Aerospace

As part of our effort to enter 'Young Fashion Photographer of the Year', we obtained authorisation to browse the plane yard. Our idea was to use this as the scene of our entry, as the planes would add a unique touch but this also showed the regeneration of the Bournemouth airport by showing a young, well presented young man in the picture; which in turn was a metaphor for what the airport is intending to be.

Instead, I got some great compositions and the colours in the area worked well together. It became more of a documentary of the effort to get the pictures done than actually taking the picture. It was great for my direction, looking at the derelict planes which have now settled as fire training equipment for the fire service. However, these planes were once proud products of Britain flying worldwide in some cases. (This project eventually led to a ride in a helicopter to top off a great day of photography)

"Waiting, October 2009"

"Danger, October 2009"

"Camouflage, October 2009"

"High, October 2009"

" Control, October 2009"

" Take Off, October 2009"

"Fashion, October 2009"

"Paparazzi, October 2009"

Some of the photos I have chosen have captured a pause moment, almost as if they were staged. I noticed this similar idea in the work of Hannah Starkey, where the idea of capturing a pause in time was composed using actors; generally looking at everyday situations as the subject matter. I would argue that exploring an airport is no everyday situation, but the images that show a pause in time such as "Camouflage" and "Paparazzi" work well as a similar concept. When choosing the images I was looking with a more playful eye, choosing photos that humoured and intrigued me rather than staging the photos to make them something else.

Parrworld

Martin Parr on Parrworld - The Times Online

Martin Parr has said that he doesn't take photographs, he collects them. This terrific show, spread over two floors at Baltic, takes the unusual but inspired approach of combining new work Parr has collected on film alongside the bits of bric-a-brac he collects on impulse.

The centrepiece is a luxurious new series of photographs in which Parr shifts his focus from Middle English mores to produce a devastatingly deadpan critique of the international jet set. Most of these pictures are laugh-out-loud funny, but what really marks them out is Parr's ability to turn a candid snap into a perfect composition. Rows of red-faced revellers at the races invite comparison to William Powell Frith's paintings of Derby day, though the expanses of straining satin owe something to the social satire of the late Beryl Cook.

Parr mimics the poise of a Renaissance panel in a shot of a woman being plied with cigarettes and Pimm's, like the patron saint of inebriation surrounded by her attributes. A sequence shot in St Moritz presents merciless close-ups of collagen, fur and turkey necks. Yet Parr doesn't depend on people to create a satisfying image; he is capable of framing an almost Miró-esque arrangement of peculiarly coloured cocktails and abandoned stilettos.

No less revealing than the photographs are Parr's bits of memorabilia. One wall features an array of plates commemorating the 1984 miners' strike alongside tableware bearing the image of Margaret Thatcher. The Osama bin Laden dartboard looks ridiculous until you consider that the US forces depicted the Iraqi regime as a deck of playing cards. Parr has a set of those, too. And it's unnerving to see a pair of embroidered Afghan prayer mats celebrating the events of 9/11 as a triumph.

Parr's hoard is, above all, a testament to the strange universality of kitsch, and proof that the late 20th/early 21st century will become known as the age of pointless plastic items made in China. Who might have guessed that a pair of Barack Obama "Yes, we can" trainers could already seem as quaint as a Sputnik ashtray? There can be little doubt that it's Parr's world, and we're lucky to live in it.

Winner of The Times/Canon Young Photographer of the Year

Winner of The Times/Canon Young Photographer of the Year

Every year, The Times runs a competition for young photographers, with the winner being awarded a six-month contract to work for the paper. All the past winners have gone on to successful careers in photojournalism, with many still working for The Times. Matthew Lloyd, 24, who has just been named the Times/Canon Young Photographer of the Year 2009, is now looking forward to starting a new job in London. "It’s not just about winning an award," he says. "It’s a whole life change."

Scott Montgomery, The Times’ night picture editor and one of the competition judges, praised Lloyd’s "outstanding portfolio". Of the winning submission, shown here, Mr Montgomery says: "They were original subjects, shot with an inventiveness, flair and dedication rarely found in someone so young," he said.

Local youngsters show off their street dancing moves in Wrekington, Gateshead. Several of the youngsters were involved in anti social behaviour or doing poorly at school before dancing gave them an opportunity to put their talents to use

Jean Fenn, 87, in the hairdressing room of the Cleveland Care Centre. The centre is pioneering new methods of caring for Alzheimer's patients, including painting their room doors the same colour as the residents' old houses, creating a bar area, retro cinema, a bus stop and a hairdressing salon on site.

Paul Parker, a pest controller, holds up the severed heads of two squirrels after skinning and gutting them in the back of his van. In partnership with the local community, he is trying to eliminate grey squirrels from Northumberland in an attempt to revive the fortunes of the native red squirrel.

Shapes and Shadows

"Green, November 2009"