SOLID & Nolaphile | David Spielman

We've had a great year at SOLID Web Service. The core of our work is helping clients tell their stories.
So when Videographer Max Cusimano shared his latest project with us, we couldn't wait to get involved! We hope you enjoy the following Nolaphile: A passionate narrative about the people, places and happenings in New Orleans. 

While working on a video project with Tory McPhail of Commander’s Palace, Max Cusimano of NolaVid noticed an interested spectator. “He was standing outside of his gallery watching the shoot,” Cusimano says. “Almost immediately, I knew this guy’s eye for photography was special.”

What Max didn’t know was that he’d bumped into legendary New Orleans photographer David Spielman. A diehard freelancer, Spielman proudly admits he’s never had a job. His work has taken him on assignments across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and through Central America. His images have appeared in The New York Times, TIME Magazine, Newsweek, Forbes and Architectural Digest.

Spielman’s affinity for storytellers resulted in sittings with more 70 Southern authors, including Eudora Welty, Pat Conroy, Richard Ford and Shelby Foote.

In When Not Performing: New Orleans Musicians, Spielman compiles images of musical icons Dr. John, Pete Fountain, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Fats Domino, Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint and many others.

Katrinaville Chronicles is Spielman's photographic essay about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Spielman recently published The Katrina Decade, a book and major exhibition released by The Historic New Orleans Collection. The Katrina Decade documents areas and neighborhoods photographers less familiar with New Orleans may have overlooked.

Spielman’s story is among the first three released via the new video channel Nolaphile. A combination of NOLA (an acronym for New Orleans) and phile (which denotes fondness), Nolaphile is an online outlet for the people who love New Orleans and want to experience the passionate narratives that unfold across New Orleans every day.

“In my work as a videographer at NolaVid, I meet a wide spectrum of people with very diverse backgrounds,” Cusimano says. “Spending time with people like Tory McPhail, Ashley Longshore, Robin Barnes or David Spielman, I knew I had deeper stories to tell. Like me, they’ve been possessed by their passions.” Max says Nolaphile is on track to release a new story every week.