GEORGE Munro is the Tele’s much-loved photographer – and his work over the years is considered as much of a local treasure as the man himself.
Our snapper has been present at all of Inverclyde’s most important and iconic moments over the last 25 years, capturing life locally through a lense for our readers.
From photographing the QE2’s final voyage to home to joining the world’s media as Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released from Gateside, George has been an ever-present at every big local event.
Over the coming weeks, he will share some of these moments and treasured photos with readers in our new ‘George’s Five Favourite....’ feature.
Every Thursday he will select a topic and pick his five most-loved images on the subject.
As Inverclyde braces itself for the first Arctic blast of 2017, we’ll kick off next week with a subject that’s always topical locally – weather – but today it’s some of the newsroom’s favourite snaps of the man himself taken during his Tele career.
George said: “We ‘enjoy’ a rather unique relationship with the elements in Inverclyde, and I’ve had the pleasure of being out and about in the very worst of it.
“When our editor came to me with the suggestion of starting this new feature, weather photos seemed like a good place to start!”
Readers can look forward to a trip down memory lane over the coming weeks, with George sharing his five favourite snaps of schools, shipyards, famous people, iconic moments and many other topics.
George explained: “I’ve had a fantastic career spanning over 20 years serving Inverclyde and I’m excited to be able to look back through my photos and share my favourites every week with our readers.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph some iconic moments, people and things, including Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s visit when the Beacon opened and some memorable visits from Her Majesty The Queen. My job is a true labour of love as photography is my passion. I get to spend every day meeting the people of Inverclyde, going into our schools and helping share some fantastic, uplifting stories about our communities.
“It’s the best job in the world in my eyes.”
George is one of the best-kent faces in Inverclyde and his work has won recognition at the highest level of his profession.
He said: “I’ve managed to be nominated twice by my peers during my career for national Scottish press awards and was astonished when the Tele’s owners Newsquest marked my service with an global ‘Unsung Hero’ award last year.
“In my eyes all I’m doing is my job - and it’s a job I love.”
Pic 1: This beach clean up job in 2005 was such good fun I decided to pitch in – I’ve still got the ironing board!
Pic 2: This was taken back in 1995 in Greenock while I waited on the Lockerbie bomber being taken from Inverclyde Royal. A looong day.
Pic 3: An old favourite. I prove that the elements won’t beat me from getting a picture as I waded through a flood in Shore Street in 1992.

Pic 4: People have often said they are green with envy at my job – well I went green this day to capture some of the action at Greenock Golf Club.
Pic 5: One of my proudest moments, photographing my father, also George,  when he received his MBE in 1998.
Pic 6: This was a nerve-wracking moment as I played catch with thousands of pounds worth of photographic equipment. Silly me had to catch my gear after I left it on the Dunoon ferry while following the Commonwealth Baton relay back in 2014.

* Look out for George's favourite weather images in an upcoming post.