L.A. Reno Photography

Peace Love & Hummus

2011-11-19T09:43:00.001-08:00

Peace Love & Hummus from LA Reno Photography on Vimeo.
mini documentary and celebration video reel for The Sentient Bean's 10 year anniversary. The Sentient Bean is a (RADICAL) fair trade vegetarian cafe in Savannah, GA that has been "brewing coffee and community" since September 2001.

Cup my Coffee

2011-06-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Multimedia piece explaining what a professional coffee cupping entails.
This piece made for Cooperative Coffees during their annual meeting held in Austin, TX in 2009.

Trim Scene - Northern California in the Fall of 2010

2011-04-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

medical marijuana harvest in the lush landscape of northern cali is comprised of beautifully scenery, hard work, sticky hands, long days, music, stars, sore backs, fiskers, camp chairs, commradery and shuffle shame..... here's a snap shot:

St. Joseph's Night 2011

2011-03-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Big Chief Victor Harris of Fi Ya Ya Mandigo Warriors coming out for St. Joeseph's Night in the 7th Ward. (Again, GOD.BLESS.THIS.CITY.)

Black Men of Labor 2010

2010-09-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Black Men of Labor annual second line down in New Orleans on Sept. 7th, 2010!!!

Chicken Mart!!!!!

2010-04-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorites from Super Sunday..... I'm currently in the throws of terrifying thesis work (Due in 9 days ------ YIKES!!!), here is yet another taste tester:

Super Sunday in New Orleans: Part One

2010-03-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

I have to keep the actual Mardi Gras Indians to myself for a little bit, but here is just a quick shot from Super Sunday. This impromptu session in front of the main stage happened as the parade first began to trickle in to the park - Soul Rebel Brass Band kept the momentum going....

God bless this place.

St. Joseph's Night in NOLA

2010-03-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

OK, there are one million more where this came from, but as I am still in the Crescent City and still trying to figure out the structure for this project, here is just a little peak at what I've been up to:

Michael Tenner Jr., Spyboy for the Comanche Hunters, poses in front of Vernon Freeman, Flagboy for the tribe, in front of the House of Dance and Feathers in the Lower Ninth Ward. St. Joseph's night was the first time that Michael Jr. at age 6 masked Indian. The pose is both for photographs and a part of preparations for the evening. Even though he is only 6 years old, it is expected that Michael Jr, as Spyboy of the Comanche Hunters will always be in front of Freeman, looking out for other Indians.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans - Northside Skull and Bones Gang

2010-02-25T16:29:00.000-08:00

These are images I took on Mardi Gras day starting at about 6:30 in the morning until maybe 7:30 or 8am, as the Northside Skull and Bones Gang (With members that include Bruce Sunpie Barnes and Ronald Lewis) first came out the door of the Backstreet museum in the Treme. The gang then went all through the neighborhood and into the French Quarterbanging on people's doors and windows waking them up and announcing the arrival of Mardi Gras day with their slogan, "You next!!"

Here are some of my favorite images from the morning...

Hiatus Extremus - Part 2

2010-02-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some shots from the month of January. These are from the CTC (Cross The Canal) Social Aid and Pleasure Club's Annual Second Line on Jan 31, 2010 with music from the Stooges Brass Band.... one of the most unique parades I've been to because of the costume change, the min-float, the past Queens, and of course the great walk from the Lower Nine over the canal where the drawbridge operator blew the horn in celebration and looked out at the passing parade. In other words, it was a rad parade yet again!

Hiatus Extremus

2010-02-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

A million years ago I meant to update this sucker... But, rest assured, dear friends, I have been shooting! Here is brief sample of some of my favorite random shots from the month of December....

My Favorite Pair of Genes: Part Three (My Nana and Papa - AKA the coolest people I know.)

New Years Eve Debauchery in all its glory....

Sibling love...

and finally, I leave you with this gem - a portrait of my inner soul in my grandfather's form!

