James Rego was instrumental in taking The Royal Gazette to full colour photographs.

Mr Rego, who died at the age of 66, was yesterday remembered as a hard-working, intelligent man and a talented photographer who got the job done.

The Hamilton Parish resident worked as a photographer at the Bermuda Sun in the late Seventies and early Eighties.

Former editor John Barritt recalled him as a “wonderful person and a pleasure to work with”.

Mr Barritt said: “I thought we were very fortunate to have him. He was a full-time photographer.

“He was good at the whole process. On a weekly newspaper, he made himself practically indispensable.

“He was a self-starter — he would work on his own initiative.”

Mr Barritt said he could always be relied upon to come back with “something different” that made the paper stand out.

He added: “It was great to have someone like him to rely on. There was never a worry when it came to a good photograph.”

Mr Rego then worked as a photographer with Tony Cordeiro, former chief photographer at The Royal Gazette.

Mr Cordeiro said: “He did some nice work. He was keen and a good worker.”

Former colleague Ramon Doars, who works in the paper’s in the production-layout department, described Mr Rego as a private man, who was “really down-to-earth”.

Mr Doars became Mr Rego’s apprentice a couple of years after starting at The Royal Gazette as a summer student in 1985.

He said: “He was working nights in the camera room — it was a special camera — we were one of two printing places that had one.

“It was used for reproducing photographs in the newspaper. He used to come in for the night shift.”

Mr Doars said Mr Rego was promoted to lead the process colour department when The Royal Gazette transitioned to full colour.

He added: “I was eager to learn and James needed an apprentice. He trained me on the same system. We had this huge colour scanner that basically took up a whole room.”

When they adopted the system, which was new to the island, Mr Doars said Mr Rego “quickly learnt it and he was always willing to share his knowledge with me, to help train me and bring me up to speed.

“We became a pretty good team.”

Mr Doars said his former mentor was also artistic and would design ads for clients.

He added: “He was a really down-to-earth type of guy. He didn’t complain. He was the type of guy that always found a way. He just got down to getting the job done.”

Jamie Cann, production manager for press, pre-press and distribution at The Royal Gazette, worked with Mr Rego when he was a pre-press technician.

He said: “He was a smart, intelligent guy. You didn’t mess around with him — deadlines were deadlines. But the experience was one I will never forget.

“I found him here in 1990. He and I worked together to take the Gazette from black and white to colour.”

Mr Cann said they spent long mornings and weekends working together to get the process right.

He added: “There were no computers back then — it was all done by hand — microfilm and cardboard. It was a skill and we used to learn together.

“I gained a wealth of knowledge from him. I was sorry to hear about his passing and I send my condolences to his family. God speed.”

Mr Cann said Mr Rego later worked at Butterfield & Vallis and they would speak often.

Former Royal Gazette general manager Keith Jensen said that Mr Rego was the first person to use computer technology in the final steps of producing negatives before printing.

“To do this, the newspaper invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the island’s first comprehensive system, which filled about 360 square feet of space and, after training, turned it over to James.

“He drove it enthusiastically at a console resembling a spacecraft — electronically cleaning up, enhancing, colouring, silhouetting and scanning images.

“Today, those computer functions reside in a laptop.

“James was dedicated to giving perfection in pre-press operations and he wanted to be in the forefront practically applying technological change in the key area of the newspaper.”

• A graveside service for Mr Rego will be held today at St Mark’s Church Cemetery on South Road in Smith’s at 11am.