EVERY now and again Hereford takes itself by surprise, and last Thursday night, at the opening of three exhibitions under one roof, there was a definite buzz.

That's something not often associated with this sleepy city.

Photographers past and present at Hereford's College of Art and Design are displaying a sparkling selection of work, entitled image and imagination.

A great turnout meant that between 7pm and 7.30pm the upper canyon at the Courtyard became almost dangerous.

An eclectic mix of work gives an excellent appreciation of how deserving the photography faculty is of its national reputation.

"It's not the end product that is important, but the thinking process," said course leader Richard Burt.

With the recently broken news of the application to upgrade the HND course to degree status, the timing of the show seems impeccable.

"We've been building towards the degree status for three to four years," Richard said. "Photography is very successful in terms of recruitment, with the largest number of higher education students in the college."

Also showing is Alan Hughes' Work In Progress, which uses the Courtyard gallery to its full capacity, with the walls providing the canvas on which the artist is exhibiting waste items as art. Milk bottle tops, aluminium can bottoms and dents in the plaster: it's hard not to smile at the simplicity, and efficacy, of it all.

Rosie Martin's Mondays creates a satisfying contrast in the lower canyon with brightly coloured oil and acrylic paintings, filled with energy inspired by the indigenous art of Australia and North America.

All three exhibitions are showing until the end of February - and provide tangible evidence of the Courtyard's new year's resolution to take its role as promoter of visual art seriously.