In 1973, Rhett Powell graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta and returned home to Ferriday, Louisiana to begin his photography career. His immediate goal was to get a position as a staff photographer with a local newspaper. And he did. After three years with the Natchez Democrat, Rhett opened his own studio in Ferriday. For the next 30 years, he worked as a photojournalist and a freelance photographer for variety of clients, including the Concordia Sentinel and the Associated Press.
Most of Rhett’s photographs from 1975 to today are taken within a 25 mile radius of Natchez, though he occasionally wanders down toward New Orleans. “I love this area. It’s home. I know the nuances. I know where the pictures are,” he says. “Looking through the photos today is sometimes like a walk down memory lane. Lots of shots are no longer there.”
In 2007, Rhett and his wife Nanette Powell opened Decisive Moments Gallery and Gift Shop at the Eola Hotel at the corner of Main and Pearl Street in Natchez,
