Hurricane Story

I was nine months pregnant and due in less than a week when Hurricane Katrina blew into the Gulf. In the early hours of August 28, 2005 my husband and I loaded up our small truck with two cats, two dogs, two crates full of negatives, all our important papers and a few changes of clothes. We evacuated to a motel in southern Alabama and tried not to watch the news. Monday, August 29 brought the convergence of two major life changing events; the destruction of New Orleans and the birth of our son. It was two long months and 6000 miles on the road before we were able to return home.

Hurricane Story is a depiction of our family’s evacuation experience - the birth, the travels and the return. These photographs represent various elements of our ordeal. The project began as a cathartic way to process some of the lingering anger and anxiety over that bittersweet journey. It grew into a narrative series of self-portraits in toys that illustrate my experiences and emotional state during our time in exile.

Video: Jen tells her story.

Video: Feature of story.

Nature/Nurture

These studies focus on minute elements of the landscape, both tame and wild. Working with a modified plastic camera, I shot these images from the hip, honing in on details, textures and light. From the seeds of a spent rose, to a bee in the act of pollinating, these photographs depict intimate visions of plant life as it cycles from bud to seed.