitizer
baby items
cleaning supplies
canned food
water
pads and tampons

So here's my plan.

Flying into Pensacola and then driving to a Target which is about 10 minutes from the hotel. Filling up the car with stuff. Driving to Gulfport, which is 2 hours and 3 minutes according to map quest, but will be longer because I-10 is only 2 lanes for a section.

Getting off at exit 34b

taking highway 49north toward hattisburg
and then
2-3 miles north of interstate I-10 will be the drop off.



I'll see a Wallgreens at the intersection and people in a parking lot will tell me where to bring things. Apparently, there's not enough volunteers to help bring supplies to surounding areas, like Pass Christian and although I'd love to help with that, I have no idea where I'm going and on the first day there I want to be back in Pensacola by dark. After the drop off, I'll probably only have a hour to photograph and that's if I'm lucky enough to able to get to Gulfport by 1pm. If not, no photos and I'll just go back the next day with Manny.

Feel free to give me cash, it's going directly to the relief of people in the south and I'll bring the receipt from Target and photos for to you to use as a tax writeoff.

Harrison County, MS Emergency
228-832-6653

Sunday, Manny Dominguez, Jr. will arrive in Pensacola. I'm very much looking forward to his arrival.

Every Man a King Song

Every Man a King Speech

Huey P Long Bio

Rose McConnell Long Bio

I'm fascinated with Huey P. Long. In fact, I'm modeling my art career after his Governorship. Except for the assassination
part.


Huey Long said, "I am sui generis, just leave it at that."
Guess what? So am I.


“God, don’t let me die, I have got so much to do.”

Just kidding, folks. Well, half kidding.

I received this email and have no idea where to send this guy.

"I am looking for a class where I can attend one day a week, preferably in Montgomery County. I am a full-time sales manager for a software company, but my artistic side is attempting to break through. I'm not looking for a career in digital photography, I just want to explore my creative side through digital photography."

Does anyone have any suggestions? Let me know and I'll pass it on.

Thanks

Jen gave me 100 bucks to help buy needed supplies for folks in the South.
Thanks!

Barbara Bush Calls Evacuees Better Off

What does Barbara Bush have to do with anything? Really, nothing, but I found this to be so unbelievably horrible that it was impossible not to direct attention to it. Please listen to the audio. If you click on the above headline and go to the NYT article, the audio link is on the left side of the article.

September 7, 2005


By THE NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 - As President Bush battled criticism over the response to Hurricane Katrina, his mother declared it a success for evacuees who "were underprivileged anyway," saying on Monday that many of the poor people she had seen while touring a Houston relocation site were faring better than before the storm hit.

"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas," Barbara Bush said in an interview on Monday with the radio program "Marketplace." "Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality."

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway," she said, "so this is working very well for them."

Mrs. Bush toured the Astrodome complex with her husband, former President George Bush, as part of an administration campaign throughout the Gulf Coast region to counter criticism of the response to the storm. Former President Bush and former President Bill Clinton are helping raise money for the rebuilding effort.

White House officials did not respond on Tuesday to calls for comment on Mrs. Bush's remarks.

Lynn Bloom still is the greatest person on earth.

I'm flying down to Pensacola,FL on September 17 and coming back on September 20. Mr. Manny Dominguez will be coming down on the 18th for the next 2 days.

My plan is to drive from Pensacola along the gulf coast to Slidell, which is 2 and a half hours from Pensacola. According to my sources, Pensacola is best know as the setting for "An Officer and a Gentleman" starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger. O, Florida.

I will drive to Mobile.



And then to Biloxi.



And then to Slidell.



And back to Pensacola


That's a lot of fucking driving. It will be a minimum of 6 hours of driving, leaving me probably only 3 hours to shoot. I have never been to the South and don't know the roads at all so the first day will be especially difficult. I would like to take route 90 instead of route 10, but as of right now, major sections are still closed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lucinda Williams
Joy
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

I don't want you anymore
cause you took my joy
i don't want you anymore
you took my joy

you took my joy
i want it back
you took my joy
i want it back

i'm gonna go to west memphis and look for my joy
go to west memphis and look for my joy
maybe in west memphis I'll find my joy
maybe in west memphis i'll find my joy

i'm gonna go to slidell and look for my joy
go to slidell and look for my joy
maybe in slidell I'll find my joy
maybe in slidell I'll find my joy

(first instrumental break)

you got no right to take my joy
i want it back
you got no right to take my joy
i want it back

you took my joy
i want it back
you took my joy
i want it back

i'm gonna go to west memphis and look for my joy
go to west memphis and look for my joy
maybe in west memphis i'll find my joy
maybe in west memphis i'll find my joy

i'm gonna go to slidell and look for my joy
go to slidell and look for my joy
maybe in slidell i'll find my joy
maybe in slidell i'll find my joy

(second instrumental break)

i don't want you anymore
cause you took my joy
i don't want you anymore
you took my joy

you took my joy
i want it back
you took my joy
i want it back

you took my joy
i want it back
you took my
i want it back

(instrumental break)

i'm gonna go to west memphis
i'm gonna go to slidell

I am pleased to announce that the coveted and esteemed 2005-2006 Philadelphia Public Art Project Internship has been filled.

Ms. Jaime Wettlin, a photography major at UArts, will be working with me for the 05/06 school year. Ms. Wettlin is not only a bright and interesting young woman, she is also a Eagles fan, which meant she was immediately accepted into the internship program.

I am looking forward to a productive and thrilling year with Ms. Wettlin in the mix.

Congratulations Jaime!



NFC Champs

"Fly Eagles Fly" EAGLES Fight Song

Fly Eagles Fly, On The Road To Victory.
Fight Eagles Fight, Score A Touchdown 1-2-3.

Hit 'Em Low.
Hit 'Em High.
And We'll Watch Our Eagles Fly.

Fly Eagles Fly, On The Road To Victory.

E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!!!

-photo James Nielsen


-AP photo


NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) Sept. 6 - The U.S. government agency leading the rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina said on Tuesday it does not want the news media to take photographs of the dead as they are recovered from the flooded New Orleans area.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticized for its slow response to the devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected requests from journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims.

An agency spokeswoman said space was needed on the rescue boats and that "the recovery of the victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect."

-photo Rick Wilking

"We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media," the spokeswoman said in an e-mailed response to a Reuters inquiry.

The Bush administration also has prevented the news media from photographing flag-draped caskets of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, which has sparked criticism that the government is trying to block images that put the war in a bad light.




The White House is under fire for its handling of the relief effort, which many officials have charged was slow and bureacratic, contributing to the death and mayhem in New Orleans after the storm struck on Aug. 29.

- photo Melissa Phillip


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



"The ban on media coverage of returning casualties was imposed by Defense Secretary Cheney after an embarrassing incident in which three television networks broadcast live, split-screen images in December, 1989, as the first U.S. casualties were returning from an American assault on Panama. In that incident, President Bush was seen on television joking at a White House news conference while somber images of flag-draped coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base moved across viewers' screens. The ban on war casualty images was continued during the Clinton administration, which made several exceptions to allow publication and broadcast upon the return of victims of attacks against U.S. personnel abroad, including the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in 2000. President George W. Bush continued the ban following the start of the Afghanistan war in October, 2001 and the Iraq invasion in March, 2003.


Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Henry Shelton, coined the phrase "the Dover Test" to describe the impact of images of flag-draped coffins returning from a battlefield to the military mortuary at Dover, potentially affecting public support for a war. Images of casualties have played significant roles in many previous conflicts, beginning with the Civil War in the 1860's and continuing through World Wars I and II and the Vietnam conflict in the 1960's. In 1991, President Bush asserted that the U.S. had "kicked the Vietnam syndrome once and for all," but later in the 1990's, deployments of U.S. troops in Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo were influenced by memories of the images of Vietnam-era casualties."


caskets from the Vietnam War





caskets from the Iraq War

I am looking for an intern for the 05-06 school year.

My last intern was the great Manny Dominguez, Jr., who continues to be a very important person in my life. I consider Manny to be one of the best photographers in Philadelphia right now. Personally and professionally, I love Manny and I believe that during his internship we both benefited from his commitment.


Intern duties are...
Helping in preparation for, and during the Oct 29th Works-in-Progress show, ICA Ramp Project in April 2006 and the 2006 I-95 exhibit.
Scanning Negatives
general help with organization of images
website upkeep and maintenance


So, email me at info@zoestrauss.com if you are interested in interning.

OK, here's Manny's praises for the interning spot. They're in the comments too but I had to move them up here because they're so ridiculolusly great. Mr. Dominguez had his first intern this summer. Ah, how quickly he moved up in the world.

"what can i say about interning for the great zoe strauss? it was a great experience. a educational experience. a never ending experience. not only is she the greatest artist of our times, she is the most generous and loving person EVER. her heart is as big as philadelphia. maybe bigger. and if you intern for her be prepared to enter an exotic world of mystery and intrigue, million dollar dinner parties, jet setting in foreign lands, rubbbing elbows with the philadelphia elite, hollering at your boys, and cutting a lot of color copies. seriously if you want a great internship that will change your life and teach you things rather than bore you to death. intern for zoe strauss. one day she will take over the world so take this chance to say you knew her back when..."

SOUTH PHILLY SHELTER FOR DISPLACED GULF RESIDENTS
PALUMBO SCHOOL
CATHERINE ST. BETWEEN 11TH AND 12TH.


Six hundred displaced Southern Gulf coast residents will arrive in Philadelphia tomorrow and stay at the Wanamaker School on Cecil B Moore Avenue between 11th & 12th Streets and the Palumbo School on Catherine Street between 11th & 12th Streets.

The shelters have received many items at the Wanamaker school and at the South Philly Palumbo School, but still need more. The City said they especially need new pillows and pillow cases. Please do not donate underwear unless it is brand new and still in its original package. Please make sure all donations are clean. It helps if they are also sorted and labeled.

People will have an opportunity to more directly volunteer beginning tomorrow at both the Wanamaker and Palumbo Schools. If you would like to volunteer sign up sheets are in the command center office at both schools. Wanamaker School is on Cecil B Moore Avenue between 11th & 12th Streets. Palumbo School is on Catherine Street between 11th & 12th Streets.


Although I am a huge supporter of this project, I can't help but mention that there are over 23,000 homeless people living in Philadelphia right now. If we can mobilize this quickly to help displaced Gulf residents, why can't we also work to house some of our own residents. I think that we might need to put a little thought into that. OVER 23,000!!!

Why doesn't someone down there hold his fucking head under the flood waters in New Orleans? Bush's incompetence and cronyism has murdered those folks in New Orleans and others in the Southern United States.

Here's how qualified the head of FEMA, Michael D. Brown, is...



He spent the 1990s as judges and stewards commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association. His job was to ensure that horse-show judges followed the rules and to investigate allegations against those suspected of cheating.

"I wouldn't have regarded his position in the horse industry as a platform to where he is now," said Tom Connelly, a former association president.

Brown's ticket to FEMA was Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's 2000 campaign manager and an old friend of Brown's in Oklahoma. When Bush ran for president in 2000, Brown was ending a rocky tenure at the horse association.

Brown told several association officials that if Bush were elected, he'd be in line for a good job. When Allbaugh, who managed Bush's campaign, took over FEMA in 2001, he took Brown with him as general counsel.

Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
1971
(Marvin Gaye/James Nyx)



Dah, dah, dah, dah
dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah
Dah, dah, dah, dah
Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah
Dah, dah, dah
Rockets, moon shots
Spend it on the have nots
Money, we make it
Fore we see it you take it
Oh, make you wanna holler
The way they do my life
Make me wanna holler
The way they do my life
This ain't livin', This ain't livin'
No, no baby, this ain't livin'
No, no, no
Inflation no chance
To increase finance
Bills pile up sky high
Send that boy off to die
Make me wanna holler
The way they do my life
Make me wanna holler
The way they do my life
Dah, dah, dah
Dah, dah, dah
Hang ups, let downs
Bad breaks, set backs
Natural fact is
I can't pay my taxes
Oh, make me wanna holler
And throw up both my hands
Yea, it makes me wanna holler
And throw up both my hands
Crime is increasing
Trigger happy policing
Panic is spreading
God know where we're heading
Oh, make me wanna holler
They don't understand
Dah, dah, dah
Dah, dah, dah
Dah, dah, dah

