New Orleans Jazz Fest Volunteer Photographers

The Volunteer Photographer Program is a community outreach project of the NOJHF Archive. The program provides documentation of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and joins photographers from a variety of backgrounds with the Festival and Archive to provide the unique experience of photographing the world renowned New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Volunteer Photographers must be at least 18 years of age. Two applicant categories are available: Amateur (for students, those at the beginning of their careers, or those pursuing photography as an avocation) and Professional (for those who solely rely upon photography or a photography-related field for their livelihood). Selected volunteer photographers are responsible for providing the Archive with a CD/DVD of the images taken at the festival along with a complete index of images on the disk.

Volunteer Photographers must be able to manage and edit hundreds or even thousands of digital images and understand that the work is physically demanding. Photographers often walk many miles a day around the Fair Grounds Race Course and are responsible for their own photography gear. There can be a variety of weather conditions—rain (lots of mud) or shine (lots of dust)—and potentially very hot weather. Festival dates are April 23-25 and April 29-30; May 1-2, 2010. No more than 150 applications can be accepted.