Crosby man’s photos featured in new Isle of Man stamps collection

A photographer says it is “wonderful” to see many of his pictures of the Isle of Man being used on stamps.

From when he first picked up a digital camera in 2005, Andy North, from Crosby, has been taking landscape photographs of the island.

After a book featuring North’s images was seen by Isle of Man Stamps and Coins, the group decided its first collection of 2026 would showcase his work.

North, 50, said his only goal was to capture “how beautiful” the island is.

After initially refusing to take up any kind of photography because “he didn’t believe in it”, North recalled the moment when he changed his mind.

“I travelled all over the world, and did that without a camera, so when I came back I only had the memory of where I’d been to,” he said.

“When I got home, I also think I got frustrated that people didn’t know what the hidden Isle of Man looked like.”

After deciding to take up photography as a hobby, North landed a job as an art and design lecturer at University College Isle of Man, where he spent 14 years.

The culmination of all his landscape photography came in May 2025, when he released the Wild Guide Isle of Man, featuring more than 400 places to explore on the island.

“It’s come full circle,” he said, speaking about the book.

“All I ever wanted is for people to go to these places and see them for themselves – it’s a multi-sensory experience.

“I get people coming up to me in the street now, thanking me for showing them new places to go to.”

Eventually the book landed on the desk of Maxine Cannon, general manager of Isle of Man Stamps and Coins.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Andy on this special issue,” she said.

“His work perfectly reflects the spirit of adventure and natural beauty that makes our island so extraordinary.”

Cannon said the stamps were not only a tribute to the island’s landscapes, but “an invitation to discover them for yourself”.

When North spoke to the BBC, he was in the middle of using the first of his new collection to send some post.

“It’s tough having to rip out the first stamp because the booklet is perfect,” he explained.

“But the stamps are now a physical reality, and that is wonderful.”

The 10-stamp collection will also feature the use of the Manx language, in support of Belin ny Gaelgey, the year of the Manx Language.