After a major hurricane hit the Louisiana coast, photos of the disaster made front-page news — homes with roofs ripped off, people wading through flooded streets, lawns littered with broken furniture.
Hanusik: “It's almost like a stock image that we use to describe climate change.”
But photographer Virginia Hanusik tells the region's story in a different way.
Her photographs capture how nature and human hands shape the unique landscape of the Louisiana coast. A house on stilts overlooks a grassy estuary. The waves lapped against the high embankment. Dairy cows graze beneath oil pipeline warning signs.
In her new book, “Into Quiet and Light,” Hanusik's photographs are combined with essays and reflections from local scholars, activists, and community members.
Hanusik: “I… hope to be able to bring in people who can tell the story of their lifelong relationship with the land.”
In the book, for example, a local Vietnamese chef shares a recipe for shrimp rolls and reflects on how the BP oil spill hurt Vietnamese shrimp communities.
Hanusik hopes this approach will help people better understand the region and understand the dangers they face as sea levels rise and storms intensify.
Report source: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media
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