Shreveport-Bossier City Photo of the Day

[fridayinla]

Wow. Beautiful photos, Brian. Thanks for sharing!

[dimebag1980]

Wow. Beautiful photos, Brian. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! I was happy with the final result, considering the last time I tried to take fireworks photos they turned out a jumbled mess.

And I don't feel too bad about my tripod not being straight, because even the photographer for The Times whose fireworks photo is displayed on their website, apparently couldn't get his straight either!

[NCB]

Great photos, Brian! I love the "grit" photos, and the fireworks were just awesome. Lookin' great with that new Rebel!

[dimebag1980]

Great photos, Brian! I love the "grit" photos, and the fireworks were just awesome. Lookin' great with that new Rebel!

Thanks, Nate. Practice makes perfect, and I plan on practicing more!

[NCB]

Thanks, Nate. Practice makes perfect, and I plan on practicing more!

Bring that thing down to New Orleans sometime! I have a feeling you would get some great photos with that down here. New Orleans is one of the most photogenic cities in the world, IMO.

[dimebag1980]

Bring that thing down to New Orleans sometime! I have a feeling you would get some great photos with that down here. New Orleans is one of the most photogenic cities in the world, IMO.

Oh believe me, I know it is.

And I do plan on making it back to the Big Easy within a year. Hopefully I'll be able to swing that. If so, look out!!

[NCB]

Oh believe me, I know it is.

And I do plan on making it back to the Big Easy within a year. Hopefully I'll be able to swing that. If so, look out!!

Let me know when you're able to get down here!

[dimebag1980]

Let me know when you're able to get down here!

Will do.

[slyder1]

Those are great pics of the fourth SBCmetroguy.......The city looks amazing in those photos!

BTW I think we could help each other out by checking in on one another's forum....it seems like are forums are not as popular as others.

Edited July 8, 2006 by NCB

[dimebag1980]

Hey Slider, thanks for posting. Yeah, this forum is hit-and-miss, but it's got some great people. We need more urban news coming out of Shreveport-Bossier so this place can be hopping.

Here's my contribution for today... a few photos of Holy Trinity Church in downtown Shreveport:

I'm assuming the small house in these shots is the church parsonage.

[NCB]

Wow, Holy Trinity Catholid Church is beautiful! Great pics man, and the sizes are nice!

[dimebag1980]

Wow, Holy Trinity Catholid Church is beautiful! Great pics man, and the sizes are nice!

Thanks, Nate. I believe it was you and Rod who mentioned the sizes being too small, so I was hoping I did good with these new photos!

And yes, I love that church and have been wanting a better camera to photograph it with. My old camera would have done it no justice. I also had to get up the nerve to walk around that part of downtown with a $1,000 camera hanging from my neck and my wallet in my pocket. I had some uncomfortable situations, but mostly just panhandling. I came out okay and I think the photos did as well!

[NCB]

Thanks, Nate. I believe it was you and Rod who mentioned the sizes being too small, so I was hoping I did good with these new photos!

And yes, I love that church and have been wanting a better camera to photograph it with. My old camera would have done it no justice. I also had to get up the nerve to walk around that part of downtown with a $1,000 camera hanging from my neck and my wallet in my pocket. I had some uncomfortable situations, but mostly just panhandling. I came out okay and I think the photos did as well!

Oh I know the feeling. I don't even like walking around with a $650(including lens) camera around my neck in downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter, which both aren't very dangerous, especially after Katrina. You become a lot more conscience of your surroundings, and I always watch the eyes of anyone that looks suspicious to me.

One very good thing that came out from me growing up in a major American city, and a dangerous one at that, is that I damn well know how to handle myself in an urban enviornment like that.

[dimebag1980]

Oh I know the feeling. I don't even like walking around with a $650(including lens) camera around my neck in downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter, which both aren't very dangerous, especially after Katrina. You become a lot more conscience of your surroundings, and I always watch the eyes of anyone that looks suspicious to me.

One very good thing that came out from me growing up in a major American city, and a dangerous one at that, is that I damn well know how to handle myself in an urban enviornment like that.

Very true. Had I not grown up in a bad neighborhood and had to learn to get myself out of a bind at an early age, I'd have probably been an easy target. I've learned to keep one hand on my knife whenever possible, and always look around first. Actually after I took the photos of the church, I was taking photos of an old, abandoned high-rise (I'll post those soon) when I saw a guy come up out of the ghetto to the west. Once he saw me, he made a beeline for me, and I moved swiftly through the bottom floor of a parking garage and got myself back into an area where there were actually some signs of life.

I think the worst of the panhandling and uncomfortable situations actually occurred when I was photographing Courthouse Square and the Slattery Building, and that's a very public area with lots of traffic. But Courthouse Square is known for bums sleeping on benches and that's where my problems mainly came into play.

[richyb83]

Great job Brian ! Classic pics. I am glad yall are street smart. Esp. with the expensive equipment. It's good to always be aware of your surroundings. Keep up the great work !

[dimebag1980]

Great job Brian ! Classic pics. I am glad yall are street smart. Esp. with the expensive equipment. It's good to always be aware of your surroundings. Keep up the great work !

Thanks for the compliments on the photos, Richy!

