New College students become the masters at photography exhibition

A close-up exhibition focused in on New College photography students this month as they exhibited their end of year show.

The exhibition, held at artsite's Number Nine Gallery, showcased the OCR Level 3 Diploma Photography class's final projects. Mary Gale, the class's Course Leader, said: "From the last two years we've hopefully set them up to become self-initiative to enable them to stand on their own two feet. "The exhibition is a chance for students to present work in their specialism - it shows great diversity and incredible talent. I'm very proud of them - they're all my favourite." The exhibition diplayed a range of work from city scapes, wildlife, and fashion. During their two year course the students have worked with both film and digital photography, as well as setting up their own websites to display their portfolio. Mary added: "We try and encourage them to be as professional as possible to attract people to their work. "In class we try and give students a wide range of skills to become more confident as photographers - then it's up to them where they want to go next. "We're very open to knowing what the student wants and supporting them to the best of our ability." Also in attendance was Rachel Davis, a former New College photogrpahy student who recently won The UK Picture of the Year award. Mary Gale was previously one of her teachers. Mary said: "We are all bursting with pride. She really deserves it - she's always been such a hard worker and the award just goes to show it."