A single mother has launched an agency to focus on Sussex' photographic talent.

Although she had limited photographic experience and no knowledge of how to design and build a web site, Brighton-based Florence Cape decided to combine looking after her two children with building a virtual showcase for the work of ten photographers.

Ms Cape said she thought up the idea for PhotoGeneric in February after talking to a friend who was studying photography.

She said: "I started to help her look for some way to advertise her work but the more I explored things the more I realised there was a gap in the market. There just didn't seem to be any agencies down here."

She said although much of the high-paid work for photographers is found in London, Brighton was growing, especially because it is home to so many new media companies and organisations.

By the end of March, she had placed an advertisement looking for photographers.

She received about 30 responses, from which she eventually picked ten, including Chris Christoforou. One of the factors she considered was their willingness to experiment with new technology such as digital cameras and image manipulation software.

The agency will make its money by receiving commissions on all work and images sold through it. Areas of particular interest are photo-journalism, landscape and fine art and portraiture.

PhotoGeneric will undertake commissions and also sell photographs by organising exhibitions and using the agency's web site.

Many of the photographers have already had success with sales for advertising, magazine covers and competitions.

Ms Cape drafted in Crawley-based designer Sean George to put the web site together after she had chosen its theme and written the relevant text.

She said: "It's not an obvious route for me but I have good organisation skills and a network of the kind of people necessary to support any fledgling business, including the enterprise agency, which has been very supportive.

"That's another good thing about PhotoGeneric - it's very difficult for photographers to meet each other and find more work. One of its strengths lies in bringing a group of them together."

Ms Cape said the internet enabled people to launch businesses from home.

She said the site, which will go live within the next two weeks, is an online showcase. She doesn't have to hold any prints, only lists of what the photographers have done.

There will be an exhibition of PhotoGeneric photographers work at the Sussex Arts Club, in Ship Street, Brighton, from September 1 to 8, with a launch night on September 2.

www.photogeneric.com