My Complete coverage of the BP Oil disaster can be found at this link http://nativeorleanian.com/category/bp-oil-spill/ Some image galleries contain more than one page f images, please be sure to scroll through the pages of galleries if available.
There are 3 pages of images, page turners right above the videos…
Made 2 trips down to Grand Isle last week, the first was on Tuesday 5/25/10. Spent some time initially on the West End of the island by Caminada Pass……things looked pretty clean at first, Anderson Cooper of CNN was arriving that day so this is no surprise, we started to find oil in very strange places, one being on the dry side of the jetties, which appeared to have been moved out a bit. I am very familiar with the area having spent a considerable amount of time shrimping and fishing on Elmers Island and Grand Isle, we have a family home down there….I was accompanied by friend and fellow photographer Andy Levin on my trips, when I suggested we stop looking on the sand and go back towards the marsh grass, he seemed a bit puzzled, but knowing the mindset of the locals, and trusting my gut, I felt that if there were shortcuts to be taken, that would be the place to look. Immediately upon entering the brush, the STRONG stench of death overcame me, and this is where we found at least 13 Bull Redfish, whole bodies, some covered in oil, discarded and rotting. No one would ever throw away such a catch and it was obvious to me what the cause of death was……..additionally, we found the exposed freshly rotting head of what appeared to be a dolphin, at the top of an unnatural sand mound about 20 yards away. On my return trip, I attempted to dig, but the smell was overwhelming, all kings of bones were surfacing and it was obvious to me what was under there. To me that would explain many strange occurrences at the west and east end of the island, namely solid oil being exposed under some places where one would walk, under the sand…….so how does oil get under the sand…….behind the jetties, the scary thing is that these are heart fish. Redfish this size would take 20 to 30 minutes to reel in for a fisherman, yet they apparently succumb to oil rather easily, as dolphins apparently do to. Why hasn’t anyone heard about this, and why is BP burying such things without any reporting, warning, things are not as they appear through the media, and I am afraid that it will get a whole lot worse sooner than later…..And btw, on my return trip 5/28 the Dolphin head was nowhere to be found…….I have aso poste some of the images from the great performance for the President…
Trip 2… On my second trip to the island last week, we were treated to another crafty production by BP and the cleaning army, the only thing is there was nothing to clean, the island had been sanitized before Anderson Cooper Arrived on Tuesday. Accompanied by friend and fellow photographer Andy Levin, we approached the “cleaners’ on many occasions, asking them who they were there for, how much they were paid, etc……mum was the word, no one wanted to talk, one poor guy said, ” Please Mr. don’t make me talk to you, they told us not to say anything”…..eventually found out BOP put up fliers in Laplace and Houma the day before, and were able to corral about 400 people into 8 or 9 public school buses….we actually thought they were with a church or something at first. Meanwhile while the production was going on pretending to clean on the beach, oil coats all of the rocks across the on the bay behind Grand Isle…..all you had to do is turn the top rocks over to see, and even more disturbing were all of the small hermit crabs, trying to escape the water exposing themselves to terminal heat, (72 degrees is all they can take and it was in the 90′s)….the water had a milky tone to it, kinda reminded me of the Audubon Park Lagoon when it was polluted years back…..So you say whats the big deal, hermit crabs are dying(btw thousands reported in same shape in Elmer’s Island), I assure you, much much larger animals have been succumbing to the oil……more to come
John Blancher
BP could not be more deceptive on what is really going on.You cannot absolve this administration from being complicit in this matter as well. They have sat on their hands and given little more than lip service to the matter. BP and the Obama administration are the very definition of arrogance and disingeuousness.
Jun 01, 2010 @ 8:48 am
Adrian
Arrogance from the Feds for sure but I hardly think BP did this intentionally. It was our arrogant government who did nothing when it was a small problem and is now doing what they do best. Sue the bastards. Now that’s a fix. Of course first there will be the appropriate amount of hand wringing, crying and finger pointing as our fearless liar, I mean leader, did on Friday.
The reality is as long as we remain oil dependent this type of eco-disaster will occur from time to time. This however will be monumental in its scope and damage. Sad for true!
Jun 01, 2010 @ 2:46 pm
Bill O'Neil
In the tenth row of photos, there’s an Army dump truck, either an M-51 or M-809 series, in desert tan, with no unit markings. Is the US Army there? Or is this a surplus, privately-owned, for-hire, or military? Anyone know? Is it
significant?
Jun 02, 2010 @ 8:12 am
Jerry Moran
There is lots of military down there, that was at Fourchon, much more at east End of GI….all have been assigned apparently.
Jun 02, 2010 @ 8:18 am
Shredder
True that Obama could have done better but BP is the villian here, not the government. This is evidence of criminal obstruction of justice by BP. BP lied from the get-go about the amount of damage. How is the government supposed to react when they are lied to and evidence is hidden or destroyed? But I guess some people will blame the government no matter what. Fact is BP’s conduct is exponentially more criminal and repugnant than that of the Feds. BP should be put to pasture and the people responsible in jail. Of course this was a regulatory failure as well and Salazar should be fired and Obama has alot to answer for. But to equate Obama with BP here is pure demagoguery.
Jun 02, 2010 @ 10:08 am
Jerry Moran
Don’t know where Obama and BP are “equated” anywhere here, the only reason Obama might be mentioned is because he was basically used by BP to blur the actual reality of the situation. It is apparent who is running the “show” and has been since the beginning.
Jun 02, 2010 @ 11:15 am
Dave
“I hardly think BP did this intentionally. It was our arrogant government who did nothing when it was a small problem and is now doing what they do best. Sue the bastards.”
