A Brighton photographer is putting more than 50,000 images online.

David Gray, who has been taking pictures for more than two decades, plans to display his work in a vast searchable web site.

He runs a tiny gallery in North Road, Brighton, where there is space to hang no more than 80 pieces of work.

The web site, which can house the entire portfolio, was launched yesterday.

Mr Gray said: "To start with, I have put only about 8,000 to 9,000 pictures on the internet. But my collection is about 70,000 in size and I aim to make most of these available over time.

"More than half of the pictures are of Brighton. My work is based on observation and it is a great place to live as a photographer."

Mr Gray has set up an offline version of the web site at the gallery for those without internet access.

He said: "I felt it was important to be operational during the Brighton Festival when there are many visitors to the town keen to see this sort of project.

"By setting up the offline version, I can display more of my work and people might be encouraged to log on when they get home to find out more.

"Despite the number of pictures I have to show, it's easy enough to find something specific by using the key-word search facility I have built into the site."

Mr Gray first moved to Brighton in the late-Sixties to study politics and economics at Sussex University.

A London-based career as a writer of business reports followed before he came back to the coast ten years ago.

Last year, he decided to give up writing as a freelance to dedicate him-self to building a photography business.

The gallery, at 95 North Road, is open Friday to Sunday, from 10am to 6pm.

www.imagesbrighton.com