Murder, 'orrible murder

Outside the Grand Hotel the morning after the IRA tried to murder the British Cabinet in October 2004 (image 26-13)

This week's picture feature, in the dark days straddling the old and new years, looks at murder. We've just had Christmas and Jesus, of course, was murdered. Then last Thursday in Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated while campaigning in Rawalpindi. Closer to home, on Christmas Day, a man was attacked and left for dead on a patch of waste ground behind where we live in Brighton. Thankfully he still clings on to life - less lucky was the 16-year old stabbed to death last week in broad daylight in Islington. It seems a sudden and violent end can come to anyone, famous or unknown, at any time. What a gloomy start to the New Year - I'll try and do better next week !

The last feature looked at men and horses

The last picture subject was men and horses. Even though horses no longer provide essential transport (though when the oil runs out, who knows) they still feature very strongly in our national life. From the bloke in the bookie's putting a fiver on the 3.30 at Kempton to the glittering display of the Household Cavalry at the Queen's Birthday Parade, horses and men remain bonded together as ever they were. This set is the latest in a series and you may like to see the earlier ones about men and boats, cars, dogs, drink, food and hats.

Shop closures, dogs and bikers have been the subjects of recent sets

It was Christmas on the high street again, but Santa arrived with an unpleasant present this time. The credit crunch put a dampener on the ringing tills and a lot of shopkeepers will face difficulties in the New Year. The subject of the picture feature three weeks ago, therefore, was closing down, which is what many shops, especially small ones, could soon be doing. Of course we've been here before - 1991-94, 1982-85 and 1973-75. Boom and bust is as British as bangers and mash. Unfortunately.

Dog's life was the title of the set four weeks ago - ten images illustrating the wacky existence (and in one case demise) of the humble mutt. There used to be a slogan you'd see in car rear windscreens: "A Dog is for Life, not just for Christmas". It was a good slogan, reminding us that pet dogs are a long-term responsibility and not to be acquired on a whim. Man's "best friend" is often seen in an all too unfriendly light (take a look at the earlier set called beware of the dog). But, however well or badly treated they are, dogs have a charming way of just getting on with life. Rolling and sniffing, running and barking, eating the most repulsive things and then licking your face afterwards. Christmas comes just once a year, but dogs are up for it every single day of their funny old lives.

Bikers were the subject of the feature five weeks ago. Rockers and Hells Angels may be the biker archetypes, but people who like riding motorcycles come in fact from a far wider range. From small boys in display teams to old men (and some women) on vintage machines, there's a great variety of bikers on and off the road. Some of the best can be seen at the many rallies that end up on Brighton seafront every year. This library has a good choice of pictures from these events - check the events page on this site to have a look at the Ace Cafe rallies and Pioneer Runs.

Over 50000 pictures now available

The picture library offers more than 50000 images and they can all be keyword searched from the picture search page. New or updated subjects include murder, men and horses, shop closures, dogs, bikers and railways. The site has several ways to help make relevant and fruitful searches, including index pages for both subjects and events & places.  There is also a useful search guide and information page.

A good showcase of the type and range of photography available can be explored in the pictures of the week series. Published on the site since December 2001, this now totals over 2900 images. Each week brings a set of ten pictures about a particular place, event or theme. Almost all the library's pictures are available for personal or commercial reproduction. Digital files can be delivered by email or CD, prices start from as little as £8 and there is further information on the prices and terms & conditions pages. You can also contact David Gray for quotations and availability for new photography commissions.

An alpaca in a Sussex field in December 2007 (image 2747-72)