Assignments: The Press Photographers' Association Yearbook

In a companion essay to this imported collection from the British Press Photographers' Association, photographer Tim Imrie observes that ""to get a good, thought-provoking photograph with a strong story, in the teeth of adversity, is to experience a sense of achievement that is unique.'' That accomplishment is evident in a photograph that captures the grief of a young policewoman at the funeral of a colleague, a Harrods bombing victim. A picture of two women absorbed in conversation as they stroll past Belfast police in riot gear provides visual commentary on the Northern Ireland conflict. There are lighthearted images as well, among them a dancing Marty Feldman (now deceased) during a break in the filming of Yellowbeard and a playfully composed photograph of telephone workers training with ladders and poles. Of course, there are the requisite portraits of the Royal Family, including an ordinary moment in the life of the Queen, caught applying lipstick at the 1985 Windsor Horse Show. Approximately 150 photographs (mostly black and white) were selected by the Press Photographers' Association to represent the best of their work. Although there are images of Lebanon, Ethiopia and Afghanistan, the perspective is decidedly British. The photographs are not equally strong, but the best of themand there is much to admireexplain more than the events they document. Tait is director of a London-based photo agency. (May)