Pirate Alley - NOLA interlude
A reference to New Orleans (aka NOLA) in a book I’ve been reading reminded me of a trip that Randolph and I took in 2013 to New Orleans with two dear friends. It continues to be such a memorable trip. From food to architecture to music the trip filled my senses.
Wanting to prolong the reminiscence, I found my NOLA photographs in my portfolio archives. The image featured in today’s post was one I had not post-processed, so I spent some time with it to produce a final photograph. The alley’s lighting and historic feel strongly suggested a black & white rendering.
As I have stated many times in blog posts. I love alleys within cities. An alley exudes intimacy and unguarded authenticity. Main streets are often dressed-up — renovated and kept tidy, especially in gentrified commercial districts.
Alleys often retain their origin stories as service lanes for deliveries or access to rear garages. In some cases, and again most notably in city-centre commercial districts, an alley may lead to more rough and tumble establishments — the kind of places that pirates might have frequented in previous centuries when their ships made port in harbour towns like New Orleans.
Pirate Alley has a contested history. With the St Louis Cathedral serving as the alley’s landmark anchor, it may be more lore than fact that the alley attracted miscreant classes. All that said, I was attracted to the alley for its photographic possibilities and the opportunity to spend some time in the Pirate’s Alley Cafe & Olde Absinthe House.
Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder. As do your pictures. I've enjoyed seeing Auckland through your eye/lens but I'd love to see some more from your international jaunts.