Veteran photojournalist Thilak Perera, Pictures Editor of Lake House, has died after a brief illness, a month before his 60th birthday.
Perera passed away yesterday (20), having spent more than three decades with the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), the publisher of the Daily News and the Sunday Observer.
Perera rose from trainee photojournalist to become the head of the Lake House pictures desk.
He was first made chief photographer at the Sunday Observer, where he handled news, sports, entertainment and travel assignments, and was later promoted to Pictures Editor.
During the war years, he travelled to the frontlines with reporters from the Daily News and the Sunday Observer.
His task was to record some of the most intense moments on the battlefield.
Perera's reputation as a travel photographer was made at the Rasanduna tabloid, which was part of the Silumina.
His images of Sri Lanka’s best-known tourist attractions and its wildlife appeared on many of its covers.
Before that, he was recruited to the Sarasaviya film weekly by its then editor, the veteran journalist Thilakaratna Kuruwita Bandara.
He photographed numerous Sarasaviya covers and built close ties with the film industry, where leading directors, producers and actors knew him on first name terms. He also worked as a stills photographer on many Sinhala films.
He leaves behind his wife Chandani and two daughters, Tharini and Tharushi.
His remains will lie at his residence at 351A, Pannipitiya Road, Thalawathugoda, from today.
The funeral will take place at the Thalawathugoda cemetery tomorrow afternoon.
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