Herman's Photographic Journey 

Herman K. Taitt, Jr., was born in 1961 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Herman K. Taitt, Sr., and Dorothy Betrice Trusclair-Taitt. An extremely diverse family, even by New Orleans’ Standards. Herman traced his mother's lineage back to the William J. Trusclair Plantation in the 1800’s. Located just outside of a small town called Bayou Goula, Louisiana, named after the Bayou Goula Indian Tribe located there since the early 1700’s (Bayagoula, Bayagola, or Bayugla [French and Spanish perversions of the word yielded the word Bayou Goula]). This tribe was totally consumed by neighboring African Slaves in the region during the agricultural revolution (1800-1913), just southwest of present-day Baton Rouge. 

Herman’s great-grandfather was believed to have immigrated to New Orleans from a small village in Haiti adjacent to the Santo Domingo border at 15 years of age in the late 1800’s. As an adult, Samuel Taitt met and married a German immigrant living in New Orleans; and her name was Margaret Daase, Samuel Taitt had one son born in 1898, Herman Samuel Taitt and their son went on to marry a French-Creole Woman in the early 1900’s named Bertha Montegue, whose notable descendant was her great-grandfather, José Montegue, who became the first surgeon hired in the City of New Orleans in 1794, in a time when some European gentlemen had both a white family and a Creole Mistress, and associated children as well. In the mid-1930s, Bertha Montegut-Taitt worked as a laborer in a cigar factory in the present Warehouse District in New Orleans. Bertha’s Brother was a prominent New Orleans Dentist, Ferdinand Montegut. 

Her Brother-in-Law was Wilbur Perez, Vice-President of the People’s Life Insurance Company, where Herman Samuel Taitt worked as an insurance Salesman. During this time frame, the term “Middle-class” was not used to define their status in pre-World War II New Orleans; instead, the vernacular commonly used was “Well-to-Do.” This hodgepodge history eventually led to how Herman Sr. and the current generation of the Taitt Family came to be. Herman Jr. knew this family history as a young boy.

Upon graduating from Southern University at New Orleans in 1985, Herman, Jr., who represented four generations in America with only 1 son per generation, accepted a job in the corporate mainstream with an American Steamship Company in 1987, a position that eventually required him to relocate to Long Beach, California. As a young man, California opened Herman’s eyes to all the beauty and pageantry that living in a studio apartment next to the ocean could offer. He was inspired by the mountains and surf, the coastal proximity to Mexico, and Asia. Inspired by such beauty, Herman purchased his first used camera.  A Canon T50, a cheap alternative to expensive photo equipment (cell phones weren't in mass production yet and were virtually unavailable in 1990).  Not yet fully understanding the purposes of F-stop or ISO, Herman just shot photos randomly in and around the Port of Long Beach / Los Angeles, and photo-documented his journey throughout his time in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Also in 1990, a temporary job assignment stevedoring containerships in Yokohama, Japan (adjacent to Tokyo), triggered Herman’s photography flair for street photography after work nights and on weekends.

In 1993, Herman returned to the Big Easy (New Orleans, Louisiana), where he was further inspired by the Hungarian-born French Photographer Brassai (Gyula Halász), who published the book Paris by Night. Brassaï preferred to reveal with immediacy, showing an awareness of the feminine beauty of the Parisian underworld against its architectural backdrop. These black-and-white images had such an impact that Herman flew to Paris to re-create Brassaï’s Masterpieces. He would fly back again repeatedly after failing technically in 1994, again in 1996, and finally obtaining some success in 1999 on a return trip back to the States via an excursion to Tanzania and Zanzibar.

In 1998, Herman was introduced to the prominent New Orleans Photographer and Albright recipient, Gus Bennett. Known for his work in documenting the human condition and the historical celebratory culture of African and Native Americans living in New Orleans. Gus taught Herman the technical proficiency of black-and-white film photography, which was the last component of Herman’s photography journey. Having read most of the books published by National Park Photographer Ansel Adams over the years, Gus made all the reading material regarding black and white photography make sense.

However, in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded his home with over 5 feet of water. The storm claimed his life’s work, 2,500 photographs, 24 years of film negatives, including cameras and lenses. He missed the opportunity to document the human conditions that existed during the Hurricane Katrina Years; however, with a new career, working on rebuilding the city’s infrastructure, working at the University of New Orleans and the New Orleans School District, there was no time to pick up a camera. This hiatus lasted 10 years. Focused on the tragic loss of his father, who was killed in the flood waters, and becoming a newly realized single parent shortly after a post-Hurricane Katrina divorce (and there were many during this time frame), put photography on hold for Herman.

In 2017, a job offer located in New Jersey, not far from New York City, inspired Herman once again, and the calling was once again street photography. Along with new gear was an abundant landscape of faces from around the globe to photograph. Not classically trained, not the need for self-expression. This is the photographic journey of Herman K Taitt.