Amanda McElfresh

amcelfresh@theadvertiser.com

The Atchafalaya Basin may be poised to become the world’s next major destination for professional photographers.

Earlier in November, the first major photography workshop took place in the Basin and surrounding area. The tour was organized by guides Kerry Griechen, CC Lockwood and Steve Uffman.

Griechen also served as the tour administrator, Lockwood was the historian and Uffman oversaw marketing.

The tour, organized in four months, drew 12 photographers, the maximum allowed this year. Griechen, who also works as a freelance photographer for The Daily Advertiser, said the response has been so strong that plans are in the works for at least two tours in 2017.

“It was absolutely magical,” Griechen said. “The feedback we’re getting is super. People are telling us they’re going to be talking about it for years, that it was world class. Not only is the cat out of the bag, it’s running down the street. Everybody is telling each other that they have to come here.”

Griechen said south Louisiana first appeared on photographers’ radars about two years ago, when Austrian photographer Georg Popp won a major competition with an image taken at Lake Fausse Point. The next year, Marsel van Oosten, a photographer from the Netherlands, won a nature photographer of the year award with a photo from almost the same location.

Another help was Uffman’s involvement and his connection with photographers across the world.

3 amazing things about the Atchafalaya Basin

“These top-rated world photographers have kind of been to the same places over and over,” Griechen said. “When Georg won with a shot from Louisiana, it was something fresh, it’s new, it’s something nobody knew about. That’s put us on everybody’s bucket list. Now everybody is saying they have to come here.”

Griechen said the organizers also made sure their guests left with an authentic South Louisiana experience, complete with plenty of food and many items donated from local people and organizations.

For 2017 and beyond, Griechen said the group is working with sponsors to expand their marketing efforts and opportunities for guests.

The hope is that photographers don’t just leave Louisiana with beautiful photos, but a better understanding of Louisiana history and culture.

“They are taking images back home and entering competitions with them, which further promotes the area,” Griechen said. “We are also heavily emphasizing the Cajun culture. It’s just fabulous when you think about what this could do for tourism.”

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