Be realistic ..

You'll have to indulge me in this blog as I revel in the fact that, today, I mark exactly forty years as a professional photographer. Forty years! OMG ..

Yes, this day in 1978 I turned up - 18 years old - for my first day with Messenger Group Newspapers in Sale, South Manchester .. and I haven't stopped clicking since. I well remember that day, which started with me being taken to choose a motorbike (I hadn't yet taken the driving test) and ended with me photographing the captain of Manchester United. And boy, the famous people certainly racked up over the years, as did the list of amazing events and places the job took me to. I was once chosen as the sole photographer to cover The Queen at an event in London, and have met people as diverse as Mohammed Ali and Margaret Thatcher, Jimmy Saville and Max Clifford. Assignments have taken me from Altrincham and Runcorn to Sri Lanka and Libya and I've covered countless parties, celebrations, launches, gigs, show-openings and book launches. It's been amazing ..

You can click on a few images of the teenage O'Neill, including an 18 year old me with Princess Anne - my first Royal job - and, one of my favourites, me up a 300 foot chimney, scaled without ropes or any nudge towards safety whatsoever!
Those were the days ..

My school careers teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I left school. "A press photographer," I said. "Be realistic," he replied. So glad I proved him wrong ..