Exceedingly Good Takes

Wow! The Best of Newbury Photo Exhibition is fantastic. Come up with a stunning superlative and it will only begin to describe the creativity and originality of over 150 images of a host of people.

Neale and Sam James from Breathe Pictures and Karen Holmes from www.thebestof.co.uk/newbury deserve a veritable mountain of credit for taking an idea to the wondrous fruition in the space of just nine months.

You must go and see it – at the Corn Exchange in Newbury – to appreciate how original each photograph is. Photographer Neil has taken each subject and interpreted them in such delightful ways it makes for good entertainment. Further depth is added by the short statements beneath each canvas, adding more depth to the face above.

There was also some very clever positioning of the different subjects that variously compared and contrasted. My favourite was the Big Issue seller next to a peer of the realm.

The exhibition was launched last night at a special preview and opened by the Earl of Carnarvon, who is among those pictured. He spoke passionately about the Thames Valley Air Ambulance, who will benefit from the sale of the images. I suspect there will be a lot of Christmas presents resolved thanks to this exhibition.

The evening was particularly entertaining seeing the reaction of people to discovering their photograph. I even managed to capture a few people with their portraits, as you will see below.

Pictured (from the left) are Graham Chapple from Gardens 4 You, Richard Hayman of the Madagascan Gin Palace - currently taking Christmas bookings! Next is Tony Quinn of Recognition Express

Here is another: Richard Benyon, the MP for West Berkshire, whose own photograph has given him movie star appeal! Or at the very least it looks like he is modelling a very expensive shirt!

Richard had also been at Lou Cummins memorial service earlier in the day and recalled some fond memories of the former editor. Not least how unimpressed Lou had been with his political aspirations!

I was delightfully surprised to discover that my photo was not the blog shot I use of me on the mobile, but another one taken the same time of me just cracking up with laughter. I do that a fair bit. If you have read this far you will have already seen it at the top of the page.

The exhibition is free, open whenever the Corn Exchange is and on show until the 18th November, when it will go on tour.