Louisiana Wetlands
Growing up in New Orleans, the wetlands have always been a part of my life. As a child I fished with my father in the Louisiana swamps, a rich habitat for fish, game, reptiles and hundreds of species of birds. At that time, I was aware of their abundance, but not their vulnerability to climate change. Since the 1930s, Louisiana’s protective belt of marsh grasses and cypress trees has eroded, eliminating more than 1,880 square miles of coastline, which acts as a buffer against tropical storms. On New Years’ Day 2013, I began a journey photographing the wetlands. In a small fishing boat, I systematically explored the edges of uninhabited lands and a lost island near Morgan City, where I discovered the hidden and bountiful wetlands that had protected me all my life.
