When Hurricane Katrina spared the city of New Orleans the full brunt of its force by skirting it at the last moment, many breathed a sigh of relief. While nature may have spared the city direct destruction, man's own defenses against these storms failed him and the levees of New Orleans burst, taking the lives of some of the unfortunate that remained there and forever changing those that had fled.

These images, all shot after midnight in the week leading up to the one year...
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When Hurricane Katrina spared the city of New Orleans the full brunt of its force by skirting it at the last moment, many breathed a sigh of relief. While nature may have spared the city direct destruction, man's own defenses against these storms failed him and the levees of New Orleans burst, taking the lives of some of the unfortunate that remained there and forever changing those that had fled.

These images, all shot after midnight in the week leading up to the one year anniversary of the levees breaking, portray the patchwork of progress and life in the many different neighborhoods of New Orleans. In some neighborhoods, such as the French Quarter, life goes on as it always has, tourists drinking their beer, listening to music, frequenting strip clubs. Other areas, like much of New Orleans East, lie in total ruin, possibly untouched since the disaster struck. And still other neighborhoods such as Lakeview or Gentilly are a kaleidoscope of situations, untouched houses next to those under construction, temporary trailers and lights lining one street, darkness the next. Perhaps the disparity is most apparent in Uptown New Orleans, where neighborhoods change from rich to poor in the space of blocks.
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