abandoned – John Morrison – Product Strategy and Brand Identity

UPDATE 4/15/12: ‘Standing But Not Operating’ is now on sale on Apple’s iBookstore.

I am pleased to announce that I now have a photography book on sale for the holidays!

The book is entitled “Standing But Not Operating” and is a compilation of shots of Six Flags New Orleans.

For those unfamiliar: Six Flags New Orleans was flooded under 9 feet of water and destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. The property was subsequently abandoned by Six Flags, who cherry-picked what they could from it and left the rest as a liability for the city.

James and I ventured down there in April. We found our way into the park and were eventually detained for trespassing by the police, who graciously allowed to retain our images.

From the back cover:

“Standing But Not Operating” is a term used for an amusement park ride that is still standing in place but for whatever reason not operating.
Since being ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005, the amusement park formerly known as “Six Flags New Orleans” has been standing but not operating after facing abandonment and an uncertain future.
For the few who have visited the park since its closure, it has served as a place frozen in time—a haunting memorial to the devastation and perseverance of New Orleans.

This is a 40 page 10″x8″ softcover book and includes 37 of my favorite shots from that trip, which I am selling for $30. I am also making an iBooks compatible ePub available for $9.99 if you’d rather have that.

To date, this is personally my most beloved photo project. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I do, and I appreciate your support.

You can pick up the book here: Standing But Not Operating

Of course, the original photo set will continue to exist on Flickr at a lower resolution. If you’d like a preview of the images, feel free to check them out here: Standing But Not Operating on Flickr.

Thank you!

We took advantage of not having to drive anywhere yesterday by sleeping in and relaxing around the hotel for much of the morning.

The weather was a uncomfortable mix of overcast, humid and hot. The kind of day where you can feel yourself getting a sunburn through the clouds and sweat seeping through your deodorant. This didn’t stop us from venturing out far and wide on foot. We first wandered over to a record store and then to Cafe Du Monde for beignets.

From there we wandered northwest through the French Quarter, eventually stumbling onto a voodoo museum and spending some time there.

We learned about Marie Laveau and New Orleans’ rich voodoo history. The kind of stuff that I’m not sure how to feel about or what to believe, but I know definitely not to mess with or cross people involved. Interesting stuff to say the least.

From there we took up a suggestion from Aki and paid a visit to the St. Louis Cemetery. The whole thing was interesting to me as it’s very crowded and completely paved. Due to New Orleans being built below sea level the bodies have to be buried above ground so they don’t shift up out of the dirt. This particular cemetery was home to many voodoo priestesses and the whole thing just reeked of creepiness.

From there we took the suggestion of Marcus Gilmer Marcus Gilmer to check out Domilises for amazing Po’ Boy sandwiches. It was a bit out of the way but well worth it. If I could eat one of those daily I would.

After that we took off to find a place called Holt Cemetery a little known, barely maintained resting place of many unmarked graves and penniless war heroes. Unlike the earlier grave yard, this one was almost exclusively below ground and many of the plots had fallen in on themselves. I plan to research and write a whole piece on this place so I’ll leave it at that for now. The experience was truly chilling and thought provoking. It provided a much different view of the city than you hear about often.

It was nearing the magic hour where the light hits everything perfectly (link) so James and I set off to take a gamble and visit a place that not many have visited in the last few years: Six Flags New Orleans.

The story of that visit, along with Holt Cemetery are enough to fill several posts and simply too much to write from my iPhone in-between shifts driving. Yesterday was by far our heaviest day of the trip, so more photos and entries will come when I’m settled in. For now here is a small set of shots.