And yeah, the street smarts are important, but I have realized lately, though, that since I've lived in good neighborhoods for the past few years, I've actually started to look more preppy and lose a bit of my street smarts. :-/ It's kind of scary to think that one of these days I could become an easy target just by losing what I learned as a child and young man.

[NCB]

I didn't grow up in a particularly dangerous neighborhood compared to other parts of New Orleans, but if there is a place in New Orleans to get robbed, especially at night, it's the French Quarter. I can spot someone eyeing me or my camera from a mile away, and the guys looking me over can tell I'm not a tourist, just because I know I have a swagger and a vibe that tells them I know what I'm doing and I'm familiar with this city. It's amazing to me sometimes just how much growing up in an urban enviornment, and maybe not even that dangerous of an urban enviornment, can affect your street smarts when you grow up. On my last photo tour in New Orleans, I was walking around the French Quarter headed towards Central Crocery on Decatur, with one of my friends with me. This guy grew up in a very rich family in a very wealthy subdivision on the lakefront in Mandeville here on the Northshore, and he's an awesome dude, but, he just has no urban street smarts whatsoever. He was walking around with a Nikon D200 DSLR, which is a $1700 camera without a lens, and he was just holding it by the neck strap letting it dangle down around his knees. In a place like the French Quarter, you might as well be asking someone to steal it. And by the time I was old enough to work a camera as a kid, I knew never to do that in New Orleans, or anywhere else.

[NCB]

And yeah, the street smarts are important, but I have realized lately, though, that since I've lived in good neighborhoods for the past few years, I've actually started to look more preppy and lose a bit of my street smarts. :-/ It's kind of scary to think that one of these days I could become an easy target just by losing what I learned as a child and young man.

What!?

What about "the man may leave the city but the city never leaves the man?"

That's still the case for me right now, and I don't expect that to change. I spent to much time in some of New Orleans' most dangerous neighborhoods, from the 13th Ward to Hollygrove, for my street smarts and "street tough" style to leave me now.

[dimebag1980]

What!?

What about "the man may leave the city but the city never leaves the man?"

That's still the case for me right now, and I don't expect that to change. I spent to much time in some of New Orleans' most dangerous neighborhoods, from the 13th Ward to Hollygrove, for my street smarts and "street tough" style to leave me now.

Hey, I've been very surprised. But I just haven't had any crime to put up with in the places I've lived since leaving that neighborhood. I used to feel so comfortable in that neighborhood, being a thug and walking the streets at night, but these days I lock my doors when I'm going to visit my parents. I'm so uncomfortable in those situations when I once was completely comfortable with them. My little brother thinks it's funny how disgusted and uncomfortable I am with that neighborhood, but I don't think it's funny.

[dimebag1980]

You know, the simple fact that I found myself basically running away when I saw that guy making a beeline for me was shocking to me. There was a time when I wouldn't react like that but would rather talk to the guy like he was one of my friends.

People change, and while I think I've changed for the better in many ways, in some ways I hate it.

[richyb83]

Brian , don't understimate those seeds that were planted early in your life when refering to now losing some your street smarts. Your instincts would kick-back-in during times of trouble.

Swagger and vibe is everything. The thugs are looking for a weakness in peoples body language in most cases. But I realize that those thugs could be so high it may not matter. I understand where you are coming from Nate.

[NCB]

You know, the simple fact that I found myself basically running away when I saw that guy making a beeline for me was shocking to me. There was a time when I wouldn't react like that but would rather talk to the guy like he was one of my friends.

People change, and while I think I've changed for the better in many ways, in some ways I hate it.

Hey believe me, I completely understand that. For me, I've literally been making sure I don't change, if you know what I mean. Covington is the suburbs, and until Katrina, there hadn't been a murder here since 2002. That is far from what I'm used to, when you didn't see a murder in New Orleans on the news, it was a very big deal. I started to really come of age and "grow up" so to speak in 1993-95, when New Orleans' crime and murder rate got so high, many parts of the the city, per capita, were some of the most dangerous areas in the world, especially the 13th Ward, where I ended up later spending a lot of my time hanging out, and I was a white kid too. Looking back, it's a miracle I didn't get killed in some situations in the city. I thought it was a badass as a teen, and that I was in charge, but now I realize just how stupid I was in some situations.

[dimebag1980]

The swagger thing is funny to me, because that's something I still have a bit of as well. My wife has asked me before, "did you know that you have a 'walk'"? When I asked what she meant, she said you could tell that I was from the ghetto when I walked. Thankfully that's toned down a bit over time, but back when she said it I didn't know whether or not to be offended.

[NCB]

The swagger thing is funny to me, because that's something I still have a bit of as well. My wife has asked me before, "did you know that you have a 'walk'"? When I asked what she meant, she said you could tell that I was from the ghetto when I walked. Thankfully that's toned down a bit over time, but back when she said it I didn't know whether or not to be offended.

I've never been told I have a "walk" but I have had people comment on my swagger and stature when I'm walking around in a city or an area where I feel I need to keep my guard up. I don't try to look like this, but some people have told me that I have a "don't try anything" look/stature when I'm in the city. I don't really know if that's a good thing, but I guess it's me.

[dimebag1980]

My contributions for July 9, 2006...

Two different views of the Beaird Tower: