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Yesterday, our class went to the common event-meet the artists to hear and speak with Thomas Neff, a photographer who went to volunteer during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At first I expected to see the same photographs that were shown in our local news and media, but I was surprised at the intimate photographs that we were shown. The photographs were of people who at first refused to leave their homes after the flood that took place. I was surprised at what I saw and for the most part I felt sad that these photos were of people who lost so much. Although all of the photos made an impression on me, three specifically stood out. The first one was of the man with the sign that said, “With help we can help ourselves”. It made me realize that after the flooding in New Orleans, many of its residents were left hanging without any adequate or sufficient help from the government. These were real people who were left unaided for the most part. Thomas Neff told us that after interviewing many of his subjects he asked them if they needed anything, and most of them did. Even though the news was reporting the lack of aid in New Orleans, I think these photographs made it seem very real. The photograph of the woman on top of the roof that had written on it “ This is not America” also stood out to me. It was another New Orleans resident who also felt that in their time of need, the United States government abandoned them. I think for the most part we can try to imagine how bad hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana, but after seeing these pictures I realized that I underestimated its devastation on its people and to top it off the lack of assistance from the government. The photograph of James Stephen, the homeless man who said the three days in the dome where worse than his life on the streets, was a strong statement to me. It brought to life the terrible conditions in the dome that I heard about but really couldn’t grasp or imagine. 

I have to admit that I was more interested in the event than I thought I would be, but more than anything I really appreciated it more than I expected. I was really moved by the photographs and I was in awe at how badly our government handled this disaster. The photographs were of real people who were brave and stuck it out after the disaster. It felt overwhelming to know that some of these people in the photographs had past away and were gone, especially the photograph of Addie Hall and Zack Bowen. I really enjoyed hearing Thomas Neff talk about his work and I think his work provokes in his audience a feeling of awareness what Hurricane Katrina was actually like.