Jackson Free Press

"We want to bring attention to photography as an art form."

Christina Cannon and Howard Barron create their art by stopping time. Each has a unique style, and together they've created The Quarter Gallery, making their work and other local photographers' work available to you.

"We want to showcase our pieces, but we really want to bring fourth local talent. We have phenomenal photographers in Jackson whose work has never been seen," Cannon explains, as I browse the featured artists works in the gallery.

There's a great deal to see in The Quarter Gallery; the walls are rich with stories that are frozen in time. I asked Cannon how she decides which images to print of the countless hundreds she must have in photo limbo. "Some pictures take on a personal meaning to me," she explains, pointing to a very striking print of time-worn hands delicately holding two very old coffee jars. "We met this man; he was so nice, and he spent so much time with us digging through mountains of old stuff to show us these two coffee jars. They obviously mean something to him, and capturing that moment means something to me. That's what a photo is, a story."

Every print in the gallery has an obvious story to the viewer, but a personal story is also hidden that you may only get by having the artist share the moment with you, which Cannon and Barron are delighted to do. "We love to travel and meet people and photograph everything along the way," Cannon concludes.

Cannon prefers the "digital darkroom," as she calls it: capturing her subjects on digital media and working her darkroom magic on the computer. When I say digital, I'm not talking about $99 special that you whip out at birthday parties. I mean serious, high-end equipment. Cannon dispels any thought that any naysayer may have about digital photography not really being photographic art. "I use the available light and color, I dodge and burn just as I would in a traditional darkroom, only I do it on the computer." And she's breathed her share of darkroom chemicals, so she knows whereof she speaks.

Cannon has also made an art of wedding photography, which is one of the main stays of her business. You've not seen wedding photography like this.

Cannon captures the emotion that only lovers can share, and returns it to them in a unique format for a lifetime of enjoyment.

"I didn't know I had as much talent as he saw in me," Cannon compliments Barron, explaining how he mentored her and shared his knowledge of the art of photography. "We're from totally different backgrounds, which makes what we offer at The Gallery a nice contrast."

"It's the old and the young," Barron adds. "The old and the new," he corrects. "I don't do digital photography because I wasn't brought up with computers." Barron's work is definitely nostalgic Mississippi. Evolving from classic darkroom techniques, Howard's art depicts, and sometimes documents, the forgotten Mississippi. The old gas pump in a little town you've never heard of. The beautiful old ruin of a home you passed a thousand times that's no longer there. Not to say that Barron's eye doesn't venture outside of Magnolia Land—you will also find treasures captured from surrounding states.

Barron works mostly in black and white, which seems to compliment his subjects from the past. The dusty roads and the rusty earth tones don't seem to mind. You can smell the fresh cut hay and hear the summer bugs that make a sweltering day that much hotter; and you can taste a cool soda pop from a six ounce bottle on the porch of an old country store.

"That camera cost me $6.79," Howard chuckles as he points to the first camera he owned, a box camera, that's now become shelf décor above his desk.

Whether you are a local photographer looking for a show, or a showplace looking for some local photography, I urge you to stop by The Quarter Gallery, Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., next to Cups in the Quarter.