A MAJOR exhibition of the works of a pioneering photographer has opened in a Bradford art gallery.

Planet Yorkshire, at the Impressions Gallery in City Park, features numerous images of the county taken by acclaimed photographer Peter Mitchell, including some photographs of Bradford.

The Leeds-based photographer has long links with the gallery. In the 1970s, when it was based in York, Impressions hosted Mitchell’s exhibition Refutation of the Viking 4 Space Mission, the first show of colour photos by a British photographer.

The exhibition put the artist on the map, although many believe he has still never had the recognition he deserves.

Planet Yorkshire opened on Friday, and features a mix of Mitchells photographs from the past four decades. The photos, some of which have never been exhibited before, were taken in cities and town across Yorkshire.

Some images will be familiar to Bradfordians - one depicts Mr Boot, a now closed Leeds Road shop that had be come a local landmark to many.

It contains photographs from his works including The Derwent, which looked at the land along the river, and The Hydro, Harrogate, which explores the building of the town’s aquatics complex.

The exhibition is co-curated by Kerry Harker and Anne McNeill.

Mr Mitchell told the Telegraph & Argus: “I have had a few exhibitions in Yorkshire, and what is nice about this one is it is in a gallery that started my career.

“I really started with the exhibition in the gallery when it was in York, and now I’m older I’m exhibiting here again, inly now the gallery is in Bradford. It is the circle of life.

“Anything can make a photograph, you just have to decide what your subject is going to be.

“A lot of my photographs are about how things change, about how time changes things. A lot of the photographs are of things that go unnoticed.”

Referring to small shops like Mr Boot, which sold shoes to the local workforce, he said: “Places like that where people would buy their uniforms are disappearing, these shops are gettign replaced with things like coffee shops.”

Mrs Harker said: “There is a long standing relationship between us and Mr Mitchell, and that is why it feels so fitting to do a big show on his work.

“His work we displayed in 1979 was a really important exhibition in terms of colour photography.

“Martin Parr (documentary photographer) credited him as a huge influence, but he has never really had a big survey show like this before.

“He has been working since the 1970s, and his work is as relevant as ever.

“There are some real iconic Yorkshire images in this show.”

The exhibition runs until December 3.

Mr Mitchell will give a talk at the gallery on Saturday October 15 from 3pm to 4pm.

To book a ticket visit impressions-gallery.com/events or call 01274 737843.