Just Keep Pedaling: New Orleans -- Tours by foot, bus and bike!

He had a work conference in New Orleans and she needed a vacation, so she tagged along and found things to do during the days to occupy herself.

First up:

Thursday, May 9, 2019 (morning)

American Photo Safari

American Photo Safari "French Quarter" walking tour with guide Natasha Sanchez (#nola_photosafari). According to their website, "What happens when you combine a sightseeing tour and a photography class? American Photo Safari! Grab your camera, put on your walking shoes and join us for a fun and informative Photography Workshop in the heart of New Orleans. No more boring snapshots!"

I've always wished I was more talented with both the technical aspects of a camera and also had a more artistic eye for photographic composition than I do, so this looked right up my alley.

I was to meet up with my guide/instructor in Jackson Square at the gate in front of the St. Louis Cathedral. I took these two pictures while standing there waiting for her to arrive (and hoping I would be able to figure out who I was waiting for!) LOL

After asking one person who was wearing an ID badge on a lanyard around her neck if she was with American Photo Safari and having her look at me at like I had 3 heads and purple polka-dotted skin, I determined that was indeed not who I was looking for and I meekly stood there quietly after that and just waited a little anxiously.

Luckily, a few minutes later, a person with a professional-looking camera around her neck approached me, introduced herself as Natasha from American Photo Safari, and we were good to go. It was then that I learned I was the sole participant for this morning's tour (awesome!). By being the only participant I got a one-on-one 2-1/2-hour guided tour with personalized instruction from a professional photographer for $69. Who can beat that?

We talked for a few minutes to enable her to gauge my level of experience and comfort with my camera and its settings. I already (sort of) understood the concept of the exposure triangle of aperture, shutter speed and ISO, but putting all those moving parts together in the right scenarios I just haven't been able to grasp.

She provided me with a photography info card that included at-a-glance graphics of depth of field, white balance, shooting modes, and exposure, as well as a step-by-step flow chart of things to ask yourself as you prepare to compose and take a shot.

We then put my camera (a Sony Cybershot RX100) into aperture shooting mode and we started composing shots, with me following her lead. She gave me several suggestions to creatively frame the cathedral while at the same time giving a sense of place to the scene with those framing elements.

First, framing with the palm trees.....

...... then a little further back across the square with the wrought iron fence, because New Orleans and wrought iron fences go together like peanut butter and jelly.

.... then, moving the camera down about 3 inches to frame it with a different part of the fence, providing a triangular frame to echo the triangles of the spires.

Then, around to the side of the cathedral to use the overhanging tree limbs as another frame, as well as incorporating the iron fence with the spires that mimic the cathedral.

Look down to capture the reflection of the spires in a puddle on the flagstone sidewalk.

We moved inside the cathedral where I struggled with the dark conditions. Not happy with this one at all, because the light of the chandelier is really blown out, and also the chandelier part of the picture looks like it's a completely separate picture from the curved ceiling. It's screaming "snapshot quality" and it looks like two separate pictures were put together with a picture collage app.

We worked for a few minutes on this one below, with Natasha helping me to adjust my exposure compensation to attempt to not lose the details in the stained glass from the backlight. Notice on the left hand side of the picture about midway down: The door of the confessional had a shiny piece of wood at the top and the outreached hand from the stained glass window is reflected there.

Back outside, down the alley, and down on my knees and elbows to get this shot. I think I was supposed to get the lamppost at the far end reflecting in the water in the gutter and I obviously didn't.

She said this shot of this street light, with the shape of the corner of the roof echoed above it was suggested to her by a participant on a previous tour, and she calls it the "pagoda shot". I see now that I should have moved the camera just a fraction more to line up the angle of the streetlight with the angle of the railing. But that's almost impossible to see on the small viewfinder with my not-so-young eyes! :)

I really, really like pictures of weathered, textured doorways, so brace yourself, as there are many more coming. LOL
Disclaimer: No doorway pictures were Natasha-suggested shots.

In the French Quarter, the street names are artistically embedded in the sidewalk and I had to get this shot for my beloved KC Royals.

A musical instrument in a musical city: A dismantled tuba laying on the sidewalk. I assume its owner was probably nearby keeping a close eye on it.

"Romeo spikes". I'll refer you to Google to ascertain their purpose.

New Orleans has, visible from the sidewalk, many lovely courtyards at the opposite end of dark hallways. I never would have noticed them or known they were there without Natasha's professional and creative eye drawing my attention to them.

The next three photos are of the same courtyard with me standing in the same spot taking the picture outside of an iron gate.

