PHOTOGRAPHIC diary of life in the North-East, humorously and sympathetically shot by internationally renowned photographer Chris Steele-Perkins, has been launched by Northumbria University Press.

Northern Exposures brings to life a way of living probably never encountered or considered by most - but which will be recognised with fondness by many.

Magnum Group photographer Chris Steele-Perkins attended Newcastle University in the late 1960s, and was invited to return to the North-East in 2001 to document the Durham Coalfield - at one time the heartland of the British mining industry. This was the genesis behind Northern Exposures - a memorable record of life, produced with wit and wisdom.

"Northern Exposures is a celebration of country life, but a realistic one, not sugar-coated with misplaced yearnings and nostalgia about natural values' and how we have lost them," says Chris.

"The photographs aim to serve as both a eulogy and an elegy."

The author lets the reader in on a world of country pursuits, practices and pastimes - from the sports of bird racing, ferreting, and "lamping to the heartwarming images of young girls nervously awaiting their turn in the pony competition. The passion of the people is felt in every picture - from the small boy proudly displaying his pet owl, to the serious business of bidding for a secondhand door at the Haswell Plough Mart.

The reader is brought back to reality at the end of this idyllic journey with the image of a broken dishwasher abandoned on the Pennines, and a gang of youngsters drinking and playing up for the cameras.

Northern Exposures is introduced by William Varley - academic, art critic, writer and broadcaster - who spent 23 years as a Guardian reviewer.

An exhibition of the photography from the book is being displayed in the Northumbria University Gallery until July 20.