Major exhibition celebrates more than six decades of photography by Letchworth artist Rod Shone

A major new exhibition at Broadway Gallery will celebrate more than six decades of work by acclaimed photographer and Letchworth resident Rod Shone.

Opening on Friday 18 September, Rod Shone: Moments Noticed offers the first public exploration of Rod Shone’s personal photographic archive. Bringing together photographs from the early 1960s to the present day, the exhibition presents an extraordinary record of the people, places and everyday encounters that have shaped his lifelong fascination with street photography.

Rod Shone has enjoyed an extensive and varied career as a professional photographer. His work has included international advertising and commercial assignments, editorial photography, album covers and portraits of leading musicians. Career highlights include photography connected with The Kinks’ album Muswell Hillbillies and portraits of Phil Collins, The Communards and UB40.

However, Moments Noticed turns the focus towards the photographs he made for himself, often while travelling, walking familiar streets or in between professional commissions. Many of the works have never been exhibited before, offering visitors a rare opportunity to discover a deeply personal body of photography created across a lifetime.

The exhibition begins with intimate family portraits and early street photography from the 1960s, created while Rod Shone was developing his artistic voice. His early influences included photographers William Klein and Henri Cartier-Bresson, alongside the pioneering work of members of Magnum Photos.

A highlight is the Miss Italy series, created while Rod Shone was living and working in Italy and during his many subsequent visits. Through photographs of streets, bicycles, architecture and everyday life, the series captures his enduring affection for the country and the influence of Italian neorealist cinema on his work.

Visitors will also encounter photographs made during international assignments and travels, alongside work documenting Stoke Newington and the streets of London over several decades. The exhibition concludes closer to home with recent photographs of Letchworth Garden City, where Rod Shone has lived for more than a decade. Rather than focusing on the town’s architecture, these images observe its people and the small incidents that make up daily life.

At the heart of Rod Shone’s work is a fascination with people and an ability to recognise moments of humour, intimacy and humanity. His photographs demonstrate that memorable images do not require extraordinary subjects, but can be found in familiar streets, communities and fleeting everyday encounters.