AN INDUSTRIAL age relic came to the district yesterday morning to give the public a snapshot of the history of photography.

“The Big Big Camera” is a century old and was brought to Salts Mill to snap an old school photo of one of the most famous parts of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The large multi-material structure gets its name from the fact it measures three metres long and two metres wide, which is nearly twice as big as the average fridge.

Ian Beesley, award-winning and internationally acclaimed artist and photographer, who has had work shown in the National Media Museum before, is the person who brought the artefact back to life over a two-year period.

He now travels across the North of England with the camera in his trusty Ford Transit, complete with its own hydraulic platform to get it in and out.

Yesterday’s stop was Saltaire for a shot of the village’s famous mill.

Setup of the camera is a far-cry from the ease of being able to take a selfie on a phone, or even the professional-style photos some smartphones can now aspire to.

This piece of history physically needs to be assembled and takes a massive 20 minutes to do so - in modern day terminology, that means in thousands of selfies time.

Large pieces of polished wood, big bellows and machined metal all have to be brought together to create the final product.

Once in position, Mr Beesley has a single chance to get the shot – unless he wants to disassemble the camera again, get to a place of complete darkness, change the multiple negatives and start over, something which would take a click of a button on a smartphone or a modern day camera.

The photographer has to use a special device to measure the light.

Such meticulous and intricate preparation is reminiscent of Mr Beesley’s effort in restoring the huge Hunter Penrose camera.

It was originally used by a company manufacturing wallpaper at Rome Mill, Oldham and was given a home at Gallery Oldham when the wrecking ball beckoned.

Mr Beesley took it as his personal mission to bring a piece of history back to life when he saw the camera sitting in the gallery stores.

After 12 long months of cleaning and repairing the camera, the most difficult part was yet to come.

The device was designed to take huge negatives, 24 inches square, but, Mr Beesley concocted a plan.

His solution was to create a grid which could take smaller negatives, resulting in images made up of 20 separate prints which could then be brought together as one.

This unique method was on show at Salts Mill, with Mr Beesley seen piecing together the components of the camera puzzle, filling it with film, before getting under the device’s cover behind the lens to take a photo.

The result of the shoot at Salts Mill, plus other recent work, is set to be shown in an upcoming exhibition, which is opening on September 24.