OUR Picture Editor Leah McLaren takes her pick of the week’s best photographs and tells us why she reckons they make the grade.

Steve Shadbolt from Didcot saw the huge flames at Didcot power station on Sunday night and did the best thing possible – he rushed to grab his camera! We had quite a few pictures sent to us but Steve’s, above, was by far the best, pin sharp and the glowing towers light up the huge plumes of smoke. This was our front page image the following day.

Oxford Mail:

It only seems right to show one of the aftermath pictures from the power station fire. We had all hands on deck in the morning to see the damage the fire had caused. Richard Cave took this picture of firefighters inspecting the melted towers.

Oxford Mail:

Ed Nix certainly had a day of it on Wednesday. He was pulled from pillar to post across the county and, to top it off, I sent him on a mission to get a front page picture. No pressure, hey Ed!? Thursday marked the national launch of the Poppy Appeal and a strong image was needed. Ed was presented with a tiny, dark room and my brief was a sea of poppies. However, Ed never fails to deliver a fantastic picture and two versions were used across the front pages of the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times.

Oxford Mail:

The Radcliffe Orchestra has been rehearsing for a special charity concert at Oxford Town Hall on November 8. Jon Lewis went along to get a preview picture of them all rehearsing. I love the face that harpist Dr Rupert McShane is pulling – he’s really getting into it. Nicely composed by shooting through the strings and a bit of off-camera flash to highlight his face.

Oxford Mail:

Damian Halliwell took a selection of pictures from this Rock of Ages photocall at the New Theatre, Oxford. To be honest, I couldn’t choose a favourite from the batch, they were all brilliant and Damian clearly brought out the best in his subjects.

Oxford Mail:

Jon Lewis brought out the colours and shapes of the newly-renovated rose window at the Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford, while using a touch of side lighting to highlight the face of church caretaker Trevor Wood. Lovely shot.

Oxford Mail:

Football matches can be so much fun to photograph but they can also be a massive pain. Poor Richard Cave has had technical problems in a big way this week but he’s still managed to pull some fantastic sport pictures out of the bag. He captured a key moment here with the ball flying into the net as Tyrone Barnett lifts his arms in celebration as Alfie Potter (not pictured) scored the third goal in Oxford United’s 3-1 win at Northampton on Tuesday night.