Bringing the Park that was destroyed by hurricane katrina back to life through imagery and imagination.
As a fair warning, there is currently secuity located at Jazzland 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So I don’t recommend trying to get in without permission. If i ask you to come with me to the park to shoot, it’s being done with permission.
I first came to Jazzland, aka Six Flags New Orleans a decade ago in a visit that was documented in my Youtube video that chronicled the destruction, decay and the state of the park that had been sitting vacant since the devastating effects of hurricane Katrina in August of 2005.
And I instantly fell in love with this magical, mysterious and wild place.
The park originally opened as Jazzland as a nod to the city of of New Orleans. Some time later it changed hands of ownership over to the Six Flags Corporation which ran it as Six Flags New Orleans, Jazzland. But following the devastating effects of Katrina, the park was closed and never reopened.
Since that initial visit I have visited the park countless times over the past decade conducting a variey of landscape and model photo shoots, as well as recording countless hours of video and drone footage.
Some have said that I love this place more than any other shooting location in the world. And that might just be true.
There’s always a part of me that can hear the Jazz music playing, the laughs and screams of the kids and families that once walked these sidewalks, and smell the aroma of popcorn that once filled the air.
In prior visits I did so many times without permission which have been documented via numerous Youtube videos and more. But unlike some of the vandals and others who have also come to see the park for themselves, I have a true reverance for this place and what it represents. And my goal has always been about preserving and showing the beauty of what the buildings, rides, and nature have to offer, vs. trying to do anything that would lead to it’s further demise.
The park can be described as beautiful, creepy, wondrous, enigmatic, haunting and humbling. and i find all of those perspectives to be amazing to document.
In more recent times I have been asked to come to Jazzland to document things in an official capacity as the city and developers look to reimagine what can be done with this mystical and historical place. It’s been an honor to be included in thsi process. And I feel especially fortunate to be able to provide a decade’s worth of photographic and video history for Jazzland.
I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Jazzland as we all try to build a better future while preserving the precious details of the past.
It’s my sincere hope that someday many other creatives will be able to experience the wonder and beauty of this place for themselves. And I hope to be able to be there with them when they do.
Interested in learning more about the park or working with me at jazzland as part of the project?
Send me a message by completing my CONTACT form today!
Images taken over the years at the abandoned six flags new orleans, jazzland