Sept. 1, 2005, 8:30PM
Houston Chronicle

Halliburton Hired for Storm Cleanup

The Navy has hired Houston-based Halliburton Co. to restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Halliburton subsidiary KBR will also perform damage assessments at other naval installations in New Orleans as soon as it is safe to do so.

KBR was assigned the work under a "construction capabilities" contract awarded in 2004 after a competitive bidding process. The company is not involved in the Army Corps of Engineers' effort to repair New Orleans' levees.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch. (Laughter.) "
-George Bush, Jr.
Sept. 2nd, 2005


Are you fucking kidding me? No, this is not a joke.

I have been going through a process to gain security credentials in order to photograph at the Nevada Test Site. Let me tell you, just going to the NV Department of Energy is quite a security event. No camera cell phones, no recording devices of any kind allowed in, even in your car. I parked in a parking lot that's surrounded by barbed wire and my rental car was searched to make sure I didn't bring any contaband recording devices into the compound.


The man who is helping me gain access is a man who loves to think about nuclear weapons and power and it's historical impact. He made it clear that he would be willing to host an anti-nuclear activist doing this project.
There are tours of the site 6 times a year, weather permiting, but no photos are allowed during the tour so I will have a private driving tour to photograph, possibly with one other photographer. I am now just waiting for my badging and should be able to go photograph in early November. With luck, I will be standing on the spot where atomic bombs were detonated before Thanksgiving this year.


The primary purpose of the Nevada Test site had been to test nuclear weapons.
The first bomb dropped at the Nevada test site, a one-kiloton warhead dropped from an airplane, was detonated on January 27, 1951. Between 1951 and 1962, 126 atmospheric tests of atomic weapons were conducted within the Test Site's boundaries.
From 1951 to 1992, a total of 928 tests were conducted at the site.


Sedan Crater, Nevada Test Site.
Sedan Crater was formed when a 104 kiloton explosive buried under 635 feet of desert alluvium was fired at the Nevada Test Site on July 6, 1962, displacing 12 million tons of earth. The crater is 320 feet deep and 1,280 feet in diameter.

Here's the first post on my Cold War project...Cold War Veteran

Only one of these photos is in the running for I-95, the rest felt a little flat to me. I'll think about them and see if they grow on me.


August 2005

Non-emergency travel is prohibited in Southern Mississippi, but when the roads open up and electricity is restored I will fly to Pensacola and drive through Mississippi to Biloxi.

I am so worked up about the horror of the South I haven't been able to post about my trip to Las Vegas. This trip was short and I was sick one day so I only had one day to go out and shoot. I had planned to drive back through Pahrump to Crystal and visit Art and Diane, but I felt too sick to make the 2 hour trip. Plus, it was 109 in the desert.

I drove by this guy standing on the stairs and stopped to ask if I could take his photo.



We talked for literally less than 2 minutes before he offered to pose nude. I knew he was interested in posing nude within the first few seconds of meeting him. He lived in one of the many cinder block one-room apartments close to the casinos. I stood in the doorway of his apt. and took 15 to 20 photos.



I think this is one of my best photos of the year.

What more can be said? Not just the biggest natural disaster but the biggest national disgrace in my lifetime.

I called the Red Cross and volunteered to go to the South. The Camden Red Cross is still offering disaster relief classes and I'm waiting for a call back within the next few days. I will work here or go to the Gulf, either is fine with me. I would go down right now but I'm pretty sure I would just be in the way and taking up space that displaced people need.

I will go down to photograph after the emergency help is no longer needed and before clean up is complete.

Hurricane Housing

Hurricane Katrina has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. But thousands of people throughout the region are stepping into the breach to offer free shelter to those in need.

Where is the aid in New Orleans?