Recapping 2024 in Photos

Dec 30

When I was putting this together, I was wondering if the batch of photos I’ve selected was going to be too many, even after cutting out half of the initial batch. However, after looking at the photo recaps by other major publications, I think it’ll be fine.

Other 2024 notes:

Despite the lack of posts on Instagram, I’ve been taking photos all year. Whether I post them or not has been based purely on vibes.
Shout out to the local photo communities that continue to host photo events every month. I managed to find Vantage Point NOLA this year and continue to connect with f/504.
I shot way less concerts. A lot of unanswered emails but that’s how it goes sometimes. Smaller shows are still fair game but all the photos start to look the same since the stages and lighting don’t really change.
I still managed to attend a bunch of shows though. October was bonkers for concerts. It made the absence of Voodoo Fest less of a bummer.
My output as a graphic designer/illustrator is still low. I don’t have an exact explanation to why that is. I have all these cool concepts and ideas but sitting down and trying to execute them has been mentally difficult. All the AI “art” is also disheartening but that’s a discussion for another time and place.

So here are some of my favorite photos I took in 2024 including some musings for each month. I’ll provide photo captions when I think it’s needed.

Concerts and portraits are not included in this recap. If you’re here on mobile, please come back on your laptop/desktop.

January

The beginning of the year and also the beginning of carnival season.

Parades attended this month: Jeanne d'Arc, Chewbacchus, and Bohème.

I tend to skip Krewe du Vieux because the jokes are kind of predictable at this point and the shock factor isn’t there anymore for me. I would still check it out if you haven’t before.

Fireworks display on the Mississippi River. — Ringing in the new year on the Mississippi River. I think I stood out here for about an hour before the fireworks started. I remember nodding and telling myself it’ll be a good year.

A meeting between a group of dogs and their owners. — I take a lot of photos of dogs. Cats, sometimes.

A group poses in front of a bar on Bourbon Street.

A parader in costume sitting alone away from the crowd. — The end of the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc parade.

One of cooler floats at Chewbacchus parade.

Masked man with a mannequin in a wheel chair. I’ve seen a lot of weird shit on Bourbon Street but this one caught me off guard.

The Franklin Printing Company sign on Common St. I’ve taken a photo of this spot a few dozen times. The parking garage here is quite unique too. You’ll see it later down in the page. The goal (still) is to capture this spot at night during heavy rainfall.

A band continues to play at the end of the Krewe Bohéme parade.

The story goes that Entergy (the local energy company) hired actors to support a proposed New Orleans power plant during a hearing.

Some Krewe members standing outside the Joy Theater.

Heading to the after party. This was also the night I misplaced my wallet at the venue. I thought I lost it at first. Luckily, the bar held on to it.

February

Carnival season continues with the Mayor’s Ball at Gallier Hall. This was my first time inside the building. A friend invited me to come so why not? Also, it was an excuse to wear the bespoke tuxedo I bought last year.

Parades attended this month: Cleopatra, Barkus, Muses, Tucks, and Orpheus. I also walked with the Krewe of Mung Beans again this year and took photos.

I return to form this year to cover the Red Flame Hunters and then break off to enjoy the rest of the Mardi Gras festivities.

Inside of Gallier Hall during the Mayor’s Ball.

NOPD Superintendent, Anne Kirkpatrick, walks alongside Patch, the “mini horse”, during the Krewe of Barkus parade. This and the Krewe of Orpheus parades are my favorites.

Margaret Orr as Honorary Muse for the Krewe of Muses.

“Mama Duck and Duckies” float at the Krewe of Muses parade.

The Woodlawn Lion Dance team joins the Lucha Krewe for a dance or two during the Krewe of Dead Beans Parade. View more here: Krewe of Mung Beans 2024

Saints Kicker Blake Grupe, rides along with Harry Connick, Jr. during the Krewe of Orpheus parade.

Neil Patrick Harris as Monarch for the Krewe of Orpheus.

One of Krewe of Orpheus’ signature floats, The Smokey Mary.

L.W. Higgins High School marching band. I graduated from Higgins in 2000.

Another one of Krewe of Orpheus’ signature floats, The Leviathan. This one’s my favorite.

The Red Flame Hunters on Mardi Gras Day. View more here: Red Flame Hunters 2024.

Claiborne Avenue corridor under the I-10 bridge. It felt a little less crowded than previous years.

This is probably my favorite photo I took on Mardi Gras Day.

March

St. Paddy’s Day Parade, Super Sunday, and the return of Wednesdays at the Square concert series.

I believe this couple just got married a few hours prior.

I want to assume this dog is side-eyeing this person because of the cigarette.

Outside of Humidity Skate Shop during the *Justin Olivier x Jordan Trahan x Chocolate Skateboards* release party.

The Red Flame Hunters on Super Sunday. View more here: Lil’ Chief Comin’

April

A somber month. An eclipse sweeps the nation, Wednesday at the Square series continues, the New Orleans Pelicans are in the play-ins, and a funeral.

A crowd gathers at the Hancock Whitney Center (One Shell Square) for a chance to view the eclipse. Unfortunately, it was really, really cloudy.

I managed to capture a glimpse of it through a break in the clouds.

Trey Murphy III goes for the dunk at the NBA Play-In between the Kings and Pelicans.

Jasmine flowers at the Balcony Guest House building.

