Following a new banner's journey at the Durham Miners' Gala - that was what the Durham Photographic Society set out to do in summer of 2006. They got funding from Durham County Council Arts Development and 22 of the society's 70 members got involved. Tony Griffiths from the Photographic Society helped to mastermind the project and says: "It was really a lot to do with connecting with the community. We do a lot of work with the Cathedral and the Botanical Gardens and this widens our association with the Durham Miners' Gala and the former mining communities." One of four There were four new banners in the 2006 Durham Miners' Gala.
 | | Tony Griffiths captured as he snaps away |
One of them was the Bowburn Centenary Banner, which depicts the Bowburn community past and present. The Bowburn Junior School, also created a banner, based entirely on the children's design. The photographers from the photographic society followed the hard work of the Bowburn Banner Group - from the first time the banner arrived in the village to the big Gala Day. Preserving a tradition All the 22 photographers on the day were able to capture the essence of the day from all possible vantage points - the dedication in the Cathedral was covered from ten different views alone! "When the last of the mines closed, all these communities had left were the banners and the brass bands.
 | | Four of the 22 DPS team taking pictures |
"It's a wonderful tradition to preserve," Tony says. All the 3000 photos have been digitally stored, even those taken by John Clarke, a documentary photographer who uses his Leica camera - the only one who didn't use a digital camera on the day. On show Some of the photos have already been seen in a digital slide exhibition as part of the World Culture Festival. The slide show as accompanied by music written especially for the day called The Bowburn March. Local musician Ray Farr wrote the piece which was recorded live on the Palace Green. There will be an opportunity to see the photos next year as they will be exhibited around the 2007 Durham Miners' Gala. For more information about that and the Durham Photographic Society, contact them via their website below. | 
