Two exciting photography exhibitions are currently taking place in York.

Vicky Dennis-Jones, visitor receptionist at The Yorkshire Museum, with a photo of a giant ground gecko by Martin Harvey, of South Africa

The Yorkshire Museum in Museum Gardens is hosting the British Gas Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, while the Minster library is displaying photographs from a History Channel competition.

The satellite channel's Photos for the Future exhibition features a mix of pictures that capture a significant aspect of life in the 20th century.

The library's archivist, Louise Hampson, said: "Photos hold a unique appeal for people, and it is fascinating to see how people have chosen to represent their defining moment of the 20th century."

Judged by the managing director of the Hulton Getty picture collection and the Daily Express's picture editor, some of the best entries were displayed on the History Channel's web site, and 600 of them will be published in a commemorative book.

Among the photos submitted by York residents is a fly-on-the-wall picture of the York City FC changing rooms during the 1970s. One of the players pictured is John Byrne, who went on to play for Queens Park Rangers and the Irish Republic.

And an atmospheric photo of the old LNER railway offices in the 1940s shows a busting pre-war office, with the old card index system for controlling train movements on the wall behind the office workers.

One of the most recent pictures in the exhibition shows last year's floods, and shows the Swordsman Pub in Stamford Bridge surrounded by the rising waters.

The Minster exhibition runs until the end of November.

The British Gas Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition features more than 100 winning and highly commended photographs from the 1998 competition.

Organised by the Natural History Museum and the BBC Wildlife magazine, the competition is open to professional and amateur photographers, both adults and children, and attracts entries from around the world.

The Yorkshire Museum's spokeswoman, Corina Inverno, said: "We are proud to be able to host this exciting exhibition once again this year, and as ever the entries are of a very high standard, and are well worth coming to see."

The exhibition runs daily until November 14.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.