Alumnus documenting New Orleans post-Katrina

September 22, 2015

William Widmer ’04, a photographer who documents life in post-Katrina New Orleans and examines the effect climate change is having on the Gulf Coast, has had dozens of photos published in August as part of the national media’s coverage of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans, LA - On November 21st, 2010 the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club rolled through New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward in their 12th Annual second line parade. Born from the benevolent societies of the mid-1800s, traditional social aid and pleasure clubs supported their dues-paying members by defraying health care and funeral costs and financial hardship, and by organizing larger community projects and events. Nowadays, the clubs exist as a unifying presence and source of pride for some of New Orleans’ oldest neighborhoods, and their members still take to the streets in tailored suits and parade with some of the city’s best jazz brass bands. (Photo by William Widmer, from "My Mississippi)
New Orleans, Louisiana – On Nov. 21, 2010, the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club rolled through New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward in their 12th Annual second line parade. Born from the benevolent societies of the mid-1800s, traditional social aid and pleasure clubs supported their dues-paying members by defraying health care and funeral costs and financial hardship, and by organizing larger community projects and events. Nowadays, the clubs exist as a unifying presence and source of pride for some of New Orleans’ oldest neighborhoods, and their members still take to the streets in tailored suits and parade with some of the city’s best jazz brass bands. (Photo by William Widmer, from “My Mississippi”)

Widmer, who majored in sociology and anthropology, moved to New Orleans in 2010, shortly after the BP oil spill, and has taken photos of all aspects of life in the region. He was interviewed in VICE magazine in August about “My Mississippi,” a visual diary his time spent in the Delta, down the bayou, along the Gulf Coast, and in between. He talked about his interest in human ecology and the way people interact with their environment. WIRED magazine also featured his work in August.

National Geographic featured his portraits of New Orleans residents, ESPN.com used his photos in a story about New Orleans’ recovery, MSNBC.com published a photo essay by Widmer of New Orleans residents as they reflect on life after Katrina, ABC commissioned him to visit neighborhoods adjacent to the levees that failed in 2005, and Al-Jazeera America used his photos for a walking tour of the lower Ninth Ward, which was among the areas hardest hit during Katrina.

He also provided photos for two cover stories for the New York Times in August.

Photos from “My Mississippi,” along with other examples of his work, are available on Widmer’s website.