VETERAN press photographer Mark Jamieson has died after a short illness.
Tributes to the Coleraine man poured in as soon as his death was announced by the Northern Ireland Press Photographers Association (Nippa) yesterday.
After leaving the Coleraine Chronicle, Mr Jamieson supplied photographs to picture desks at all of the north's main newspapers and was a mine of information about breaking news in the area.
Nippa president Freddie Parkinson said, although the 60-year-old's death has taken many by surprise, he had been ill "for a number of weeks".
"All our thought are with his daughter, Lynsey and all the family circle.Lynsey has not only lost her father but her best friend," he said.
"Mark lost his wife through cancer a number of years ago and found it very hard to suffer that great loss. Each time Mark and I meet up he always spoke of his daughter and his memories of his late wife.
The avid Coleraine Football Club fan counted actor James Nesbitt among his friends and had said being awarded the John Harrison Memorial for his photograph of Children In Sport was the "proudest moment of his career".
"Mark was very much respected by everyone in the newspaper industry and a lot of editors and photographers spoke very highly of him and him quality of work as he always carried out with great professionalism," Mr Parkinson said.
"Everyone in the wide circle of the media today is in mourning for the loss of this great friend because if you knew Mark Jamieson in any way he always regarded you as a friend and we are all very much heartbroken in losing a great legend."
East Derry assembly member Claire Sugden described Mr Jamieson as "part of our local fabric on the north coast and Coleraine".
A spokesperson from Causeway Coast Community said it was "no exaggeration to say there's not a school or organised event in the area that he’s not attended at some time or other to take photos... very often letting us know of a local event before we’d even had time to ask him to cover it".