At first I was drawn to the rear wheel of the bicycle peeking out, so I zoomed in to get the details of the courtyard (and didn't do a very good job focusing).

Then I zoomed out and used the swirl of the ironwork gate in front of me to frame the arched door of the courtyard.

And then I zoomed all the way out to make the ironwork the main subject of the picture, with the courtyard doorway blurred out via depth of field. I wonder what setting I could have adjusted to make the color of the iron work more true to life, instead of it being gray?

Is she staring into your soul?

Strategically waiting for the horse (donkey?)-drawn carriage to pair with the horsehead hitching post.

Another lovely courtyard with a neat textured wall drawing your eye to it. Ignore the plastic utility box protruding from the right side of the picture. Shrugs.

Colorful shutters on an art gallery.

Dormers and shutters.

Black and white. I like the texture and lines of the building on the corner.

Chippy paint and flower baskets

Another suggested composition from Natasha: Lace curtained window reflecting both the gas lamp and the ironwork. I think I needed to take 3 or 4 steps back to have gotten the full reflection of the lamp, but again, the dreaded combo of middle-aged eyes and tiny viewfinder. LOL

Cornstalk fence.

Then, turn to the left 45 degrees for a shot of the old juxtaposed with the new in both the foreground (car) and background (skyscraper)

Mossy old fence.

It was mostly an overcast cloudy day but we had brief peeks of blue sky here and there.

Angels and ferns and ironwork.

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar. According to their Facebook page: "Dimly lit & one of the oldest bars around, serving beer & frozen drinks since the 1700s." On the corner of Bourbon Street and St. Philip Street, or Calle D San Felipe, as it was known from 1782 to 1803 according to this sign.

Another shot of Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, looking down Bourbon Street.

A flag of many colors.

Neat spotted horse. Natasha said s/he's one of her favorites and explained how there are strict city codes on how many hours the horses can work and how much rest time they must be allowed between shifts. I said "Sounds like the horses have a better union than the people do!" LOL

Bourbon Street sign.

I liked the texture of the slate tiles on these dormers and juxtaposed against the texture of the brick.

A few neat doorstoop shots.

I like a lot about this picture: The color of shutters, the curlicue brackets, the flag and building reflected in the window, and especially the almost inverse star shape that is created by the space between the tops of the window frames.

Buildings behind me reflected in large mardi gras balls.

Little "shotgun house" squeezed in between two larger buildings.

John Mellencamp wrote a song......

Again, attempting to frame the shot with the limbs of the tree overhead (cypress?) Natasha told me what kind but I can't remember for sure. LOL

The pop of purple on the chairs was very eye catching.

I love, love, love this picture: The color, the texture, the symmetry...... the doors. LOL

Extra chippy and weather-worn shotgun house.

The next three pictures were taken with me standing in the exact same spot:

First, a neat vintage Coke sign.

To take this shot, I'm now standing with my back to the Coca-Cola sign. The mask you see reflected in the glass of this gas lantern is hanging in a second-story window above the pharmacy sign. This is another Natasha-directed shot (reflections are one of her signatures).

And still standing in the same spot, I simply turned to my left and got this great composition of this talented street musician. The smooth music is what first drew my attention and then I was struck by the overall visually appealing aesthetic of the scene: the bike (of course) that coordinated so well with the color of the wall, and Natasha and I both agreed that the tall slim body build of the musician complementing the long slim lines of his clarinet and additionally echoing the tall columns of the wall was either intentionally carefully planned or a very happy accident. Either way, we both were saying "well done!" I put some money in his can to show my appreciation of the whole shebang -- the music AND the picture. I hope he did well that day.

Scratchy-rusty iron fence framing a courtyard with bokeh effect. Again, needed to move the camera or body just slightly to center the lines of the hedges between the iron posts. Curse those eyes!

I'm not -- and never will -- be a biker chick, but I thought this shot was cool. I like the color of the motorcycle and the juxtaposition of old and new.

Gorgeous fluffy, fluffy ferns. Unfortunately, they would be dead within a week if their care rested solely in my hands. LOL

Another pretty courtyard. It was hard getting the lighting right on this one enough to show the texture of the dark brick walls in addition to the brightly lit courtyard.

Somewhere around this point, my time with Natasha had come to end and we parted ways with me expressing extreme appreciation for her time and talent and being willing to spend her morning sharing that knowledge with me. What a wonderful business idea and I certainly recommend this tour to anyone visiting New Orleans who also has any type of interest in photography at all. It was hands down an amazing and exceptional experience!

I then continued on wandering around the French Quarter by myself, snapping some photos on my own, trying out my fledging composition "skills" (Ha!).

