The Queen

The Queen, subject of this week's picture set, came to Brighton on March 8th. Despite being almost 81, she still dutifully carries on her lifelong schedule of visits and tours. A sunny day out in Brighton must have been quite an easy and pleasant trip for her. But spare a thought for what this woman has had to endure over the years by way of entertainment. She must have had to sit through more ridiculous spectacles than anyone else in history, the emperors Nero and Caligula not excluded. To the Queen, the world outside her front door must seem like a perpetual version of Fame Academy. All those eager smiles. All that endless waving and cheering. No wonder she likes to come home to Prince Philip.

Last week's pictures featured women and hats

Last week's picture subject was women and hats. There's an old saying that goes "If the cap fits, wear it". As any mere man would tell you, this advice is routinely ignored by women, especially at weddings and race meetings. Dull practicality is, happily, not often a consideration for the female choice of head adornment. Fashion and fun may seem more frivolous reasons for buying a hat than whether or not it keeps you dry or stays on your head in the wind. But, rain or shine, the world's a brighter place when women put their hats on and we can all enjoy that. You may also like to see the earlier picture set about men and hats.

Other recent pictures of the week

The subject of the picture set a fortnight ago was big brother britain. There are more CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) cameras in the UK than throughout the whole of the rest of Western Europe. When they first appeared, their rationale was said to be the prevention of street crime. All well and good, but now they have multiplied in number and purpose far beyond anything imagined by George Orwell in "1984", his classic novel about a controlled society. Wherever you go nowadays, there are cameras watching for the slightest infringement of the rules. Speeding and parking, drinking and smoking, dropping litter and, of course, bombing. If only bombers were stopped by cameras. The trouble is that the average suicide bomber probably wants his ghastly final act preserved on film. Big Brother may be all-seeing, but all too often he's also useless.

The pictures three weeks ago came from a recent (February 2007) walk around st james's, an urbane and exceptionally well-heeled slice of Central London. Mayfair may be as grand, but its streets always seem empty of life. Belgravia is just a housing estate for the very rich. St James's, by contrast, mixes discretion and raffishness, both historic and contemporary. Its clubs, shops and galleries are honeypots for old money, new money and, though it would doubtless be silkily denied, funny money. Walk around St James's and you'll never know what goes on behind those elegant doorways. The deals struck and the pleasures enjoyed are not and never will be for public inspection. But the buildings are fantastic, and you can still get a decent bacon sandwich from the cheap cafe in Crown Passage.

Four weeks ago the pictures were about ducks.  No special reason, even if (tangentially) the news had recently been all about turkeys. At least ducks, so far, have not been so comprehensively fucked up by the food industry as turkeys and chickens. A quack, nowadays, is a lot safer than a gobble.

About this site and picture library

There are now over 48000 images in the library and they can all be keyword searched from the picture search page. New or updated subjects include The Queen, women and hats, CCTV cameras, St James's in London, ducks, shop decoration and cafes. 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 more than 2500 images. Every week there is 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.