Dennis Powdrill

Welcome to my exhibition entitled 'Keep it in the Family'

I regard myself as a serious amateur photographer, having been taking   photographs as a   hobby   over a period of   some 60 years. Initially I started as a young boy of 16 with a camera that belonged to a reporter with the local newspaper 'The Loughborough Monitor'. I then moved onto 35 mm, developing and printing my own films with advice from the late Walter Leeson.

For many years I was a member of Loughborough Photographic Society where I became interested in taking colour slides also. Recently I have changed from film to digital allowing me to manipulate images on my computer.

Being born and bred in Loughborough I have seen a lot of changes in the town, not least the demise of the local business. In these photographs, I have sought to record a selection of such independent local business people in their everyday workplaces. One family's ancestors started trading 167 years ago!

I am sure that many of these people in my photographs will be familiar to you. Regrettably, two of the shops have closed during the last twelve months.

Finally I would like to thank all the people who allowed me to take their photographs and gave me an insight into their business.

I hope that you enjoy what you see.