Field Note
New Orleans: In the words of National Geographic photographer Tyrone Turner
Field Notes - New Orleans Photo
A self-portrait of photographer Tyrone Turner, reflected in a parade-goer's shiny beads.
A native of New Orleans, Tyrone Turner has shot images of New Orleans and the Louisiana Bayou for several National Geographic magazine articles. As the leader of our New Orleans Weekend Photography Workshops, we asked Tyrone to tell what makes New Orleans such a great city to photograph.
History drips off of the wrought iron balconies of the French Quarter like bougainvillea. You meet characters on the street that call you ‘sugar’ and ‘baby’—they would be disappointed if you didn’t ask to photograph them. New Orleans is my hometown and I have been photographing the city since my days as a staff photographer with the local newspaper. In recent years, unfortunate events like Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill have brought me back to New Orleans often to shoot on assignment for National Geographic. I am continually discovering something new about the city and the people, and I love sharing that with the students.
My favorite part of the workshop is when we start editing the students’ photos. The gems pop out, and the students start to learn about their vision and their own process of seeing and making photographs. The magic happens when they take this knowledge and go out and make better pictures the next day.
