“One of the reasons that I was flattered when invited to get involved with this fine group of people was because I knew I had a lot to learn as a photographer. There were many disciplines that I had never tried – and approaching strangers on the street was RIGHT outside of my comfort zone.

So when Fab Faces, our first day out, forced me to try my hand at this, I was terrified and excited in equal measure. My results were mixed but I was thrilled with this shot: it ticked most of the boxes and it made me feel as though I had made a real connection with my subject – even though my comfort zone was way over yonder.” – Alan Cookson

“I have many fave images from Fab 2009. All of them for different reasons. I’ve got some great images of Fab people in the Ship. I’ve got some great images from our days out to Lark Lane and Southport. And I got some great portraits using the whiteboard background at St Luke’s – an exercise that I really really enjoyed doing.

But in the end its this one. Big City Mist was Zak’s subject for his exhibited photo. At the opening evening they turned up to see the shot and you could tell they were well pleased with it. And to be a part of the ‘Up to something’ exhibition. I asked them to stand by their pic so I could rattle off a few shots. They were more than pleased to do so, although they wouldn’t stand still and they wouldn’t concentrate. They were too busy looking at the pic to pay any attention to me. Of all the shots I took, I don’t think I’ve got one where they are all looking at the camera. In hindsight, that’s fine and this one works.

The Daily Post were so cool at publicising the exhibition before it opened and then they also published this shot the following week, so kudos to them for that too.

Oh, and Big City Mist are a top band.” – Peter Goodbody

“I can hardly believe it was only last May. It feels like years ago. This sticks in my mind because it was taken at the first Fab project we did – the first day I ever asked somebody I didn’t know if I could take their photograph. I was totally terrified at the start but Terry and Zak gave me loads of confidence.” – Graham Lloyd

“It’s not my best Fab shot of the year, that would probably be this whiteboard portrait. However I chose this one because the Fab Faces day was such a turning point for me. I gained a lot of confidence and had a lot of fun due to the support of all my fab friends and this chap in particular (thanks Mark), my mentor and owner of the widest grin in Liverpool, which I haven’t really done justice to in this shot. We were both a bit nervous at the start but as you can see here, we soon became a lot more comfortable about asking strangers if we could take their photos!” – Sam Bytheway

“This was a tough one because the only proper Fab event I’ve really taken part in was the disposable camera day and that didn’t result in many amazing shots due to the nature of the beast. One thing that did strike me when wandering around the streets of Liverpool city centre was how damn fashionable kids are these days. I saw so many teenagers, some as young as 13 or 14, who had obviously taken real care in putting together an ensemble that created a unique style. The other thing that impressed me was that they wore these clothes with such confidence, strutting down the street as though it was their own personal catwalk. That’s why I’ve chosen this image of a young black guy who is dressed like the reincarnation of Joey Ramone and caught me taking the shot out of the corner of his eye.” – Ade McManus

“This is one of my faves as it was a strange day and I think this sums it up, still brings a smile to my face now, the cocktails that followed were fab too ” – Jan Rogerson

Southport day out – Pete Carr

Southport day out – Graham Morgan

‘Up to something’ exhibition launch – Andy O’Hare

Chris – Jen Allanson

Whiteboard portrait – Terry Hindle

Whiteboard portrait – Tom Fairclough

Fab Faces – Mark Lea

‘Up to something’ exhibition launch – Marion Pope

Southport day out – Jane Macneil

Fab Faces – Mark Maloney

San – Hollie Edwards

Chris, whiteboard portrait – Simon Barrow

Southport day out – Will Lee

Southport day out – Iain Francis

As 2009 draws to a close we’d like to thank everyone who has helped to make this such a successful year for the Fab Collective, especially if you visited the ‘Up to something’ exhibition or let us take your photo on our Fab Faces and Lark Lane days out.

Just in case you were wondering, we haven’t been idle since the exhibition closed in September. After all the hard work involved in mounting an exhibition in a roofless building during a typical British summer (whose crazy idea was that again?) we decided that we deserved a holiday. So we treated ourselves to a fun day out at Southport in early October.

In November we returned to our regular stomping ground in Liverpool city centre in an attempt to answer the age old question of camera or photographer? We went right back to basics and got some interesting results, which you will be able to see on this website very soon.

Over the last few weeks we have been working on our most important project to date, in partnership with our friends at Urban Strawberry Lunch. Look out for more news on this exciting venture in the new year.

And if you’re looking for a treat to spend your Christmas money on and can’t quite face the sales, don’t forget that ‘Up to something’ – the book of the exhibition is available to purchase online from Blurb.

Happy New Year from everyone at the Fab Collective – we hope to see you soon.