Unpacking the Indians (Part One)

2009-11-27T13:38:00.000-08:00

So, after going to Mardi Gras Indian practice a few weeks ago and really trying to figure out my approach to covering this phenomenon, I realized that most basic place to start is in attempting to define the cultural marvel itself. So, to borrow from the (radical) author Ned Sublette, who put my own feelings so succinctly into prose, “I don’t claim to be the guy who knows the most about New Orleans, and I don’t claim to speak for New Orleans, but I speak for the New Orleans that’s in me.” (The Year Before the Flood) What follows is my personal interpretation of this unique sub-culture. I am no expert and I wholly accept that I may be totally off base. Take this for what it is… the impressions that a city and culture have left on a young woman left completely, desperately, and unashamedly in-love with it.

The History

A great place to start is this clip of a documentary about the Black Indians of New Orleans (A sort of synonym for Mardi Gras Indians, who locals seems most likely to refer to as simply "The Injuns"). The clip is only 9mins long and stops aburptly and I can't seem to dig up the subsequent clips anywhere, but it is a good place to start none-the-less....

Wikipedia defines the Mardi Gras Indians as Carnival revelers who mask as Native America Indians.... this is true, but the story is far more complex than just that.

Basically, the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans are a cultural phenomenon that dates back to at least the mid 19th Century and is either a tradition that was born out of the reverence African-American slaves felt for the benevolence of Native American Indians who took them in when they ran away from their masters or it's a tradition that was born out of the lure of Buffalo Bill's Wilds West show that was in NoLa in the 1880s or it is a tradition that has its roots firmly in the tribal customs and living role play that originates in Africa OR..... as I suspect, a combination of all three.

No matter how it started, the tradition manifests itself in the marriage of Native American dress, African color pallets, beaded artwork, African rhythms and movements, hand sewing, living theater role-play, prayer, and soulful resistance to racist oppression.

One of the most powerful experiences I have ever had happened inside practice a few weeks ago when, while on my knees trying to photograph, the visions of African tribes dancing and drumming entered my mind and I realized that the pulses of Africa are still thumping in New Orleans as the traditions, rhythms, and dances of the continent are manifested as ancient memories and acknowledged and nurtured in such heritage traditions as Indian masking... more to come on that sentiment, but I highly recommend this entire documentary, and especially the part about the Indians and their seemingly unconscious symbiotic relationship to the tribesmen of West Africa.

Watch This:

FolkStreams » Jazz Parades

(A sneak peak of my images of Mardi Gras Indians. A Wild Man on the porch of the Backstreet Cultural Museum on Mardi Gras day 2007.)

Stay tuned.... the next post will try to explain just what it is that the Indians do.....

Mardi Gras Indian Practice!!!!

2009-11-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

Last week, while in New Orleans with the Recession-Where Y'at student group from UT, I made the connection I thought would take me at least 5 years to make within the Mardi Gras Indian community of New Orleans!

While at the Original Four Social Aid and Pleasure Club's Annual Secondline, with music from the Stooges Brass Band....

...(which was way fun, per usual) an extremely photogenic lady I have shot many times throughout the years at these parades entered my lens.

Yaa, as she likes to be known, told me that she recognized me and wants to see some photos I've taken of her. I of course gave her my card and then our conversation was distracted by something so, I went on shooting and she went on dancing. After a few minutes I felt a tug on my shirt. As I looked back to see who it was, Yaa let out her signiture "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!" yell and smiled real big and pulled me down to her level. (Yaa is probably no taller than 4 feet 9 inches, in my estimation....but her personality is at least 7 feet tall!) She hollered in my ear that she is in a Social Aid and Pleasure Club, but her parade had just rolled last weekend. Then she said the magical words I've always wanted to hear. "Reno, baby, I want you to take my S & P Club's picture all the time. Maybe you can come to next year's parade?" Ummm, "No problem! Of Course! I love that," all came out of my mouth in one breath. And then, just when I thought it couldn't get any better she adds in, "AND I'm a Mardi Gras Indian and we got practice tonight. You wanna come?" WHAT? Is this real? Do I wanna come?! Not only do I wanna come"\, I think to myself, "but I also want to switch Master's Projects and move here now!!! Dang.

