This week saw the launch of the first of the Sky Arts series "Master of Photography", I have been awaiting this show with a great deal of anticipation and more than a small amount trepidation Was this show about to do for photography what the X-Factor did for singing ? , perish the thought ! In my view this show could be the first stepping stone to helping the general public understand what Street.Photography is all about and hopefully diminish the suspicion and paranoia we all encounter from time time on the streets, in short my hopes for this show was that it would be a positive PR exercise for what we do and help others understand why we do it .

The show consists of 8 togs of different levels of experience and diverse approaches who shoot it out each week with a tog being excluded from the show after each of the episodes / challenges. I thought the show was both entertaining and positive although the atmosphere was a little stuffy for my taste, the contestants appear to endure the ordeal rather than enjoy it!

The work produced appeared to be okay with a few togs appearing to buckle under the pressure of having to work a brief with time limitations, I suspect the thought of competing for a 150,000 euro prize contributed to the underwhelming performances. I would like to mention in the interest of balance that these togs had a camera crew in tow, not a ideal way to shoot freely ?

All in all to paraphrase Simon Cowell , "It's a yes from me" , I'm looking forward to the next episode, I am mystified by the selection process for this show as I believe 8000 folks applied for the show and I expected more, however I am fascinated by a show that gives me the opportunity of seeing how other togs work , good luck to those who gave it a go.

I love watching other photographers work !