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Photographer marks 40 years with regional daily

BHTC_GARY__me 1A regional press photographer is celebrating 40 years with the newspaper he first joined as a trainee in 1981.

Gary Longbottom says he still gets a thrill out of documenting life across his patch after completing four decades with The Yorkshire Post.

Starting as a trainee in 1981 after a spell working for a photographic agency, Gary has covered many big news and sporting events over the years including the Kegworth air disaster and Leeds United’s European adevntures.

“I went with Leeds United to Rome, Prague and Holland among other places,” said Gary, pictured.

“I covered good news and bad news. I photographed the Pope in York and the Royal family many times including Diana.

“I covered the Kegworth air disaster and lots of other major news stories.”

Leeds-born Gary, who is married to Joan and has two daughters and a 16-month-old granddaughter Emelia, began taking photographs as a teenager.

He added: “I always had a camera and I took lots of pictures of trains.  The technology has changed enormously over the years.

“The first camera I had as a professional didn’t even have a motor wind and no auto-focus. Now all our cameras are digital.

“I still enjoy getting out and taking pictures. Travelling takes up a lot of our time because Yorkshire is a big county but the roads are much busier than when I started out.”