CHRIS TITLEY marvels at the moments captured by a North Yorkshire press photographer which earned him the title best in Britain

A BLACKPOOL tram is stranded by waves crashing in from the seafront. Silhouetted against a beacon of fire, a huntsman defiantly sounds his horn. At the state funeral, a portrait of the Queen Mother tied to railings appears to gaze into the eyes of a young girl.

Three very different pictures, each with something in common. They are the best press photographs in Britain; and they were all taken by York-based photographer John Giles.

This portfolio of stunning images deservedly won him the title of Photographer of the Year at the British Press Awards this week. He was presented with his award by Clive Anderson at an opulent ceremony at the Park Lane Hilton in London.

This is the second time he has scored success in the "journalism Oscars". In 1997 he was named Sports Photographer of the Year. And he has other awards to his name in a career that began with an apprenticeship at the Evening Press more than 30 years ago.

For the past 15 years he has worked for the Press Association news agency, which also supplies his pictures to the international Associated Press with 14,000 media clients around the world.

He loves the job, which allows him to be based in Bolton Percy, and travel across the North to take news pictures. That suits his family life: he is married to Jacqueline and has a 27-year-old daughter Claire, who is a charity administrator in Thirsk.

John also specialises in sport. The night after his awards he took pictures of the Barcelona goals which sent his beloved Newcastle crashing out of the Champions League. And he produced some stunning images from the Sydney Olympics two years ago.

Straight after our interview he was off to Doncaster to photograph the opening day of the flat racing season and "lose some money while I'm down there".

With a whole year's worth of pictures to choose from, how did he pick three for his British Press Awards entry?

"It's not an exact science," he said. "All the three pictures I picked out appeared on front pages internationally as well as in the UK."

He talked me through the provenance of each image.

Blackpool tram

"We had a weekend of really stormy weather with gales in the North West. I was looking at the wind direction and decided to go to Blackpool.

I remember it vividly. I got there in the morning and I thought, 'it's not too bad, I am wasting my time here'.

I had a cup of tea, and it got wetter and wetter until midday when it was really terrible.

There was three feet of water flooding into those amusement arcades. It was incredible. I found a little footbridge. There were these waves washing over me, and I'm on the bridge, about 20 or 30 feet in the air. I could see this tram. It obviously took him a bit by surprise: he got stuck. Then they pulled it through to get it to safety."

Huntsman

"That was taken near Pickering, at the Hole of Horcum. They were getting ready for the big march in London.

Hunts decided they were going to light beacons across the countryside right down the UK. They had this great big bonfire. This guy was there with that horn. I rattled a few frames and thought, that'll do me.

It made the front page of the Daily Telegraph and the Times.

It could have been taken at any hunt, it just happened to be Pickering because that was one of my local hunts. They're lovely people up there in Malton and Pickering.

I was after a symbolic picture. I just got lucky: that guy was there, the bonfire was right, I got that symbolism of the countryside on fire. The less someone has to read the caption to your picture, the better. What you want is them to just look at it and say: 'I know what that is'."

Queen Mother's funeral

"The Queen Mother's funeral was probably the job of the year for the Press Association. When Diana died, the funeral procession came up the Mall, there was that historic long shot from an elevated platform. All these things are arranged with the Palace.

But the picture wasn't very good because the procession wasn't as precise as a formal state funeral.

I said to my picture editor that it would make a great picture at the Queen Mother's funeral, with the horse-drawn carriage. So he put me in that position again.

I had the classic picture of the cortege coming up the Mall, the horse-drawn hearse with Buckingham Palace in the background. It went everywhere.

But I had some time on my hands while I was up there. I looked across and saw that little girl. I was a long way away, and had to use a 1,500-mil lens, a long pull - I tried to hold it as steady as I could.

She had no idea I was taking that picture. It works because the Queen Mother's eyes seem to be looking at her.

National picture desks were seeing hundreds of images of the funeral, all looking similar. If you can produce something and they think it's a bit different, you are in with a chance."

John is also a finalist in the Picture Editors Guild Awards, dished out in May

Updated: 16:00 Friday, March 21, 2003