WHEN he was five years old he told his grandmother that he wanted to be a cameraman — and now almost 50 years on James Bird and his beloved camera are part of West Devon's furniture.

2015 marks the 35th year of James' working career at the Tavistock Times Gazette and since then he has covered hundreds of events throughout Tavistock, Okehampton and East Cornwall, from the annual carnivals to the many Royal visits.

His first job started at the age of 16 with American company The Carr Institute, which was based in Lamerton. James stayed at the job for two years until he began what would be his future passion and career of working in the newspaper industry.

In 1980 James received an opportunity to join the Tavistock Gazette — which later became the Tavistock Times Gazette — as a trainee reporter through friend Chris Hair, who was the production director and photographer of the paper at that time.

James quickly discovered that he loved the fast pace the world of newspapers offered — and was hooked: 'I instantly fell in love with the newspaper process. The thrill of collecting news items and event photographs and making sure this was all published for the public to see gave me a real buzz.

'It was immensely hard work at first because I had so much to learn but found it very rewarding and before long I had my own diary column with my photograph on top, which really helped me to become recognised in the town.

'I was also working with great colleagues at that time; Ted Sherrell, Mervin Palmer, Mike Tilson and Vic Gardner. I also worked alongside the well known photographer Jim Thorington, while the two papers — The Times and The Gazette — remained separate publications.'

In the early 80s it was all hands on deck as the paper not only had to put out its own editions each week but the staff also printed freesheets that were launched in Plymouth, Liskeard, Launceston and Bude.

It was 1983 that saw the merger of the Tavistock Times and the Tavistock Gazette and just a few years later the titles merged to become known as the Tavistock Times Gazette.

When the papers merged the newspaper was larger and unionised, which meant James went to college for his NCTJ course (National Council for the Training of Journalists) — and it was at college where he really fell in love with the technique and skill of photography.

'Jim Thorington retired in 1987 and I continued as the only photographer.

'I spent 18 years in a black and white darkroom which ended at the end of the last century. I have around 140,000 black and white negatives in my archive which one day someone will have the joys of looking through, just like they are doing for Jim Thorington's photos.

'But even though I have seen mass technical changes the core of what I do has stayed the same — I even have a DSLR camera similar to the ones I used at the beginning and still use the same lens which is 25 years old. The digital revolution really hasn't changed the core of what I do, the computer process has made it quicker but the process is the same.'

In his time James said he has taken more than half a million pictures.

'It is impossible to pull out a favourite picture as whenever I create and craft an image that will be my favourite at that time.'

When asked what events stood out in his career, he spoke about an event in 1983 — which required him to work within a team of five photographers. That event was a Royal visit by the newly married Prince Charles and Princess Diana after the birth of their first child, Prince William, in 1982.

'This was a major event and in those days we would bring out a special wrap-around edition of the paper and the team of photographers, including Chris Hair, Jim Thorington and myself, covered it.'

Other Royal visits James has covered during his time as Times photographer, include visits of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Edward.

'I have really enjoyed being at some of those major events,' he said. 'When the townsfolk of Tavistock and Okehampton have turned out for events like the Tour of Britain and official Royal visits I always felt privileged to have a front row seat.'

One front row seat James has thrived upon is the challenge of taking photographs in tense and sometimes difficult situations during a time in the 1980s when the paper was more geared towards tabloid news.

He recalls a time, before mobile communications, when hearing the sirens from the emergency services would be the only warning of a major incident.

'On one occasion I was on the phone to Dennis Sargent in the Okehampton office and over the phone I heard sirens, whilst at the same time I?could also hear sirens in Tavistock. A quick call to the Fire Control Centre and I discovered that there were people trapped in an underground tunnel at Meldon Quarry. I headed straight out with my camera in hand and even managed to overtake the fire engine at Mary Tavy. I was second on the scene at what turned out to be a major incident.'

James said he was not always well received at these incidents and sometimes threatened: 'I would explain to people that I was just trying to cover news events but I quickly learnt the tactic of standing back.'

He has also unknowingly put himself at danger when taking pictures for the Times. In the great storm of 1987 he tried to photograph lorries which had blown over on Blackdown and had to lie on the ground, holding on to the grass verge to avoid being blown away.

Then there was the famous rocket launch on Dartmoor. He went along to take pictures of the launch but instead photographed it as the rocket crashed and set alight to a large area of the moors.

'For a moment through my large lens I watched the rocket turn and point directly at me as it went out of control. I just carried on taking pictures and hoped for the best as it veered away and crashed into the moorland hillside to my side — to my great relief.'

Speaking on his time with the Times, James said he has to thank his loving wife Nicky and the many readers past and present: 'I think the success of the papers is down to the true spirited support of the readers. They are what make the papers interesting and sellable.

'I've seen so many changes over the years — it's really quite amazing. But it has been the wonderful support that I have had from the readers and supporters and from my family that has kept my passion and enthusiasm alive in my job.'

Here's to many more years James!