Sheep this week

A cut-out of shepherd and sheep at the South of England Show in June 2005 (image 2615-212)

After the last rather gloomy picture feature about murder (see below), what could be more gentle and unthreatening than this week's subject - sheep. Actually, when you look at their heads and eyes close-up, sheep are pretty weird looking. If they were three or four times larger, we'd all be pretty scared of them. There are more than 33 million sheep munching their way across the fields and hillsides of Britain and every year they provide us with 300000 tonnes of meat, not to mention all that wool, milk and yoghourt. We get a lot more out of sheep than they get out of us, so it's just as well they aren't any bigger.

Murder last time

The picture set a fortnight ago, in the dark days straddling the old and new years, looked at murder. We'd recently had Christmas and Jesus, of course, was murdered. Then, on the Thursday after Christmas 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 end it was to 2007 !

Men and horses, shop closures and dogs have been the subjects of recent sets

The picture subject four weeks ago 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.

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 be facing difficulties in the New Year. The subject of the picture feature five 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 six 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.

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 sheep, murder, men and horses, shop closures, dogs and 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.

Parking space for lady customers outside a West Midlands hotel in January 2008 (image 2749-3)