Flowers for sale

Display outside Gunns florists in Brighton's Castle Square in March 2005 (image 2597-2)

Flowers for sale is this week's picture subject. We've just had Mothers Day (bouquets), not long before was Valentine's Day (roses) and now the first signs of spring (daffodils) are well upon us. Some of the pictures come from Gunns florists in Brighton (Sydney Street and Castle Square). It is one of the best - and friendliest - flower shops in the country. Of course there is the environmental cost of flying them all around the world, but buying flowers is still one of life's nicest and more harmless pleasures. This set's pictures were taken in Brighton, London, Paris and Dieppe.

Cars in colour last week

Last week's picture set looked at cars in colours. Henry Ford famously said customers could only have his cars in black, but that was a long time ago and now you can buy Fords in any colour you like. That said, it's surprising how muted seems the palette of most cars on the road today. All those silvers, greys, pastels and, yes, blacks. Perhaps it's something to do with insurance companies, who identify certain colours (notably red) as carrying greater risk. But there are still plenty of colourful cars - in Brighton there seem as many shades of car as hair colour - and last week's feature showed ten good examples.

Chinese New Year, funfairs and animal outfits have been subjects in recent picture sets

February was the month of Chinese New Year, the subject of the feature a fortnight ago. The images came from London (1983, 1984, 1985 and 2005) and Brighton (2008). Chinese tradition ascribes each year to one of a cycle of symbolic animals and we have just entered the Year of the Rat. Such years are said to be propitious for wealth, but also strongly associated with aggression, atrocities, plague, pestilence and death. Good new for rats then, unfortunately !

Funfair lettering was the subject three weeks ago. There are longstanding traditions in the world of funfairs, for all their modern neon-lit attractions. The lettering and signage on their rides and vehicles still follows an old vernacular style - often ornate and always colourful. You may also like to look through the selections in this library for amusement rides, Carter's steam fair  and funfairs in general.

The set four weeks ago took a look at animal outfits. People - especially the English - love dressing up and some, like street entertainers, do it for a living. Animals (not forgetting birds and fish etc) have long been an inspiration for entire costumes, as well as hats, masks and other accessories. It may no longer be approved to wear fur, but almost everyone enjoys looking a bit of an animal. This picture library has a very wide range of images of people in costumes and outfits in general and you might like to see the selection keyworded as dressing up.

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 flowers, cars, Chinese New Year, funfairs, animal outfits, beach rubbish, animal sculptures and sunbathing. 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.

Graffiti mural tribute to Rolf Harris in Brighton in March 2008 (image 2752-14)