Something funny about wigs

No offence to the folically challenged, but there's something inherently funny about wigs, the subject of this week's picture feature. You see them in the windows of joke shops and you wear them to parties. Toddlers, whenever they put them on their heads, invariably burst out laughing. With almost equal certainty, a wig is always obviously a wig. It's a very lucky man who succeeds in making it look as if it really is his hair, and not something that's landed on his head from outer space. Or in the case of judges, something from a very, very long time ago. The pictures in this set were taken in Brighton, London and Bournemouth.

About this site

Images Brighton currently has 48000 keyworded pictures online and you can access them all from the search page. New or updated subjects include wigs, leaves, aircraft and air shows, fruit and vegetables, motorbikes,and the Goodwood Revival. To explore the site, go to the information and search guide, plus the indexes of subjects, events & places and Brighton. Have a look at the portfolio and the pictures of the week series. The latter publishes ten images about a particular topic and now has 2300 pictures in total. Then there is the picture sets page which covers specific events and places. Almost all the library's pictures are available for personal or commercial reproduction. Digital files can be delivered by email or CD and prices start from as little as £8. The pages on prices and terms & conditions give further information. Commissioned new photography is also available by arrangement.

Last week's pictures looked at leaves

Recent pictures of the week

The pictures a fortnight ago were about old aircraft. The first manned flight was barely a century ago, yet flying has become almost as commonplace as bus travel, not to mention being seen as the fastest growing cause of global warming. But for all the problems of mass air transport, it's impossible not to like old aeroplanes. Like cars, old planes seem to have so much more character than modern ones. They also make more interesting noises. The pictures come from last month's Shoreham Air Show, as well as the Tangmere Aviation Museum (2003), the Goodwood Revival (2006) and a field in Kent (1988).

The picture set three weeks ago was about fruit and vegetables seen on display at a recent food market in Brighton. Food displays are timeless, but they can also say something about a particular period in time. Take the slogan on the bag in the picture above - "Food you can trust". Ten years ago it might have been seen in a handful of specialist vegetarian shops. Twenty years ago, people would have asked the shopkeeper what he was on about. Likewise the range of produce available today - there can be half a dozen types of garlic on offer when, not so long ago, there might not have been one. Choice, quality and freshness are great, but we shouldn't forget that, even in Britain today, there are millions who still can't afford it.

Four weeks ago, the focus was on motorcycle art, which is one of the most striking ways used by bikers to individualise their machines. Petrol tanks are decorated with fantastically detailed and colourful paintings and all manner of ornaments are attached to handlebars, lights and numberplates. The subject matter of most motorbike art is very varied, though certain themes seem especially popular. Death is a favourite and, given the grim accident statistics for bike riding, this is all too understandable. Then there is a definite fondness for Red Indians (Native Americans for the politically correct), fierce animals and, unsurprisingly, attractive young women with their kit off. All the examples of motorcycle art in the feature came from the Ace Cafe rallies on Brighton seafront between 1997 and 2006.