RENOWNED photographer Chris Andrews is more likely to be spotted beneath the spires of Oxford colleges rather than in the docklands of Belfast.

But instead of capturing Tom Tower and the glory of All Souls, Mr Andrews has recently enjoyed capturing the giant cranes still dominating the Belfast skyline.

Oxford Mail:

  • Oxford photographer Chris Andrews

The successful photographer, and book publisher has sold about 15 million post cards and one million since deciding more than 30 years ago that a career as a radiologist at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital was not for him.

The bulk of them have featured his images of Oxford and scenes along the Thames, along with the surrounding countryside, And his books capturing Oxford’s dreaming spires along with other natural and urban landscapes now sell well across the UK, with sales passing the 500,000 mark.

Our top stories

Mr Andrews, who lives in North Hinksey, has a sister, Victoria, who lives in Northern Ireland.

But it was a chance meeting at a Lord Taverners’ social dinner that had him packing his cameras and producing Belfast: A View of the City.

Shops in most other major cities were packed with books filled with glossy pictures celebrating the local architecture and places of interest but not Belfast.

Mr Andrews said: “I have been commissioned to produce a book on the Champagne region of France but I decided to postpone that.

“In a way I think the book on Belfast is the first of its kind. And I quickly became charmed by the place.”

He added: “I spent about 18 months travelling backwards and forwards from Oxford to Belfast. At each visit I became more spellbound.

“The local people were very welcoming.”

Mr Andrews headed out before dawn to capture the early morning light to capture the Belfast waterfront and Harland and Wolff’s iconic cranes.

He said: “It doesn’t matter what work you are doing with your camera, if you don’t have good light you don’t get good pictures.

“That is why I like to work early in the morning, when you have beautiful clear light.

“But I remember having to stop work on the Lagan Towpath because my hands were just too cold.

“And that was in May.”

The redevelopment of the former docks to create the Titanic Quarter – which includes the £97m Titanic Belfast visitor attraction opened in 2012 – provide him with rich material.

And his pictures of Belfast Botanic Gardens, opened in 1828, match his pictures of Oxford’s much older Botanic Garden.

Mr Andrews, who moved to Oxford from Cheltenham in 1976, spent three years working at the Churchill and John Radcliffe Hospitals studying to become a radiographer.

Then in 1982, it struck him there was an absence of quality postcards showing Oxford’s iconic views.

  • Belfast: A View of the City by Chris Andrews is published by Gateway Sark

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.