(1) Sidestepping compulsory drilling safeguards is criminal intent — so yes, BP did do this intentionally. (2) It was never a small, stoppable problem. (3) Our govt, like BP, is both arrogant and criminal. (4) BP is the fourth largest corporation in the world and will pay relatively little for this eco-disaster, and its cover up.
Jun 02, 2010 @ 1:18 pm
Casey
What extraordinary photos! As horrifying as it is, I am so glad there are courageous souls such as yourselves who are documenting this nightmare.
“A picture is worth a thousand words” – I’ve heard it all my life, but never has that reality hit me in the gut like this. The idea that those hermit crabs would rather die in the sun than spend another moment in that water…it simply says it all.
My heart goes out to everyone directly affected by this. Be careful out there.
Jun 03, 2010 @ 4:53 pm
Brooke
I saw this on facebook and came to your site directly. I can’t hold back the tears from streaming down my face. Casey posted correctly “A picture is worth a thousand words”…the sad thing is this time it is so much more than a thousand words. Human lives lost, wildlife, jobs, lively hoods, etc. Did BP purposely spill oil? The way I see it if they knew they were operating under unsafe and borderline conditions then YES they did. Is Obabma personally responsible? NO, however we should be using all resources available no matter the cost to fix the situation.
Jun 04, 2010 @ 4:58 am
Ann Stevens
Thank you so much for allowing us to view these compelling images of the Louisiana coastline. I have been following the oil spill on the news…Fox News and our local Fox affiliate..and they have been giving it a lot of air time throughout the day. However, it is just so much more real when I see these pictures and videos. What BP has done to our once beautiful Gulf and the adjoining land is reprehensible. They should be made to pay for every red cent of the restoration process if and when they ever the leak stopped completely, along with restitution to all the business and families who have been directly affected by their carelessness.Please continue to document the effects of this tragedy in the weeks to come…I have shared your web page and also links to your videos with several of my friends. Those of us who are unable to join the other volunteers at the coast can help by spreading the things that BP has been trying to hide…and praying!!!!
Jun 05, 2010 @ 11:52 pm
Deborah Bergeron Foster
Thank You for sharing this site…My brother owns the Commander…..He is the best shrimper in the Gulf…he is still waiting on a call from BP….My Neice, Tammy just got hired, her and her husband Roland who uses hid shrimp boat during this season to get shrimp for their livlyhood….Shrimping in the Gulf is ALL my brother does when in deep water season because his boat is so large…he can stay out there 3 weeks at a time if he wants to….His Boat need to be put to work…He cant shrimp right now!!!
B P …I HOPE YOU ARE READING THESE MESSAGES FROM THE PEOPLE WHO NEED TO PAY BILLS AND EAT!!!!! HAVE A GOOD DAY…IF YOU CAN!!
Jun 06, 2010 @ 7:43 am
Ellen
thank you for the real pictures and story. This diaster will affect the Louisiana parishes in every area there can be. This has been a huge coverup on BP’s part, they really must think we are stupid, after all we come from south Louisiana.
Jun 06, 2010 @ 6:08 pm
jmoran
BP buys Google, Yahoo search words to keep people away from real news on Gulf oil spill disaster, OK ……at first I looked at this in disbelief, but then reality set in……..people, we are getting a real clear picture of who we are dealing with here, as if it were not crystal clear already……….the “Oil Mafia”
Here is the link..
http://www.examiner.com/x-33986-Political-Spin-Examiner~y2010m6d6-BP-buys-Google-Yahoo-search-engine-words-to-keep-people-away-from-real-news-on-Gulf-oil-spill-disas
Jun 06, 2010 @ 6:26 pm
jmoran
A perspective from people who know what they are talking about…. http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593#comment-648967
Jun 13, 2010 @ 7:54 am
jmoran
Also keep up with my posts on Facebook at my photography page… http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Orleans-LA/Native-Orleanian-Fine-Photography-the-photography-of-Jerry-Moran/161186488701
Jun 13, 2010 @ 12:21 pm
jaynatae21
Use the SQUID to contain the oil spill! stop underwater drifts of oil that aren’t seen, it will guide them all to one location on the surface for skimmers. http://newworldinnovations.com/pages/squid/aspx.
Jun 14, 2010 @ 2:21 pm
Native Orleanian Fine Photography » Archive » BP OIL IMPACT ON LOUISIANA MARSHES BOOMS DO NOT WORK | the photography of Jerry Moran - New Orleans Louisiana
[...] Also…It was hard to tell at first, but this confirms it……on my trip last week we encountered a group of dolphins, young and old, acting quite strange….almost as if they were digging for food very close to shore. This behavior, while not too out of the ordinary, was just a bit off. We followed them around for a bit so I could get some pictures, at the time I was most concerned with all of the corexit film and wash they were swimming in and around with their young…….to my surprise today after processing the images, as you can see, there is oil caked on the fins of the dolphins….thick orange BP oil. Only two ways for this to get there….when they come up for air and swimming thru thick oil,(doubtful, since it is all dispersed and on the bottom), or from the bottom by the shore where they appeared to be digging for food……unfortunately at that time our boat was unable to get that close to shore……will look further into next time….If you don’t know what happens to Dolphins exposed to this stuff there are pictures on my website http://nativeorleanian.com/bp-smoke-mirrors-and-oil-2/ [...]
Jun 20, 2010 @ 9:19 am
Shannon Hudnell
The dead dolphin just broke my heart. I live on the East Coast of Florida and I see these happy little creatures every time I visit the water. To see what the oil spill has done to them is just heartbreaking.
Jul 01, 2010 @ 7:07 pm