He's never had a lesson in photography, but that hasn't held back one York snapper, who is about to hold an exhibition of his work. MATT CLARK reports.

IF TOM Millard's sister Joyce hadn't asked what was happening in York a couple of Christmas's ago, his passion for taking photos might never have seen the light of day. You see Joyce lives in Australia and after being told that steam engines would feature in the festive activities, she squealed with delight, then begged her brother to take some snaps.

York Press:

Tom Millard. Picture Matt Clark.

That was that. Instantly bitten by the bug, Tom began touring the county with his trusty camera in tow, always on the lookout for something different. Soon landscapes were added, but his sister's love of trains continued to keep him busy.

"One day, a bit later on, she said 'I'm watching Heartbeat on TV, that's not far from you, do they still have steam engines there?' Well, I knew what was coming next...and it did...and I did."

Tom's images began to attract admiring glances. He had a number of pictures of the week in this newspaper and his work has appeared in Yorkshire Living Magazine. Then people would say: 'these are great, why don't you hold an exhibition?'

Well, now he is going to.

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Reflections of Ripley Castle, one of Tom's photos featured in The Press's Picture of the Week

"Joyce told me your aptitude must have always been there Tom, now someone's brought it out for you," he says.

That someone is Tom's other female fan; Debbie Barker the photographic consultant at Boots in Monks Cross.

"I take several different shots and we look at the pictures together in the booth," he says. "Debbie will say that's a good one, or shall we use this? We do the albums together and write things in them. Half of what I have is down to her and she also comes up with ideas and locations"

York Press:

Shambles at 4 am. Picture: Tom Millard.

That said, Debbie's not averse to ticking him off; albeit fondly. Tom once had the bright idea of taking a picture of Brimham Rocks at daybreak. She put her foot down after learning what he had in mind.

"Debbie said 'forget it', I'm not having you driving around there in the dark. Well that was me told."

The same thing happened when Tom turned up with a shot of a train, clearly taken at track level, after clambering down a steep platform. Fortunately, he didn't take any notice after spotting the hiss of steam lit golden by sunshine on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. It is a stunning shot, rather Turner-esque and one of the highlights of the exhibition.

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Tom also favours reflections and framing in his composition. Take this one of Lendal Bridge, which has featured as our picture of the week, while Debbie's insistence that he put on show this sneaky view of Rievaulx through a hedge was the catalyst for Tom's maiden showing.

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"People kept saying I should show my photos, but I didn't know where to do it," he says. "Then one day someone asked if I knew Haxby. I said yes and they said try the community centre.

"So I did and now I'm booked in for four weeks."

York Press:

Reivaulx Abbey. Picture: Tom Millard

Tom Millard's photographic exhibition runs from October 8 to November 5 at Oaken Grove Community Centre, Haxby, YO32 3QW. Opening times are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9am to 4pm, Wednesdays 9.30am to 4pm.