Image number 1385939 was described by former Sun and News of the World picture editor and photographer Kenny Lennox as the picture of the millennium. In 2005 he was awarded an honorary master’s degree from the University of Brighton, “for his distinguished photojournalism and the wealth of images of Brighton inspired by the city”. He was chuffed to receive this honour, given that he had left school without a single O-level. By 1988, Bamber had moved to work as a freelance photographer for The Observer, followed by The Guardian shortly thereafter. In 1992, he won a photographer of the year award from the Guardian. [3] In the nineties, Roger and Denis having both once worked on the Mail, now found themselves working on the same newspaper again, The Guardian.

I was privileged to have Roger come to my studio to capture the sculpting of the statue of Sir Nigel Gresley for King’s Cross station. It was inspiring to see such a strong creative vision at work as soon as he stepped into the room. Above is his favourite shot from the day – he loved a touch of the Gothic – lighting was everything, and he was delighted to capture the shadow of Sir Nigel against the studio wall. My favourite image is below. Roger was such a perfectionist. We were both up ladders for hours – we were giggling about what would happen if we both fell off the ladders at the same time. Hazel sculpting Sir Nigel (Photo: Roger Bamber) The exhibition will include around 70 framed photographic prints and 10 large reproductions, interpretation, slide shows and film. Bamber told me it was the best accolade he’d ever received. Somebody had glanced at a newspaper a carriage or two away and thought, ‘That’s a Bamber’. Roger’s career spanned the golden age of photojournalism, and he was one of its brightest lights – though you wouldn’t have known it because he wore his genius modestly and without flash.

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Exclusive! Roger Bamber: out of the ordinary Twice British Photographer of the Year; twice News Photographer of the Year Roger Bamber was born in Leicester in 1944 and trained in graphic design, a discipline that informed all his future work. He was only 20 years old when he joined the Daily Mail as a photographer in 1965. It was the start of a career that saw his pictures used in every national newspaper, which allowed his passion for working with artists and other creatives full rein. He lived for most of his life in Brighton, where the beach became his outdoor studio and scores of his fellow Brightonians his willing subjects. Images of people and events in Brighton & Hove will provide a strong focus on the city in two of the three galleries. An IRA car bomb blew up the west front of the Old Bailey criminal court in the City of London on a terrible day of bomb scares in 1973. I was returning to the office in Fleet Street after a hoax bomb threat at the police HQ at Scotland Yard when there was a God Almighty bang.

Rupert Murdoch buys the broadsheet Sun newspaper and relaunches it as a tabloid to compete with the (image-centric) Daily Mirror. Bamber is persuaded to leave the Mail and be part of the Sun's team. As well as war reportage, Bamber documents the British music scene, getting an enviable level of access because musicians recognise him as an artist, and because he's likeable.

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Roger, who lived in Brighton, worked at the Daily Mail for his first role in the industry before moving to the newly-formed Sun newspaper four years later in 1969.