Here's a small (very small) sneak peak of what's to come. (Truth be told, shooting Mardi Indian Practice that night was one of the most difficult things I've ever tried to shoot. There is basically no light at all in the small bar where The Wild Magnolias hold practice every Sunday night. Its also jam-packed with people and includes some very fast movements. I've got to figure out how I'm going to over come the lack of light situation so, if any of you photogs out there have a suggestion that does not involve flash, Id love to hear it!):

Stay tuned on this one for sure...........

(Also, for more information on what exactly a Mardi Gras Indian is - check back in a couple of days. I'm gonna throw together a little something to help explain it all, but in the meantime, just know that it's completely RADICAL to the MAXXXXXXX!)

The City the Recession Forgot - Part Deux

2009-10-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

After three weeks of preparations and three magical days on the ground, the student trip to New Orleans to cover how the national recession is effecting the city is half done. We got to NoLa on Oct 22 and reported through part of the 25th.

We have all made it safely back to Austin and are collectively scrambling to catch up on all our other classes. This coming Saturday (AKA Halloween!) we will all congregate for yet another time to finalize our projects and post everything to the web.

In the meantime, check out our blog to read our initial essays and see our teaser gallery:

http://recession-whereyat.blogspot.com/

Stay tuned for more on this project in the coming week....

Cooperative Coffees Annual Conference 2009 - Austin, TX

2009-10-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of hanging out with some 40 fair trade coffee roasters from around the US and Canada last weekend here in Austin, as Cooperative Coffees held their annual conference and celebrated their ten-year anniversary.

"Cooperative Coffees is a green coffee importing cooperative, comprised of 23 community based coffee roasters in the USA and Canada, committed to building and supporting equitable and sustainable trade relationships for the benefit of farmers and their exporting cooperatives, families and communities. We strive to promote transparent Fair Trade and sustainable development alternatives in both the North and the South, while continuing to sell the highest quality coffee on the market. "
---Taken from http://www.coopcoffees.com/

I got to photograph the general meetings, the after party, the kayaking trip (Yikes! I went out on that lake/river in a kayak with an ridiculous amount of money in camera gear - none of which was mine), as well as the cuppings.

By far, my favorite stuff is actually from the cuppings, not the kayaking trip as one might expect. What makes these images really cool are the sounds of slurping and spitting that go along with them. And, yes, I totally collected that audio and will produce a soundslides soon......Stay tuned!

"The City the Recession Forgot"

2009-09-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

Eli Reed, Magnum photographer extraordinaire and Associate Professor at University of Texas at Austin's Photojournalism Department, is teaching the intro class for first year graduate students this semester as a production class about the economy here in Austin. He wants to expand that class's scope and take them to New Orleans for a short three day trip in October to try and cover the story of the economic down turn in crescent city as well.

He has asked me to serve as resident NOLA Guru for the team that goes down and I have decided to chronicle my experience both logistical (trying to help guide a group of rowdy journalists) and intellectually (trying to develop my own understanding of the city I love, yet am confounded by). I will basically be doing a great deal of preliminary research and reporting ("fixing", if you will) for all participants before we go so that those folks can just hit the ground running.

I have asked Jen Reel, Christina Burke and Dawn Jones Garcia (All rad visual journalists) to help me head up an editorial team that will get all work produced posted online at least once while we are there and again when we return and finalize the projects. (This is all scheduled to happen at the end of October and I intend to post links to said webspace soon!) The editing team will also serve as structure gurus should anyone need any guidance and/or someone to bounce their ideas off of both before and after we get there. (This model is loosely based off of Tracy Dahlby's used during the China Maymester - See www.chinaonthemove.net for more of an idea of what we are going for.)

