Tonight, the Historic New Orleans Collection opens a show of photos by Michael P. Smith. By now, some of shots will be familiar because they’ve entered New Orleans’ culture, and others will seem familiar because so many shots like them exist. It’s worthwhile to remember that shots that now verge on cliche – Mardi Gras Indian photos, for instance – were first shot on a significant scale by Smith. His work is the body of work that so many photographers of New Orleans culture are riffing on (consciously or unknowingly) when they shoot the city.