May

One day of Jazz Fest and the Original Big 7 Mother’s Day Parade.

A couple dances at the Festival Stage during Jazz Fest. I don’t recall who was performing but I think it might be the Coral Reefer Band according to the photo timestamp.

The Original Big 7 Mother’s Day parade. View more here: Original Big 7 Mother’s Day Parade 2024.

June

Magnolia Ball at the Ogden Museum, Rapbaum’s The Four Pillars, and my first visit to San Francisco for ConFig 2024. The Waymo self-driving cars were a trip to see. I did not get into one.

Alcatraz aka “The Rock” aka the name of one of the best movies ever made.

A quaint bar in Chinatown. Felt right at home here.

One of my favorite illustrators, Jessica Hische, at ConFig 2024.

The Sphere in the distance in Las Vegas.

July

A fairly tame month. Too hot and humid to be outside.

August

Still too hot but some things did happen.

Scaffolding around the spire at the Basilica of St. Stephens Church on Napoleon Ave.

Gaijin Sandos Pop-up at D.B.A. on Frenchmen St.

September

The grand opening of Chi Chi’s and the Saints home opener at the Superdome.

I also went to the Childish Gambino concert on a whim. They let me in with a camera but the security inside promptly told me to stop taking photos. Whoops.

A woman dances in an inflatable chicken costume at Chi Chi’s Chicken & Beer grand opening on Freret St.

Alvin Kamara runs out of the tunnel during the Saints home opener vs the Panthers. Expectations were low and tickets were cheap so I decide to go. We had high hopes after the first 2 games.

October

A great month for concerts. Let’s break it down:

Lola Young at the House of Blues
I never heard of her until a friend invited me to come to the show. Her performance and stage presence was awesome. High energy show.

Jerro at Republic
This show was originally was supposed to be at some house but it was moved to Republic due to weather or permits or something. I showed up late but still enjoyed the show.

Jungle at the Saenger Theatre
This is my most anticipated show of the year. I don’t really have a lot to say about it other than it lived up to the hype. The only way they can make it better is if they brought out the dancers from their music videos.

Khruangbin at the Saenger
Two back to back nights of Khruangbin. Arooj Aftab was the opener for both nights and she killed it. The live version of “Bolo Na” was great. She also joined Khruangbin on stage for “Cómo Me Quieres” on the second night.

Their setlist consisted of two parts: The first half was the entirety of their new album, “A La Sala” and the second half were older songs from their catalog including some covers. The second half was different between the two nights. I went both nights and the second night was bonkers. Namely, closing out with a version of “Time (You and I)”, where they added some New Orleans flavor on it.

Another thing I would like to add is that the tour poster they were selling was by one of my favorite illustrators, Bendik Kaltenborn (who also did the cover art for Todd Terje’s, “Its Album Time”). It was city and venue specific so you know I had to buy one. You can see how it looks like here. There was also a t-shirt which I also picked up.

Mass of the Fermenting Dregs at Siberia
This was a fun one especially with the passionate crowd. The venue was perfect for this type of show. I managed to make it into the group photo here (bottom right).

Glass Beams at the Joy Theater
I saw a comment that said they’re an “evil” version of Khruangbin and I can kind of see that. The sounds are similar but the vibes are different. Another great show and the stage lighting was dope for this one.

Thee Sacred Souls at the Fillmore with Thee Heart Tones
Thee Heart Tones were the perfect opener for Thee Sacred Souls since both have a similar sound. A very solid show. We saw Josh Lane eating a poke bowl outside the tour bus after the show. I got him to autograph all my copies of their albums.

Other happenings: The NOLA Nite Market, Taylor Swift coming to town for three straight days (I didn’t go), dressing up as RayGun for Halloween, and crashing a party hosted by Prospect New Orleans (at the place where Jerro was supposed to play funnily enough).

So yeah, a busy one.

Broken friendship bracelets spotted during Taylor Swift week.

November

I saw someone trying to organize a “Kite Fest” on reddit and I thought that would be cool to check out. The day arrives and we find out that it was a friend of ours that made the post. There was a major entanglement at one point but otherwise a neat event that I would check out again.

Tinzo & Jojo of Book Club Radio fame stopped by Arora this month and played a 4 hour set. Somehow, I managed to stay for all of it.

Luna Fete and the annual Avondale Vietnamese community church fair rounds out the month.

Brandon Ingram faces off with former teammate, Dyson Daniels. The Pelicans season isn’t doing any better but Yves Missi is a nice surprise.

Lionel Milton hitting up the black book.

Ain’t Dere No More. The vibe of this made me to pull in and take a photo.

“Dream Slide” at LUNA Fete by Curious Form.

A little biased here but I think our community has the best banh mi. If you need a reminder, it happens every year on the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Shaving sugarcanes for, you guessed it, sugarcane juice aka nuoc mia.

December

There were a couple of photography related events this month that included a walk-through of Baldwin Lee’s exhibit at the Ogden Museum by Baldwin Lee himself.

I met him briefly after the walk-through and he was super nice and approachable, which wasn’t something I was expecting for some reason. He’s known for photographing African-American communities in the 1980s, including a few in Louisiana. He mentioned that he stopped taking photos in 1989-90 which was bewildering to me. I forget why exactly but I do remember him saying that he knew he already done his best work.