Surprise, I really focused in on.............. Doors!

The old juxtaposed with the new.

This gate does not exude a "welcome" vibe.

These next four photos were taken standing in the same spot:

To the right of where I was standing, I really loved the color and texture of this brick building as well as the grid pattern of the balcony floor.

I was standing under a big oak tree dripping with mardi gras beads. Point the camera straight up and see what I get.

Another view incorporating the beads in the tree with the textured brick and grid pattern of the building next door.

Point the camera straight up again, to incorporate both the iron fence and the beads in the tree.

More doors and patterns that caught my eye:

This guy looks really "surprised"!

Color and lines

I liked the hexagon shape on the manhole covers throughout the French Quarter.

I like the arched brick and the ironwork within each pane.

Simple and understated, yet makes a statement with those hinges.

I was really drawn to this doorbell panel and I just really like this picture.

Thursday, May 9, 2019 (afternoon)

Gray Line New Orleans: Hurricane Katrina Tour

At this point, it was time to make my way to the Natchez Steamboat dock to board my Gray Line bus Hurricane Katrina tour.

The gentleman taking our tickets and welcoming us onto the bus was extremely friendly, chatty and personable. When that same gentleman then stepped onto the bus and introduced himself as "My name is Bruce Nolan. I'm a lifelong New Orleans resident and a retired reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune and I wrote the front page article the day after the hurricane hit", I knew I was in for one hell of an educational and informative 3-hour tour, and I was absolutely correct. Folks, I highly, highly recommend adding this tour to your trip to New Orleans. It. Was. Outstanding. OUTSTANDING.

I didn't take many pictures because I was so utterly absorbed in just listening, but I took a few.

Guide Bruce in front of the lighthouse at Lake Pontchartrain.

Lighthouse has been rebuilt after being destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Yes, I liked the symmetry of these 4 life preservers hanging on the fence.

Neat bird, name and type unknown to me, that posed for me to take his picture before flying off.

Most people are probably familiar with the "X" symbols that were painted on the houses during the immediate search and rescue following the hurricane.

Remnants of X's can still be found on some houses, most particularly brick structures, that was not easy to sandblast off completely. Note the faint "X" still remaining on this brick house. Also, note the placement of it on the wall -- under the second story window. Why is it up that high? Because the search team was sitting in a boat when they painted it. Chilling, isn't it?

- The top quadrant of the X denoted the time and date the rescue team left the structure (Sept 11)
- The right quadrant noted any hazards or issues of note present (natural gas)
- The bottom quadrant denoted the number of live and dead victims found in the structure (empty)
- The left quadrant identified the rescue team that conducted the search (California National Guard unit)

This memorial park sits on the site of one of the levee breaches.

The house ended up a block down the street, stopped by a tree.

After the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, a city-assisted evacuation plan was put in place. According to the city website, "If you can’t evacuate on your own during a mandatory evacuation, city-assisted evacuation provides free transportation out of harm's way. There are 17 pickup locations across the city, called Evacuspots. 5 are specifically for seniors.

During a mandatory evacuation, go to your closest EvacuSpot.
A bus will pick you up and bring you to the Smoothie King Center.
There, you’ll board a bus to a state or federal shelter.
Once it’s safe to return to New Orleans, the City will bring you back, either to your home or to a local shelter.

These statues designate the EvacuSpot locations where they are to gather to wait for the bus to evacuate them.

Once my Katrina tour was at an end, hubs' conference sessions were done for the day. Supper that night was with the conference group at Mulate's.

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Friday, May 10, 2019 (morning)

St. Charles Streetcar ride

For my morning entertainment, I hopped on the historic St. Charles streetcar at the stop right at the corner of our hotel and rode it to the end and back again.

Picture taken from my seat on the streetcar at the intersection of Bourbon & Canal. The red streetcar is a different line? The St. Charles line streetcars I was riding were olive green.

According to Wikipedia, the St. Charles line is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, as it has been in operation since 1835. I think a tour guide said the green streetcars have been in daily use since 1923. Look at the beautiful wood benches.

Wide turns!

I liked the art on this building

And this utility box

When I reached the end of the line I had to switch from one car to the other to make the return trip.

The lighted archway at this park entrance was quite striking.

The trolley drivers rang their bells and waved at each other as they passed by each other.

The windshields of the trolley are double-hung windows that can be opened. However, our driver put his windows down when this happened. Also, no windshield wipers! :)

A couple of the neat houses along St. Charles Ave.

