A local photographer who offered a complex perspective on communities in the north has died.
Mr Bill Kirk passed away on Friday, December 12, at the age of 88.
Born in Newtownards in 1937, he began documenting his family with a Felica camera that he had purchased in Drogheda in 1958.
His film archive amounted to over 20,000 images, with notable works including The Klondyke Bar (1975, reprinted 2011), Images of Belfast (with writer Robert Johnstone, 1983), Steel Chest, Nail in the Boot and the Barking Dog (with film maker David Hammond, 1986) and Return to the Row (2019).
Mr Kirk survived tuberculosis, the illness which took his parents at a young age.
He was also a talented long-distance cyclist, a pursuit he continued until just two years ago.
His redundancy as a draughtsman at Shorts prompted Mr Kirk to study photography at Belfast’s Art College.
He also worked at the Northern Ireland Tourist Board for a time.
Earlier this year, the Ulster Museum hosted The Bill Kirk Archive Exhibition, featuring 100 of his images.
Bill Kirk in ‘100 Photographs’ PICTURE: MAL MCCANN (Apple Photos Clean Up)
Mr Kirk’s collection was supported by his friend and mentee, Frankie Quinn, and the Belfast Archive Project.
Mr Quinn paid tribute to his friend, who he first met aged 19, saying “His images are iconic and he’s inspired many, many people”.
“He had empathy and people embraced him. He was a great man and he will be sorely missed.”
The editor of Belfast magazine Dig With It, Stuart Bailie, also paid tribute to Mr Kirk in a social media post.
He said: “Bill celebrated the humanity and the soul of Sandy Row, the Lower Falls and more.
“He was the best of us. Condolences to his family and his many dear friends.”