Behind-the-scenes of Edward Buckles' Essence magazine covers
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The May/June issue of Essence magazine includes photography by Edward Buckles Jr. Images: Courtesy of Essence
When Essence magazine twice wanted to represent New Orleans on its covers over the past two years, it turned to Edward Buckles.
Why it matters: The New Orleans native opted to put locals in the spotlight.
Catch up quick: In 2024, Essence Fest celebrated its 30th anniversary with a "love letter" to New Orleans for its July/August magazine.
- And this year, Essence offered an ode to the city's post-Katrina revival.
- Buckles snapped the photos for both, using local crews and production while working with creative director Chike Ozah.
What he's saying: The models, Buckles tells Axios New Orleans, are "the people who I thought were reviving the spirit of New Orleans, who are culture bearers doing their own version of rebuilding the city post-Katrina."
Zoom in: Buckles, who grew up in Algiers, Uptown and in the 7th Ward, is a photographer and filmmaker. He made a national name for himself with his "Katrina Babies" documentary on HBO in 2022.
- The project had Buckles talking with people who, like him, were young New Orleanians at the time the storm hit.
- Before and since then, he's thought a lot about the cultural weight of rebuilding.
- "I wanted to highlight children who are currently carrying the torch of New Orleans, which are children not even born during Hurricane Katrina," he says.
The end result is a pair of surrealistic cover photos taken at dusk, steeped in golden pinks and purples.
- In one, a young ballerina leaps uncannily high into the air above an empty lot, and in the other, a young trumpet player levitates just off an empty porch. Read the cover story.
- "We wanted to have the kids levitating above these places that were once underwater because that's my biggest hope for them: I want them to rise above all this. .. I want them to know their history and understand they are still very much impacted by Hurricane Katrina ... but still very much rise above all that," Buckles says.
What's next: Buckles is working on a new documentary with his alma mater, Edna Karr High School about cultural preservation, he says. Details are forthcoming.