The untold stories of Louisiana flood victims by Baton Rouge photographers
A team of four Baton Rouge-based photographers has started to tell the previously untold stories of southern Louisiana flood victims through the "Humans of the Water" photography collection. Since last Tuesday, hundreds of individuals have posed with their most precious belongings, salvaged from the wreckage, to send their own messages about survival to the wider world.
The project started with photographer Collin Richie, who graduated from Magnet High School in Shreveport and later went on to create his own photography studio in Baton Rouge. Richie was given a simple assignment last Tuesday: get a picture of the Cajun Navy for an editorial. That assignment put him directly in the path of destruction caused by the current flooding in southern Louisiana.
Richie encountered people — people who felt lost, overlooked, worried and scared —picking pieces of their lives out of the decimation of their homes. He decided they needed to be given an alternative voice to tell their stories.
He gathered three other photographers — David Morris, Frank McMains and Kristin Basilica — and started “Humans of the Water,” a collection of photographs telling the stories of those who have survived the most recent round of flooding.
“We’re trying to show what they saved more than what they lost,” Richie said.
The portraits include a photograph of Adam, a man wearing a blue bandana over his soaked hair and heavy work gloves that cradle a framed sign reading “Faith.” The caption reads: The first thing Adam did when he returned home was straighten the “Faith” sign above his door, creating a sense of normalcy and hope for what he faced.
One portrait tells the story of Katie and Nick, a Denham Springs couple who recently remodeled their home and then watched as six feet of water destroyed everything. Another shows two young girls, Zoey and Katelynn, holding hands in front of a pile of ruined belongings and desperate signs begging passers-by to leave the belongings there as proof of loss for FEMA evaluators.
Richie said he started interviewing people Tuesday.
"At first I was hesitant to walk up to people, but I haven’t had a single person tell me no. I had an overwhelming number of people contact me and tell me to talk to other people they knew," Richie said.
Another portrait in the "Humans of the Water" series shows 82-year-old Hilton Pray, of Denham Springs, holding a water-damaged photograph with hundreds of others splayed around his feet, to dry on his porch. Pray lost thousands of photographs after four feet of water flooded his home and destroyed the village—including a general store and chapel— he had started building behind his home in 1995.
Richie said the flooding touched people from every demographic group more than any other catastrophe he's seen. His group of photographers heard stories from the working class as well as the affluent, from every background and walk of life. But Richie said what’s struck him most is people’s humility in the face of adversity.
Richie said his team has taken more than 100 photographs in the last five days.The project has reminded him of the larger impact photography can have on the world.
"I forget sometimes how much of an impact we can make as photographers. In this situation, people felt left out. They’re scared they’re not going to get the FEMA money, scared their stories are not going to be heard," Richie said. "This project is photographers doing what they can to give people a voice."
The project also has had a unique impact on him.
"Normally as a photographer, I take a picture and leave," Richie said. "With this project, I’m more involved with the people. I feel emotionally invested in their recovery. Eventually I would like to circle back to the people I’ve talked to, a year from now, to see where they are."
AT A GLANCE:
What: "Humans of the Water" photography collection of the stories of more than 100 southern Louisiana flood victims
Who: Photographers Collin Richie, David Morris, Frank McMains and Kristin Basilica
Where: Denham Springs, Baker, Watson, Baton Rouge and other locations in southern Louisiana
Why: Flood victims felt overlooked by mainstream media. The project gives them a chance to tell their stories, which would otherwise have gone untold.
See the ongoing collection of stories at 'Humans of the Water' on Facebook or follow Richie's work on Instagram at collinrichiephoto