Photography group Fab Collective tell Laura Davis about their inaugural exhibition at St Luke’s Church

INITIALLY they were strangers, individually capturing the same city. Then they started putting their pictures online and discovered there were others like them, recording Liverpool people, places and events each with a different eye but with a common purpose.

In January, one of them decided to arrange a get-together and the Fab Collective was born – a photography group that encompasses a wide range of ages, tastes and experience.

“We all met through Flickr,” explains founder member Andy O’Hare.

“I hadn’t physically met anyone until that day in January at the Everyman Bistro.

“There were about 40 of us there and most people have stuck with the group.”

Fab, named after the ice lolly as a pun on the international photo agency Magnum, is holding its inaugural exhibition at St Luke’s “bombed out” Church in Liverpool city centre.

The collective chose a selection of quotations about the city, from famous people and members of the public, and then each created a single image that suited one of the sentences. The exhibition reflects the diverse styles and personalities in the group, with photographs ranging from the waterfront at sunset to a homeless man sleeping outside a strip club.

“We all want to promote the city and show it in a different light,” says Andy, 42, who lives in Mossley Hill and works in IT.

His photograph shows the rubble of Concourse Tower next to Lime Street station and the former North Western Hotel. The quotation it is intended to embody came from Bootle poet Matt Simpson: “The city is constantly changing. Between the demolishing of the old and the construction of the new there will always and inevitably be space for longing.”

Brian Roberts, a 42-year-old photographer based at Liverpool Community College’s arts centre, created a portrait of actor John McArdle to fit with a quotation made by a member of the public in 2007: “Culture is more than a clever trendy play or photos that break the rules to no purpose. Liverpool culture is people like me who were born and bred of it and look back; Liverpool culture is the people who live there now and all the varied lives they lead.”

“It was while he was in rehearsals for the play One Night in Istanbul,” explains Brian. “Some of my pictures appeared in the show’s programme. It’s a nice simple shot of John, who was a really nice guy and very friendly.”