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3 TIM DIACONO TO most people, Lino Arrigo Azzopardi will be remembered through his timeless photos of key moments in Malta's recent history. He was there to snap the moment George Borg Olivier de- clared independence, Sir Anthony Mamo's appointment as the first Maltese president, and the time Don Mintoff lit a torch in Vitto- riosa as the last British ship sailed out of Malta's harbours. To his former colleagues, he will be remembered as a mentor or simply as the man behind the lens – a jovial workaholic with a can- do attitude towards his job. After a lifetime in the photog- raphy industry, Arrigo Azzopardi died on Tuesday morning after several months of battling a ter- minal illness. "He was professional, helpful and a jovial character," Media- Today's managing editor Saviour Balzan said. "I recall the time when Eddie Fenech Adami visited Tony Blair before Malta's acces- sion to the EU. Arrigo Azzopardi was there, standing in front of Downing Street, calling on the two protagonists to look at him and smile as he snapped away." Arrigo Azzopardi started his career as a photographer at the Department of Information in 1958 and occupied that position for some 24 years, during which he snapped momentous events including Independence Day, Re- public Day and Freedom Day. Photographer Paul Galea has known the man since he [Galea] was a child visiting the DOI of- fices where his father, and later he, used to work. "He was one of the younger pho- tographers at the time, and already had a distinct character and col- ourful style of recounting stories that put a smile on everyone's fac- es. No matter how sad or nervous you were feeling, he would always be able to make you smile," he told MaltaToday. "At the same time, he was also a very professional and capable photographer and went to the extremes to capture par- ticular moments with his camera. He's one of the few photographers in the country who witnessed and filmed Malta change through the decades. "He recently told me that he al- ways prays for my late father, and now I will always pray for him too. If heaven was a quiet place before, it certainly won't be anymore." Arrigo Azzopardi later served as the official photographer un- der successive presidents Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, Guido de Marco and Eddie Fenech Adami. He was seriously injured in 2001 when accompanying Guido de Marco on a state visit to Bulgaria and a truck crashed into the then presi- dent's official car at high speed. He suffered multiple fractured and was airlifted to St Luke's Hos- pital, where doctors gave him a 25% chance of survival. Although he eventually pulled through, he never fully recovered from the in- juries sustained in the accident. Arrigo Azzopardi spent his later years as a Malta-based stringer for the Associated Press news agency and later for the European Press- photo Agency, snapping major events on the country that were distribute to and used by interna- tional news outlets. Photographer Chris Mangion, his successor as the AP's Malta stringer, described Arrigo Azzo- pardi as a "constantly jovial man with an influential can-do atti- tude". "He was the oldest photographer in the press pack but also the most energetic of us; he used to pull the other photographers along with him," he said. "He was constantly jovial, even in the worst of situa- tions, and had a can-do attitude towards work. He never dragged his feet when faced with a photog- raphy assignment, even when they came in at the early hours of the morning, but would rather accept it enthusiastically. "He was often the first to turn up to major events, like elections, and one of the last to leave. He didn't see other photographers as his ri- vals, but rather as his colleagues, and was always there to give us good advice." Indeed, this lack of a competi- tive streak towards people who were, for all intents and purposes, his business rivals was noted and praised by a number of photogra- phers. Darrin Zammit Lupi, the Mal- ta-based stringer for Reuters, re- counted how he and Arrigo Azzo- pardi used to help each other out in their work, despite Reuters and AP being rival international news agencies. "I learned a lot from him and will always remember the laughs we shared together," he told Mal- taToday. "He had a great sense of humour and we had so many great chats together, from things as mundane as a football match to major events like migrant ship- wreck tragedies. He was just a great all-round guy." Arrigo Azzopardi's final job was as the Maltese stringer for the Frankfurt-based European Press- photo Agency and his last major assignment was the CHOGM summit that took place in Malta last year. Photographer Ray Attard, who took over that role earlier this year after Arrigo Azzopardi was diagnosed with a terminal ill- ness, recounted how the veteran photographer had personally rec- ommended him to the EPA as his replacement. "He was well respected among foreign news agencies and indeed the EPA had described him to me as a gentleman," he said. "That's what he was to me – a true gentle- man and a dedicated professional with a strong character who al- ways went after he wanted." Arrigo Azzopardi's funeral will be held on Thursday at 8:30am at the parish church of his home town of Santa Lucija. tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 28 DECEMBER 2016 News Tributes pour in for Lino Arrigo, the jovial photographer who snapped Malta's history Photographers pay tribute to Lino Arrigo Azzopardi, whose camera snapped key moments of Maltese history through the decades He's one of the few photographers in the country who witnessed and filmed Malta change through the decades