Joshua Pailet describes his childhood, going into how his mother's positive outlook on life had a massive influence on him.  He briefly covers his college experience and how he wound up an artist in New Orleans.  He talks about the city's atmosphere and the local Jewish community.  He then turns to his Katrina experience, giving a detailed day-to-day account.  He did not evacuate, staying in his studio in the French Quarter and visiting his house and neighbors to check on them during the day.  He describes the camaraderie between those sheltered in place and the silence after the storm.  He explains how he was driven to start taking pictures, with a brief tangent to express his disappointment in the lack of government aid.  He talks more about his neighbors and how many people he saw helping each other, contrasting it with the negativity of the media.  He left the city for Baton Rouge on Friday, the fourth day after the storm made landfall, due to the fires that were burning unchecked.  He brought with him 20 of his favorite pieces from his gallery to rebuild if need be.  While in Baton Rouge, he spoke on the news about what he had seen. On the second tape, Pailet describes the "Torah rescue." Erich Sternberg contacted him to join and photograph a group primarily made of rabbis going to retrieve any Torah scrolls they could from the various affected synagogues.  He discusses his feelings on photography more generally and how he fell in love with the medium.  After the Torah rescue, Josh went back and forth between Baton Rouge and New Orleans using a fake pass to get through the National Guard checkpoints.  He talks about the slow rebuilding process and his philosophy on living through crises.  Josh describes how he saw people "rising to the occasion," helping each other and volunteering.  He doesn't resent those who didn't return.  He believes grassroots efforts are the most important for helping New Orleans.  Josh blames the lack of government aid for how bad things got.  He says he is proud of the Jewish community for helping out.  Josh believes the disaster reinforced his Jewish identity and talks about how unprepared the United States continues to be for large-scale disasters.  Returning to his religious beliefs, Josh discusses his views of God and the miraculous and how they impact his art.  The hurricane made him realize how short life is and how important community is. In part three, Pailet goes through twelve photographs.  The first eight are from his Katrina collection.  He tells the stories behind them, where applicable, and explains why he took them.  The last three are among the pictures he took with him when he left for Baton Rouge.  They are all by other artists: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, and Edward Sheriff Curtis.  He explains the significance of each and why he chose them.