Updated – this article first ran May 15 2017:
Brian Harris is the latest photographer to join the rostra on Fleet Streets Finest.
Brian grew up in London but now lives near Cambridge in England. He has worked as a staff photographer on The Times of London and was appointed chief photographer of the Independent newspaper when it launched in 1986. read more and view his gallery of prints for sale here
Former Fleet Street photo editor Alan Sparrow -photo below- Chairman of the UK Picture Editor Guild and Director of the UK Picture Editors Guild awards has announced a new venture dedicated to the best images from UK news photographers called Fleets Streets Finest
Alan who set the website up the site with former Metro newspaper colleague Bret Painter-Spanyol told PAN: “Attending various photo events I was often shown the latest photo taken by a soon-to-retire photographer, what will you be doing then? I would ask and invariably the answer was –nothing ….
…It might have been a wonderful picture from dawn in Richmond Park, a misty view across the Thames or dramatic sunrise in Essex. It seemed to me that there was a need to showcase their work. One photographer might only have a few pictures that he or she had taken recently, not really enough for a web site, but if we created the web site then here was a shop front for them and their work. Asking around it seems that there was not only a desire to display current work but also pictures from their own archive that are often collected together in a drawer with little or no marketing. Often all that is theirs from a lifetimes work employed by agencies or newspapers where the copyright was retained by their employer.’’
‘’I have always been and continue to be a fan of press photographers and their work. Their work is so often the main focus on a newspaper page and yet so often not attributed”
‘Fleet Streets Finest will have blogs and interviews with photographers and picture editors and we are excited by the quality of photographers who have committed to be contributors so far. Striking images of historic moments and sporting achievements. The perfect gift for celebrating sports fan or fan of silver screen. Pop stars, movie stars, idols of all sorts framed and delivered to your door. Beautiful scenery from Italy and views from the UK ready to hang on your wall. Owning a photograph by a working photographer has great kudos, not only can you admire work from the past but see the current work as part of your news consumption. As their work appears in papers and on web sites you will be able to follow their daily exploits It is rewarding to be able to point to a picture on your wall and tell the story of how the picture was taken and the circumstance of how it came about. We will reflect the seasons of the year and anniversaries and expect our contributors to be responsive to changing trends and events.’