I have suggested that all participants and editors read Tom Piazza's Why New Orleans Matters. This is quick, but efficient read to help you all understand what it is that make New Orleans a unique American city. The first half is just a good general background book on the mindset, social/political climate, and cultural richness of this historically poor and corrupt city that bubbles over with life. The second half is the author, a journalist for the Times Picayune's (New Orleans local newspaper) explanation of what the Storm did to the city, how it was able to wreak such havoc, and what his concerns were for the future (He wrote the book just after the storm.) While what the participants of the project will be doing down there is directly covering the story of the economy and not the story of the flood or of the rebuilding, anything and everything they do in New Orleans will be, at least, indirectly tied to the events of August 29th, 2005 and the days followed. It will behoove them all to be familiar with how locals perceive those events as they move forward with their stories.

In addition, I have suggested that they all do as much reading up on the situation as possible. A really rad article on the recession in NOLA I found was this one, posted on the CityBusiness Blog:

http://neworleanscitybusiness.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/recession-proof-new-orleans/

*Some of the best points are actually made in the comments section of this piece. More to come on that later....

Black Men of Labor 2009

2009-09-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

kiddie pools

2009-08-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

summer: take two

2009-08-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

summer so far

2009-06-17T10:55:00.001-07:00

Texas Student Photographers Association Photo Show

2009-05-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

We are a collection of 21 student photographers from the University of Texas at Austin exhibiting our work in a show titled "Who, What, Where." Come out to this photo show on May 15th from 7pm-10pm if you are in Austin!! (2401 East 6th St, Suite 2028)

Chasing the Dragon... My version

2009-04-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

This is a throw-away shot from a year and half ago that I just rediscovered. It might be my favorite.

Mardi Gras 09

2009-04-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

The Vortex (AKA El Paso)

2009-03-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

While working on a project about the rate of type two diabetes at the US/Mexico border this semester, I have discovered that the border is its whole own dimension. The space-time continuum means nothing in this mystical place of sand and blistering sun coupled with Golden Corrals and Luby's abounding.... anyway, these are my favorite shots from the experience so far, despite being totally irrelevant to the diabetes story!

Family

2009-03-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

back to china

2009-03-09T21:11:00.001-07:00

Inauguration Obamarama '09

2009-02-02T18:39:00.001-08:00

2009-01-26T14:05:00.000-08:00

holiday hometown... with flashlights!

2008-12-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

the book!

2008-12-04T20:17:00.001-08:00

GenderQueer:Li...

A Collection Of Ph...

By L.A. Reno

Book Preview

genderqueer: life outside the binary

2008-12-04T11:23:00.000-08:00

These are some of my favorites from the project I have been working on all semester about genderqueer identity. the first two are a guy named johnny and the bottom one is a guy named jayson- both are biologically born females who live at various points along the gender spectrum. All in all this was a rad project to do.

nana

2008-11-29T19:34:00.001-08:00

thanksforgiving

2008-11-29T17:46:00.000-08:00

my genes...

2008-11-29T17:14:00.000-08:00

B-Sides from the Genderqueer Mixtape

2008-11-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

testosterone

Lambs for Obama

2008-11-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

"We need him baaaaaaad!"

Before (Grant Park, Chicago, IL - Nov. 4, 2008)

2008-11-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

During (Grant Park, Chicago, IL - Nov. 4, 2008)

2008-11-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

After (Grant Park, Chicago, IL - Nov. 4, 2008)

2008-11-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

more nola...ps my name backwards is ReNOLA

2008-10-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

New Orleans in October

2008-10-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

baroness- the second visit

2008-10-19T15:36:00.001-07:00

i'm addicted

2008-10-12T15:11:00.001-07:00

more ACL

2008-10-12T14:34:00.001-07:00

ACL

2008-10-12T14:31:00.001-07:00

irene

2008-09-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

ChinaChinaChina

2008-08-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

hey dude!

2008-07-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

BARONESS

2008-04-24T12:59:00.001-07:00

i can't wait for summer

2008-04-24T12:46:00.001-07:00

NOLA show prints

2008-04-13T19:36:00.000-07:00