Heavy sacks of uncertainty

Last Wednesday 7-21-10, I filmed in Lake Méchant where the Voisin family of Houma harvests their crop of oysters for their very successful Motivatit Seafood company. Motivatit employs a lot of local people as well as many Central American immigrants who depend on a steady source of income. I found the company to be a stellar example of old fashioned American work ethic and proper resource management.

Dr. Doug Inlkey of the National Wildlife Federation was on hand to learn all that he could about the BP Oil Spill's effects on the Gulf Coast Oyster industry. It was a pleasure to work with Doug and I appreciated his usual passion and pride in helping our situation.

Moving through the media muck

Two days ago the BP Oil Spill marked three months into the minds of gulf coast residents. I regretfully admit to be one of those people.

I've been following the oil spill story through many media sources. I've even produced a few stories of my own. Working with the people, seeing the environment, and noticing the changes has given me a special insight into the disaster -- one that I've felt comfortable sharing with others. I've tried to stay in touch with the story even on my days off by observing what others are saying. I've tried to be diverse in my intake by picking sources from around the country. The links below reflect the media sources I've been using on a daily basis:

The Conservationist, Field and Stream Magazine - Contributors include New Orleans' own Bob Marshall as well as acclaimed outdoor writer Hal Herring. An excellent source for anyone interested in the outdoors.

LACoastpost.com - Dr. Len Bahr was an Coastal Policy adviser for former Louisiana Governor Mike Foster. LACoastpost.com is his pet project that is quickly blossoming into a heavily frequented and very controversial blog.

Gulf Restoration Network - The Youtube channel for the local non-profit's video efforts. Of particular interest is the Gulf Tides Series of Mini-Documentaries of which I am lucky to be working on.

WWL.com - The New Orleans based talk radio station's website. You can live stream their broadcasts. When these guys get heated up, there's no cooling them down.

New York Times Video - You may have to browse through to find spill related stories, but I can promise the filmmakers for this page are some very talented folks. I also recommend browsing through their main page.

Margaret Coble - My neighbor "Mags" is a voracious poster of poignant online material regarding the spill. Friend her on Facebook and I promise you will not miss a beat in the digital realm.

Bob Marshall - Bob is a mentor of mine and I always appreciate his point of view. His stories for the Times Picayune about Louisiana's Coast have been read and respected all around the world.

Tough Times, Tar Balls, and Tourists

Gulf Tides is a web series that I've started shooting for. The show is edited by my good friend Gino at NOLA Image Works and the series is produced by the Gulf Restoration Network.

Please take some time to view the previous episodes 1-4 as well and let me know what you think.

Louisiana Lightning Storm

On Friday 7-16 I headed down to Buras to film a fishing trip with Sal Cusimano. In spite of waking up at 3am to get there on time, we canceled the trip because of bad weather. Travelling home on Highway 23, I found myself surrounded by a lightning storm. The ominous clouds and the bright lightning made for a perfect backdrop so I pulled over and started filming.

Unorthodox is the key

I'm very proud of Louisiana native Drew Landry for showing guts in front of President Obama's Oil Spill Committee.