Jim Barron

Most days it seems, you can find Jim in London. Several times this year I've been hurrying to the Photographers' Gallery or across Soho or down Bond St and in the distance have seen a familiar figure with his Leica and hat.

I haven't always had time to stop and talk, or even to go over and greet him, as I usually seem to be rushing to a late appointment. Sometimes I've realised he is at work waiting patiently for the moment to happen and not wanted to disturb him.

Though officially retired, Jim seems to be working harder than ever. After a day's work on the street he goes home to spend the evening in the darkroom printing.

Every LIP meeting sees Jim with a new box of pictures for our delight, with perhaps another 30 or 40 or more 20x16 prints.

This print won second prize in a competition organised by the Evening Standard and Canon and was one of five or six prizewinners displayed in the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Despite this success, Jim was robbed as this picture was clearly in a league of its own compared with the other winners.

Another superb example of his street photography, the top picture made a fine poster for the Soho Jazz festival. It is hard to imagine how anything or anybody in this peculiar theatre of the street could have been better placed - a moment so precisely caught that could not have been better drafted or choreographed.
PM.