‘Petersburg born, Petersburg bred’: Local photographer wins national competition, comes home to showcase exhibit

RICHMOND, Va. — Gary D. Jones, a Petersburg-native, is coming home to showcase a sentimental and reflective photography exhibit based on his hometown after winning the top prize at a national competition.

Jones, a member of Professional Photographers of America , submitted a black and white image of his mother sitting on a bus titled “The Destination Ahead” to compete in the Grand Imaging Awards. Jones says 1,600 pieces were entered worldwide, 500 made the cut which were then split into 16 categories.

Winning first place meant Jones took home two trophies and more than $10,000.

“I was going to treat those trophies like a Stanley Cup. People go to see them, they touch them, take pictures with them because a lot of people all through my lifetime helped me get here,” Jones says.

“The Photography of Gary D. Jones” being shown at Petersburg Area Art League (PAAL), “came about because of that picture,” Jones says.

“His obvious love for Petersburg is irrefutable,” says Bill Nicholson, President of PAAL.

Jones hopes to bring positive attention to Petersburg through the exhibit. More than 15 images line the upstairs walls of PAAL, some show people, others focus on architecture, all represent Jones’s memories of the city he grew up in. Some of the photos capture moments in time as the buildings have changed or been taken down throughout the years.

“I became in love with this craft because of the history it can show,” Jones says.

Jones believes photographers are “charged with making heirlooms,” because a snapshot taken on a camera is a snapshot in history at any point in that photo’s future.

“People say, well, let me wait until I lose some weight. I say, look, I don’t mean to be morbid but none of us know when we’re going. Do it now while you can because they’re not going to care if you were overweight. They’re not going to care what color your hair was. They just care it was you,” Jones says.

Jones singles out a photo of his grandmother’s house as the most imperative in telling his life story. Formerly located in Blank Alley, “structurally, it wasn’t the best house. It didn’t have hot and cold running water, it just had cold. It had half a bathroom and ran on a wood stove but you never really felt that you were poor,” Jones said.

Jones says the city ignores the plot of land that the home once stood on and is now completely grown over, “give it another year or so, it will be like it was never there.”

Staff of the gallery say those who come to see the exhibit find comfort in being able to recognize the streets and buildings. Those with ties to Petersburg have their own memories tied to Jones’s photographs.

“He’s local. He loves what he’s photographing. He can tell the story. He’s lived the story. He knows the people in the stories and for him to be able to convey that and share that with people that come to see the exhibit is just priceless,” Nicholson says.

He hopes visitors take away a sense of Petersburg pride from visiting the exhibit.

“Petersburg born, Petersburg bred, when I die, Petersburg dead,” Jones says.

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