Lachlan Waterhouse road trips around the world freezing the moments he witnesses along the way. His documentary style photography takes you somewhere else, an invite into the world of people, young and old, and places unknown. There’s a slowness of movement in the images, a sleepy feeling of slow magic that’s a reminder of the Australian West Coast suburb Waterhouse hails from.

After travelling around Europe and Asia, Waterhouse’s latest journey saw him venture across the States and Mexico. The highlight, stumbling across New Orleans during the city’s infamous Mardi Gras. A total cacophony of colour and culture, girls and boys and motorbikers throwing up thoughts of Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper guiding their high-handles motorbikes to the festival in 1969’s Easy Rider. Here, we share an exclusive edit of Waterhouse’s photo diary, as the photographer reflects on the trip.

“Walking around the streets at any given point, you can come across a group of homeless crust punks, happily singing and drinking whilst on the next street over, you can find a young family sitting in a park sharing a picnic,” says Waterhouse. “Maybe it was due to the Mardi Gras celebrations but there was an overall happy and welcoming feel in the air and everyone seemed to coexist quite nicely – with the exception of the balding middle aged men in Bourbon Street who were too busy pointing out how doomed mankind is.”

“We were lucky enough to meet an American / Dutch couple who were our accommodation hosts for the week and on Fat Tuesday, we found ourselves being woken early to dress in as many outlandish costumes as possible and join in the street parade. Accompanying us was a French couple who had previously stayed with our hosts – as the day progressed, we found ourselves sitting along the Mississippi River, watching as members of the local community conducted a ceremonial service.

I’d love to go back to New Orleans at some point, perhaps spending a period of time in the city before or after Mardi Gras, as it would be nice to see the city in everyday life. New Orleans is an incredible place to shoot, where you can find everything and everyone – from crazy characters in the streets to the scars left throughout the city by Hurricane Katrina and the efforts to rebuild the city’s infrastructure.”

Check out more of Lachlan Waterhouse’s work at his website.