If you are ever in New Orleans, take a stop by the French Quarter and get yourself one of these beignet at Cafe de Mont.

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Its amazing how pressures can really pile up. I came back from my trip to new orleans Wednesday, and without break I got thrown into the rush of every day life.

Upon arrival from my three day journey, having only a couple hrs to freshen up and go to my two evening classes back to back for th start of the semester, followed by a morning class the next day, I spent Thursday in a daze. A daze that resulted in me being late to the evening class that day.

Friday and saturday I spent loathing and sleeping, trying to gather where I am, and what I’m doing, only to remember that I have a client deadline to meet. 48 hours of nonstop crunch-time, and a few hours of sleep in between allowed me to complete the client’s first draft just in the nick of time. (I’ll post up the final draft for you all to see later this week)

Having had two hours of sleep, Imam Abu Abed’s words began ringing in my head. On my last day in Baton Rouge (which by the way has an interesting ‘red’ history) Imam Abu Abed mentioned something after Isha prayers. For dawah to be successful four elements must be utilized:

• Sincerity of intention
• Patience through tasks
• Persistence and struggle in the cause
• Consistent du’aa to see it through - — - This sets the efforts of falsehood apart from the effort of truth.

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This space is going to be dedicated to celebrate the gems of this trip…

• This trip was a struggle, but it was sooooooo worth it. The people I met. My partner I traveled with and the things I learned from him and the people along the way were priceless.
• Allah (swt) put people in my path to help me along the way and make this happen. From the travel expenses this time and the previous trip I took back in June. The hospitality in food, and stay. The warm welcome and affection of the people I met and interacted with. - — - “Southern Hospitality” is REAL
• I met with amazing people in Knoxville, TN. Baton Rouge, LA. New Orleans, LA, Mclean, VA, and here in NJ — all of whom provided assistance when it was needed without really asking for it.
• I have a very solid idea of what I want in this final production, and inshaAllah it will be my best project to date. My goal is to bring $250,000 in aid to victims. To do this I will need to bring forth half a million bucks in one year inshaALLAH!
• I have soooo many more OUTSTANDING ideas that I want to do after this project is done. A documentary film on the Injustice of the American justice and prison system and the Resilience of Muslims there. A Narrative epic on the life of Uthman Dan Fodio, and much MORE!
• A few money generating ideas have come about from this trip in the time spent with my travel buddy.
• I didn’t complete filming — but it will be completed by end of this week inshaAllah with the help of some sincere individuals from Louisiana that Allah (swt) put in my path
• I am PUMPING with energy as I type this. — – On this trip I saw the beauty of the beautiful sunsets, lightning, storm clouds, scattered sun shower downpours, starry filled skies with the milky way galaxy visible, a turtle on the side of the highway, the endless range of the Appalachian mountains, and the calm rivers that descend it.

Here are the pictures. Enjoy

• First Trip
• Second Trip (one I just came back from)

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest structure of its kind in the world, spanning more than 24 miles. While driving across, you cannot see the other side, and it takes a good 30 mins to get across it.

We arrived in New Orleans yesterday and this is what welcomed us. This mad-made behemoth was under water when Katrina hit. Now it stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of the people of New Orleans, dazzling all those who traverse it

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Counterpunch.com has an interesting article on Katrina’s two year anniversary. Read it here: Katrina Two Years Later, by Bill Quigley

When I my initial filming in June 2007, I had brought the following camera equipment with me:

.5x Wide Angle Lens – Recommended for any type of shooting…except closeups.

Two D8 (Digital8/Hi8) Camcorders – One that belonged to me, and the other being my friend’s.

Generic RadioShack Microphone – After two years of much use and abuse, the mic was beginning to not work on me. I figured, this is its last trip.

Borrowed a Panasonic GS80 – Good camera for sub $300 range.

Since filming last time was mostly interviews and people, this setup wasn’t so bad. I did realize that when I shot the outdoor sequences I would need more appropriate equipment. This time around since most of my shooting will be outdoors I decided to purchase some new equipment.

I bought the following:

Zoom H4 Handy – Wav audio recording at 96Khz

Sennheiser MKE300 — I needed a shotgun mic, and according to people’s recommendations, this was the best one to get under $300.

Sony MDR-M150 Headphones – I had these last time I went, but my little sisters broke them. Bought the same exact pair. Excellent set of headphones. Don’t let your little siblings play with your equipment with out supervision.

Hoya Polarizing Filter — Without this, outdoor shots will appear washed out or extremely bright.

Panasonic GS80 – Its a good camera if you don’t want to spend more than $300. I bought this out of necessity. Some of the down sides to this camera is that there isn’t much manual control. One can adjust the iris, shutter, and focus, but only through the ‘joystick’ which isn’t very convenient. There is not mic jack or even a headphone jack. It’s one of the reasons why I bought the Zoom H4 Handy.

.38x Super Wide Angle Lens – Since I want to grab the imagery of the outdoors, I figured this would be appropriate.

Just to show you the difference with and w/o a wide angle lens:

 

Without the .38x Super Wide Angle Lens

With the .38x Super Wide Angle Lens

One of the challenges I found was mounting the z4 Handy with the camera and mic. I decided to detach the slate from my tripod and “MacGuyver” it the camera and H4 Handy. This is what I resulted with:

Pretty good if you ask me

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Filming Locations – places I want to film:

• French Corridor
• St. Bernard Parish Chalmette
• 9th Ward
• 17 St. Canal
• Food & Aid Distribution Centers
• More personal stories of individuals involved in Katrina…

CONVENT, La. - This was not how Cindy Cole pictured her life at 26: living in a mobile home park called Sugar Hill, wedged amid the refineries and cane fields of tiny St. James Parish, 18 miles from the nearest supermarket. Sustaining three small children on nothing but food stamps, with no playground, no security guards and nowhere to go.

No, Ms. Cole was supposed to be paying $275 a month for a two-bedroom house in the Lower Ninth Ward - next door to her mother, across the street from her aunt, with a child care network that extended the length and breadth of her large New Orleans family. With her house destroyed and no job or savings, however, her chances of recreating that old reality are slim.

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Read the full New York Times article here: Road to New Life After Katrina Is Closed to Many

If you want to learn more about the struggle people are going through, just type “Katrina” in the NYT search.

Things aren’t always as they seem.

I had left New Jersey to film this documentary with the understanding that Katrina came and went, and I’m going to be collecting the personal stories of the people. After spending three days in Baton Rouge I came to New Orleans, only to discover that disaster is still there. It’s been two years, and the people outside of Louisiana have forgotten. The people are trying to survive.

I had the opportunity to talk with a few people. I got to interview four people, all of which gave their personal stories.

Imam Wali Abdel Raoof

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Hammam Ansari

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Abdullah Shakows

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Mohammad Siddiq

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Imam Wali Abdel Raoof was saying how people blame Allah (swt) for what happened. Muslims say that it was a punishment from Allah (swt) because New Orleans is a “sin city”. He brought the example of prophet Job (alayhis salaam). Allah tested Job not because he did anything wrong, rather because he was a good person and was close to Allah. He tested him so that his status may be raised…

…Allah (swt) is testing us so that our status may be raised

I spent only one day in New Orleans. I have to go back to capture the rest of the story and emotions this August inshaAllah.