• 8"x 12" image size (10"x 14" paper size) / 400 prints / 14"x 18" matting size

Male and female oysters of the waters of Louisiana never meet; rather, each sends a milky substance into the water where sperm meets egg. The young oyster (called a "spat") grows a minute shell and searches for a hard base to attach itself to. Once attached, the oyster adheres for life. Enclosed within its thick, sturdy shell, the oyster is adapted for filtering minute organisms from the surrounding water. The gills filter and collect food. The mantle, a thin membrane that covers the body and lines the inside of the shell, secretes the substances that make up the shell. The adductor muscles and the hinge between the two halves of the external shell help keep the shell closed. Except for the dark, pigmented areas where the shell is connected to the adductor, the inner surfaces of the valves are white.

An oyster fisherman sows empty oyster shells over the brackish waters of inland oyster beds for the young oysters. After 18 months, the oyster beds are tonged up with rakes and the oysters are moved closer to the Gulf waters to give them a briny, well-seasoned flavor.

A few weeks near the Gulf waters, and the oysters are harvested and taken to restaurants, oyster bars, and the like. Oysters are eaten steamed, fried, or raw on the half shell. The shells were used in the past for paving roads; affording a hard, smooth surface that kept in good condition.

Before harvesting techniques to maximize production, oyster beds relied on flood waters of the spring for early growth. When the river fell, salt water inched in and flavored the oysters as harvest neared. But, too much fresh water and the oysters died, too much salt water and the oysters were attacked by borers. Today, saltwater intrusion is the biggest concern of the oyster industry; reduceing the available area young oysters have to begin life.