Today’s post is a little more “off the beaten path” in mindset. It’s all about utilizing unique and somewhat odd locales for a truly artistic wedding photo shoot. The two places featured today are Jazzland (also known as Six Flags) located in New Orleans, LA, and Joyland in Wichita, KS. Jazzland was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans, leaving the amusement park ravaged. Joyland in Wichita has suffered at the hands of the recession, finally closing its doors in 2007.

The juxtaposition that a photographer and wedding couple would make at one of these locales would be indescribable! In New Orleans, Jazzland was a celebration of the bayou culture, with its heavy influence on the jazz bands and jazz music that so characterize the sounds of French Quarter streets. Joyland was a family owned and operated amusement park that has been open since 1949. Sadly succumbing to the pressure of the economy, the town of Wichita has lost a historical landmark that celebrated a bygone era. Now don’t let the title of the video fool you. I feel that joy could be found in these old relics.

Positioning a couple in love at such a place would showcase the hardships the community has gone through, the love that it has for its roots and its people, and the ability to overcome.

Whether it be for an engagement session, an inspiration shoot, or a day-of wedding shoot locale, all these options could make for fantastic, artsy, and utterly unique photographs!

No Joy from Mike Petty on Vimeo.