Friday, May 10, 2019 (afternoon)

Hop On Hop Off bus tour

Because I wanted more opportunity to practice with my camera some of the composition techniques Natasha had shown me yesterday I wanted to go explore the Garden District, so I took advantage of the Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour to get me there and paid the extra for the additional Garden District guided walking tour so I could be on foot to get some more practice "making pictures", in addition to whatever non-artistic snapshots I could "take" from the top of the moving double decker bus.

First I'll start with the riding shots.

I am a big fan of cat-specialty vets and am fortunate enough to have one in my town that is my kitty's doctor so when I saw this I had to snag a picture of it, and I really like the mural on the side of their building.

This picture just cracked me up. The marriage of religion and capitalism.

We drove down to the riverfront and peeked inside Mardi Gras World.

And just across the parking lot is the defunct-since-1973 Market Street Power Plant, often used as a filming location for movies and television shows.

The mighty Mississippi.

Ship docked at the cruise terminal.

I was pretty proud at being able to time this shot perfectly from a moving bus!

The vantage point of sitting 15 feet in the air does provide its own photo opportunities.

A broodier shot of the cathedral from the ones I took yesterday.

A bird's eye view of some fabulous graphic signs.

The new looming above the old.

Now for the shots I took during my walking tour of the Garden District:

I really like the symmetry of this shot, but the power line kills the feng shui. LOL

I'm a fan of the person who lives here because obviously they love cats.

I was pleased with the reflection of the house and tree limb in the puddle.

Commander's Palace, a coat-and-tie required restaurant.

Lovely gate design.

The house where the movie "Benjamin Button" was filmed.

Lafayette Cemetery #1

The wall surrounding the cemetery

Very large puddles throughout the cemetery made it difficult to navigate,
but also provided me with the opportunity to practice taking reflection shots.

According to the self-guided walking tour guide provided to me by the Hop On Hop Off bus tour:
"Wall vaults" were the tombs of the lowest ranking tier of society and were the lowest in cost.
Many of these vaults served as rentals for those who did not have a space in a tomb or did not have a tomb at all.
Rental was usually for one year, and the following day the remains were located to another place.

Fire Company Society Tomb.
Anne Rice used this tomb as her model for the Mayfair witches in the "The Witching Hour"

I was a little disconcerted that the door was ajar on this one (???)

Watery headstone reflections

Lovely leaded glass door.

I feel you should always get at least one picture of yourself in the environment, if for no other reason than to prove you actually were there -- even if it means using the maligned selfie stick!

Back at the bus stop for pickup, waiting with my down-on-his-luck friend, Construction Barrel.

Evening:

Supper with some fellow conference-goers at Grand Isle Restaurant.

Delicious!!!!!!

...... followed by the requisite stop at Pat O'Briens. A couple of hurricanes for him, one Planter's Punch for her. (I was not impressed by any of this experience, TBH.)

Saturday, May 11, 2019 (morning)

Buzz NOLA Big Easy Electric Bike Tour

His conference had concluded and we planned to stay an extra day in New Orleans for him to be able to do some sightseeing activities. We had originally planned to do the Saturday morning "Creole Orleans" tour offered by the Buzz NOLA bike shop but had put off making the reservations until we saw what the weather was going to do. I checked with them the day before via Facebook messenger asking if they anticipated the morning tour would still be held due to the weather forecast. I received this chat response back "Not sure on tomorrow’s weather yet, it can easily change overnight. The Creole Orleans is only the afternoon tomorrow. Someone booked the Big Easy over the last week as the 10:00 tour."

Well, crap! :( At that point I thought we were out of luck for the bike tour at all, as it seemed the morning tour was solely a private booking, and the afternoon forecast looked like definite rain and thunderstorms.

At 9:15 on Saturday morning, we were discussing what rainy day activities to do as Plan B. We decided to try a last ditch effort of calling the bike shop to see if they had any further insight on the likelihood of the afternoon tour being held. My call was answered by very friendly "Jim" and when I told him the nature of my call, he said he agreed that the afternoon looked iffy at best, and then explained "I'm actually the guide for the morning tour and there is still space available on it. We may get a little wet, but not anticipating thunder and lightning." Wait, what, this is still possible? We looked at the clock: 40 minutes to get changed into our riding clothes and get to the bike shop. I told him "We'll be there!"

We made it there in plenty of time (were actually the first ones to arrive), got our payment taken care of, our rented bike helmets selected and adjusted, our bikes picked out and fitted to us, and sunscreen slathered on (generously provided by the bike shop via a large pump-handled vat on the front counter).

Turns out this was my second New Orleans tour this weekend that was guided by a journalist, as Jim is a retired NPR radioman. Again, I was pleased that our guide would be a reliable source of well-researched information (can't remember the exact newsman's term Jim used, but it was something along the lines of "always verify with 3 credible sources"). Sounds good to me. No Fake News on this tour! :)

Here we are with Jim outside the bike shop.

