Olympic photographic feat with Bury Archives Service

Bury students and budding photographers have been photographing Bury's sporting events this summer.

Working with Bury Archives Service, a group of students from Elton andWoodheyHigh SchoolsandBuryCollegetook part in a mentoring project headed by Andy Walmsley, professional sports photographer.

With guidance from Andy, the students (aged 15-18) photographed all the sporting events which took place during the International Youth Sports Festival, hosted in Bury in celebration of the London 2012 Olympics.

The students then went on to photograph the Ramsbottom Festival and Bury Light Night, and donated the pictures to Bury Archives for future generations to see. They are also a rare visual document of Bury in 2012 as seen through the eyes of the young people of the town.

Included in the project was a workshop and a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the archive service, where the students were shown a selection of sporting photographs and examples of archive material ranging from glass plates to diaries dating back to the 1800s.

The archives contain 18,000 photographs spanning generations of local history, documenting the changing times from sport to fashion, social developments and technological advancements.

The students also got the opportunity to meet Bury Olympian Barry Kelly who talked about his sporting achievements and his current career as a professional wildlife photographer.

For further information about Bury Archives Service, and to view photographs held on Bury Image Bank, see http://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3535

ENDS

Press release issued: 5 November 2012.

Picture attached: One of photographs, by student Alex Robb, taken during the International Youth Sports Festival in Bury this year.