David Hurn

I was fortunate to be invited to the private view of David Hurn's 'Swaps' exhibition at the National Museum of Wales, in Cardiff. It was also the launch of a photography gallery at the museum, making it a very important night for photography in Wales.

Hurn's 'Swaps' are just that - pictures he has received during his illustrious career from other photographers, in exchange for his own work. They include images by Henri-Cartier Bresson, Bill Brandt, Eve Arnold, Bruce Davidson, Sebastiao Salgado, Martine Franck, Martin Parr and many, many others. It is a wonderful display, yet it forms just a small part of Hurn's overall collection.

I particularly liked the fact that some of the photos included personal, hand-written messages.

It turned out to be a memorable night. It was, of course, terrific to be in the company of Hurn himself - a longstanding member of the legendary Magnum agency and the founder of the highly-respected documentary photography degree at Newport. But then up stepped the great Don McCullin to address the audience and, as I made my way to the gallery, I came across Martin Parr.

I can't recommend the exhibition highly enough. It opens on Saturday and runs until March 11 next year. 

In my rubbishy phone picture David Hurn is being interviewed in the new gallery for a BBC TV documentary to be shown next month. McCullin is seated on the right.