The rest of the tour participants arrived and we were briefed on how to operate the throttle on the electric bike, and received safety instructions regarding riding in urban traffic and a lesson on the arm gestures Jim would use to help us navigate together through intersections. Before heading out, we gathered for a group shot taken by Jim:

Then, we were off on our 3-hour biking adventure through the streets of New Orleans! Steve filmed video with the Contour Roam strapped to his bike, while I both filmed video and took some still shots with the Sony camera. This required multitasking to the extreme, because I hold the camera in my right hand, but that is also the hand I needed to work the throttle on the bike, in addition to the challenge of riding on multi-lane city streets with traffic. Yikes!!!!

We headed south down multi-laned Magazine Street through the Central Business District to Lafayette Square, the second oldest public park in New Orleans, (Jackson Square being the oldest).

At this point, it had started to rain big fat spattering drops, so Steve and I both put on our ponchos, which immediately turned into the effect of being wrapped in Saran Wrap and then plopped in a sauna. Not long after, the rain stopped and the poncho came back off post haste!

We then continued south down Magazine Street until we crossed under the Pontchartrain Expressway then turned west on Coliseum Street in the Garden District, a street with much less traffic. Here, along Coliseum Square Park, Jim gives us the finer points of architectural columns.

We continued on down Coliseum Street and stopped in front of Buckner Mansion, the setting of filming of a couple seasons of American Horror Story. I played a little bit with photo composition while Jim regaled us with information.

We continued on through the Garden District on Coliseum Street where we had the houses of Sandra Bullock and John Goodman pointed out to us.

Up to the corner of Coliseum St and Washington Avenue, to Lafayette Cemetery #1, the same one I had walked through yesterday on my self-guided walking tour. While here, it started to rain the big spattery drops again as Jim was filling our heads with information about the method of decomposing the bodies in these tombs, and the origin of the term "dead ringers."

Ironically, Steve ended up taking a picture of a very same shot I had composed yesterday, and his turned out a heck of a lot better than mine did! :) We were both going for the magnolia, while I was also trying frame the headstone. He did a much better job of both without even trying! Here it is.

After leaving the cemetery we rode down Prytania Street for quite a ways until we arrived at Audubon Park.

where we visited the sprawling majestic "Tree of Life" oak tree.

We then got a break from street riding for a little bit, as we rode a great bike/pedestrian trail from south to north through the length of Audubon Park.

After leaving the park and heading back out onto street riding, I took a break from camera duty to concentrate on just riding and enjoying the experience for a while.

The next knowledge stop on the tour was at Parkway Poboys where Jim gave us the history of how the sandwich known as a poor boy came about and I snagged a picture of this cute pink bicycle.

Later we rode along Bayou St. John

and crossed over it on the Magnolia Bridge.

That soon brought us into City Park where we rode alongside the uninspired-named "Lagoon Number 7." (Where we come from, "lagoons" aren't necessarily something scenic or aromatic that you want to ride your bike around. LOL)

...... past the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Sculpture Garden

...... to the Cafe Du Monde truck, where I was finally able to try one of the beignets everyone kept telling me I needed to try while I was in New Orleans! :)

I mean, you can't go wrong with the amount of powdered sugar on this thing!

After a 15 minute break for carbs, coffee and some bladder relief, we were back on the bikes, crossing over Lagoon Number 10 on this picturesque bridge.

We exited the park and headed southeast into the Treme neighborhood on Esplande Avenue, along which we stopped and learned about the Le Musee de f.p.c. (Free People of Color Museum)

and passed by some wonderfully colorful houses.

We crossed under Interstate 10

FYI: The words stenciled on that porch say "love each other." Indeed.

and continued zigzagging our way through Treme

and stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Slave monument at St. Augustine Catholic Church.

More Treme -- and if you've never watched the HBO series "Treme", I highly recommend it.

Into Louis Armstrong Park

and Congo Square.

Music. Poetry. Art. Drama. Athletics.

We left Congo Square and headed into the final leg of our amazing tour through the French Quarter.

Again, trying to juggle the camera, the throttle and the *narrow* traffic-to-bike ratio through here was not for the faint of heart!!

We crossed Canal Street

and then it was just one more block back to the bike shop, ending our almost 17-mile ride. What an amazing experience! Look them up if you are ever in New Orleans and want a completely different way to see the sights AND get some good exercise at the same time. You will not be disappointed!

Please also enjoy the video compilation of our amazing Buzz NOLA bike tour: