naturally took along a camera.

She had in mind capturing the sights in an ordinary way, like any other average tourist.

Never did she imagine that, by trip's end, she would be hooked on what has become not only a serious hobby but also a business.

Now, with 29 years of shutterbugging behind her, Mrs. Smith Gordon has made quite a name for herself as a photographer.

Just last week, the Post Office issued a new set of stamps commemorating the Royal visit, all of which featured Mrs. Smith Gordon's photographs. This means, of course, that her work will be seen throughout the world by recipients of mail, stamp catalogues and collectors.

And since the Queen is also a stamp collector, a set will find its way into the priceless Royal collection.

"I was thrilled when asked to submit my work, but I had no idea they would choose my photographs for all three stamps,'' the delighted photographer said.

And, as with so many experiences in Mrs. Smith Gordon's busy life, there is an interesting story behind the stamp scenes.

"At the time I took the picture of the Queen in the landau, the crest on the door was in very poor shape,'' she related. "Fortunately, during the Langley era it was restored, so when my photograph was chosen, I had to rush up to Government House where the secretary and I literally hauled the landau out into the sunshine, and I photographed the crest in close-up.

"This was then reduced by the stamp designers to minuscule proportions and superimposed on the landau door.'' Also, the background of oil tanks in the original photograph was removed by the experts and Mrs. Smith Gordon's photograph of her aunt's roof substituted instead.

"It is amazing what can be done with technology today,'' her niece noted. As to how she got the landau photograph in the first place, Mrs. Smith Gordon -- an avowed royalist -- was jammed up against a wall in Dockyard when the Queen and Prince Philip came to visit in February, 1975.

The crowd was very small, and she found herself almost of top of the Royal couple.

"As the Queen got into the landau she turned to wave to us, and that's when I got the picture,'' she explained.

Then, unable to move in the confined space, Mrs. Smith Gordon felt a tap on her shoulder and heard the words "Excuse me.'' She turned to find Prince Philip trying to get into the landau! But this isn't the first time the Bermudian businesswoman (she owns Contours) has found people licking the gummy side of her work. A series of Bermuda architectural stamps issued in January 1985 included a Smith Gordon study of rooftops.

Beyond the postal world, the photographer's work can be found in her annual Lure of Bermuda diary, for which she shoots 28 new scenes each year, and always includes one of her harbourside Paget home; and her 12-scene, annual Glimpses of Bermuda wall calendar.

Her work has also appeared on the covers of local magazines and in commercial brochures.

And then there are the famous audio-visual slide shows of her travels, each show featuring approximately 320 scenes.

What began as one show commemorating Bermuda's 375th anniversary has now grown into 16 shows on everything from the Far and Middle East to North Africa and Britain. Other topics include the Life of Christ.

"My first audio-visual show came about when I realised I had thousands of slides on Bermuda, and since it was the Island's 375th anniversary I thought I would try to put together something to mark the occasion,'' Mrs. Smith Gordon said. "But I didn't know to whom I was trying to appeal or what I was trying to accomplish, so I went looking for maps and did a lot of research, and then sat down and wrote a script. Finally, I whittled 2000 slides down to 240.'' As Paget parish's contribution to the anniversary celebrations, The History of the Bermuda Islands attracted an overflow audience of 340, won the presenter a standing ovation, and earned a rave review in this newspaper.

"It was the first audio-visual history of the Island,'' Mrs. Smith Gordon noted, "and attracted the attention of the Bermuda Junior Service League, which commissioned me to produce a history of Bermuda suitable for schools.

Then the US Navy Base asked me to produce a similar show for them.'' From that springboard, the amateur photographer went on to create a similar show aimed at visitors, wherein the historical angle was less prominent than the scenic.

Today, Mrs. Smith Gordon has three visitor-oriented shows: Discovering Bermuda (for conventions), A Glimpse of Bermuda, and A Mini Glimpse of Bermuda (used during Tourism's November to March programme).

"I really get a tremendous amount of pleasure out of sharing my shows with visitors because I love Bermuda so much,'' she said.

Now a veteran traveller who tries to take one trip per year, Mrs. Smith Gordon always returns home with plenty of material for another show.

She then sets to work researching the material she will use for her script, which she writes in longhand with every spare moment she gets; narrows her choice of exposures to what will fit into four carousels; and then records the commentary.

"It takes a year to complete one show,'' she said of the painstaking process.

Such is the quality of her presentations that wherever she goes a large and enthusiastic audience is guaranteed. And always, proceeds from the first show of a new presentation are given to Bermuda's cancer charity, Patients' Assistance League & Service (PALS), of which she is chairman.

"My last show raised $3000 in one evening for PALS,'' she said proudly, and I also raised $3000 on another occasion for the (Anglican) Cathedral Restoration Fund.'' After 28 years behind the shutter, Mrs. Smith Gordon has no idea how many slides are in her library. "Thousands and thousands'' is the closest she comes to an estimate.

Nor has she any intention of hanging up her cameras -- for the keen amateur always travels with two around her neck just in case one misbehaves, and she shoots only in colour.

Where once she travelled with basic equipment, today she boasts "state of the art'' cameras.

But ask Mrs. Smith Gordon how she gets such beautiful photographs -- a visiting artist described her as "an artist with a camera" -- and the response is disarmingly honest.

"I can't tell you how I do it because I don't know myself. I've had no formal training, I just do it!'' Part of the answer might be dedication and determination, for Mrs. Smith Gordon can be found wherever an important event is taking place. Somehow, she will politely and skillfully worm her way into a good position and keep that shutter finger primed.

During the just-completed Royal visit, she kept up an exhausting schedule running from one end of the Island to the other to capture her beloved Royals.

Her diligence certainly paid off. As a bonus, she was among the lucky few in the general crowd on hand at the Airport to whom the Queen spoke shortly after touching down.

And thanks to her rapport with Government House, Mrs. Smith Gordon was the only photographer allowed to photograph the dining room just hours before the Queen's dinner (at which she subsequently became a guest).

Ironically, the Royal visit also marked the worst thing that's ever happened to this talented photographer in her long career. An undeveloped roll of 35mm Fujichrome 400 36-exposure film with irreplaceable shots of the Queen at the Southampton Princess hotel has been lost.

"If anyone has found a roll of film that is not theirs, I would be willing to pay for the developing just to see if it's mine,'' the desperate woman said.

"Just phone me at 292-0502.

For details of Mrs. Smith Gordon's newest show on Greece, which takes place tonight, see the Bermuda Calendar .

BERMUDA SNAPPER! -- In pursuing her hobby of capturing the beauty of Bermuda and other lands, as well as special events such as the recent Royal visit, on film, Mrs. Ann Smith Gordon has brought pleasure to thousands. Her prolific output includes slide shows, calendars, desk diaries and commemorative stamps.

PHILATELIC HONOUR -- Photographs by Mrs. Ann Smith Gordon were used for this three-stamp set issued last week to commemorate the visit of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. They mark the second time her work has been chosen for Bermuda stamps.