NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Down at Mardi Gras this year, I had myself a ball & a biscuit of a time, soaking up sunshine, snappin’ away left and right, sippin’ on lemonade shandies, and stuffing myself with seafood (and po-boys) at every opportunity. A beautiful, blissful week of costumes, libations, friendship, and parading through my favorite streets and old haunts. I spent all of Mardi Gras day dressed head to toe as a rose garden, an homage to my time spent living in New Orleans, the city where I fully blossomed into my true self.
I drove home with not one, but two, full size king cakes in my passenger seat to prolong the sweet celebrations as long as reasonably possible, as well as a couple bags of fresh coffee beans from the French Truck. Now I’m able to wake up with a little taste of New Orleans from the comfort of my own home, at least for a little while.
Upon my return home after three weeks of traveling, I came to discover upon developing my film that my once-trusty point and shoot camera had been a little shaken up, maybe took one too many rough and tumbles, as mysterious black borders and lines unknowingly appeared across multiple rolls of film. At first glance of the negatives, I felt the onset of heartbreak as I realized some photos would be completely lost to time. I paused, took a moment and some deep breaths, and allowed myself to embrace the abstract framing and the creative decisions it allowed me to make with my final photos, lending a hand to the creativity and freedom that bleeds out of the soul of the city of New Orleans.
I’m learning from this as it’s a beautiful little reminder to always be present in the moment and to remember that life ain’t always perfect. It’s not always gonna be what you expect. It’s a little rough around the edges, and you’ve gotta embrace the beauty inside of what you do have and are able to experience.
Laissez les bon temps rouler, they say!
until next year ~
xo
