Relocated New Orleans artist Al White filled the Garner Historic Auditorium with sights of the crescent city last week.

White moved to Garner after the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. He managed to save many of his art pieces from various galleries around the city.

“We double save our stuff because things happen,” White said.

He has two photos on display he took after Hurricane Katrina hit the city. One shows a man walking in front of the Dew Drop Inn, a fancy nightclub where famous jazz musicians played decades ago.

“If you were anybody, you played at the Dew Drop Inn,” White said.

However, the decaying building in White’s photo shows how time and weather took a toll on the once-great club. When the club fell on hard times in the late 1960s, it closed leaving just a shell where there had been so much life. Hurricane Katrina took half the siding off the building.

White’s other post-Katrina photo was taken outside his uptown studio. When he walked out the door, he saw the words “Smoke Somethin” spray-painted onto a nearby building. Although the owners of the building usually kept it graffiti free, White said there was something interesting about the scene.

The “Big Easy” lifestyle in New Orleans is reflected in his pre-Katrina work – from the photo of Kathleen and Noonie sitting outside an antique shop talking to Dave petting Big Red, a dog he rescued and nursed back to health.

“Every shot has a story,” White said.

The photos also tell of New Orleans’ struggles. In White’s photo “Chair with Gun,” he depicts the violence in New Orleans at the time.

“That was my statement about New Orleans back then,” he said.

However, White said moving to Garner brought back memories of New Orleans before the high crime rates. The small-community feel and beautiful scenery have kept him here.

“Garner is how New Orleans used to be,” he said.

White’s photography will be on display for October and November at the auditorium.