Deputy Picture Editor Richard Cave takes his pick of the week’s best photographs and tells us why he reckons they make the grade

The main picture here is a great one from Jon Lewis at a radio and electronics rally in Didcot.

His high vantage point gave a really interesting view of the goings on, as punters pored over the pieces of kit on offer.

This view of the coloured boxes and their varied contents gave his picture the feel of an abstract painting.

Oxford Mail:

A great picture for a great story. This appeals to my appreciation of harmless mischief-making.

Given our county’s many big cat sightings over the years, Charlbury art collectors David El Kabir and Philip Reid’s decision to put a sculpture of one in their grounds seems like a fine idea.

The fact they’ve cleared undergrowth to make it more visible to confused commuters makes it all the better.

Andrew Walmsley got close-in access to the prowling beast, with Philip, and with fine composition and creative lighting got an intriguing image for a hilarious story.

Oxford Mail:

“But is it art?” I think so – it’s like a triptych.

The three birds caught in various stages as they swoop for bread on the flooded Port Meadow could easily make an Athena fine art print.

It’s a lovely moment captured by Oxford Mail reader Martin Ewers.

Oxford Mail:

I like the ‘what happens next?’ nature of this fine Steve Wheeler rugby picture.

It may be that London Welsh man of the match, Will Robinson, crashed to the ground, it may be he just kept going. I prefer the ‘against all odds’ possibility that the grit and determination won through.

Looking at his face, he certainly still believes he’s going to carry on regardless of the many restraining arms!

Oxford Mail:

Here, Jon Lewis explored the compositional possibilities of a high viewpoint at Oxford International Art Fair.

From his vantage point on the upper circle of Oxford Town Hall, Jon manages to trap viewers in the maze of apparent cells surrounded by wall-to-wall art.

Oxford Mail:

I like the composition and symmetry in Damian Halliwell’s photograph.

Framed dead centre, the pony’s inquisitive head splits the frame between the flood water and grass on Port Meadow.

I need to share with you the other reason I like it... the pony went on to nudge the photographer off balance from his waterside vantage point, just to show him who was boss.

Oxford Mail:

I tried to avoid the floods in this spread, as our pages have rightly been dominated by them this week.

However, I thought this splendid landscape taken from Wittenham Clumps by David Fleming was another great example of a picture being worth a thousand words.

Under our headline We’re on a knife edge, it not only illustrates the story and shows the extent of the local flooding but more than this, it could highlight the issue of concentrating rescue plans on urban areas at the expense of our agricultural land.