LOCAL photographer Mark Evans has stopped his international travels for long enough to pick his favourite images for a first exhibition.

Mark, of Lord Street, Kearsley, has provided material for national and international magazines, travelling all around the world to get shots of famous or unusual people and subjects.

His main love is tennis, which he teaches locally and found that photography was a good way to get the best seats in the house at the world's top tournaments.

Back at home he has put together his 50 favourite photographs for an exhibition currently running until the end of the month in the upper gallery of Harwood Library.

The selection includes prints of Monica Seles in Miami and pop star Dave Stewart in India but also features subjects such as the street children of Calcutta at Doctor Jack Preger's clinic and local school sports days.

"These fifty reflect something of my photo-philosophy," said Mark.

"I try to take everything naturally, revealing people as they are."

Mark, who coyly gives his age as 30-something, took up photography professionally after leaving Mount St Joseph School.

The bachelor is self-taught and his interest was developed when he dated a girl whose mother ran a processing lab so he got his photographs produced cheaply.

Nowadays, as well as regular trips abroad, he covers weddings and has started taking naturalistic school photographs.

"I do quite a lot of schools. The response has been phenomenal," said Mark.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.