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Sky eye assignment gives Herald a revenue boost

A Plymouth businessman’s request for some aerial photographs of the city has led to sales and revenue success for the Evening Herald, after it used some of the photographs for a special supplement.

Picture editor Pete Holdgate spent an hour taking pictures from a helicopter 8,000ft above Plymouth after being set the high-flying assignment by Mike Leece of the National Marine Aquarium, who paid for the flight.

Pete agreed to help out if the paper kept the copyright to the pictures and he gathered more than 800 shots during his hour in the air.

Sixty images were selected for a special Eye in the Sky: Plymouth – Our Waterfront City supplement, with the rest logged on the paper’s archive system.

Almost 4,000 copies of the 36-page full-colour stand-alone publication have been so far been sold for £1 each, and £1,000 worth of related photosales orders have also been taken.

And because the flight was paid for by businessman Mike, all the revenue is profit apart from Pete’s time.

Pete said: “The supplement provided a tease to get people to visit the Herald shop.

“It was also the perfect opportunity to update our aerial library as much has changed in the city centre in the past two years with various pedestrianisation and development.

“I have flown well over 2,000 hours taking aerial photographs around the world, but there is something very special about taking pictures of your own home town and its surrounding settings.”