The Scotsman newspaper today focuses on photographer Albert Watson, who is to become the first Scot to receive the highest award from the Royal Photographic Society when he is presented with the Centenary Medal at a ceremony in London tonight.
Edinburgh-born Watson, who has photographed the great and the good – including Bill Clinton, The Queen, Kate Moss and various rock stars – is being recognised for his outstanding contribution to the art and science of photography.
The 68 year-old joins a distinguished list of photographers to have received the medal, including Annie Leibovitz, Don McCullin, David Bailey, Cornell Capa and Martin Parr.
The Scotsmaan reports: “Watson, the son of a former boxer and physical education teacher was born blind in one eye, but went on to become one of the most celebrated photographers of all time. His work is featured in many galleries and museums worldwide.
“He has shot more than 200 Vogue covers and over 40 covers for Rolling Stone magazine since the mid-1970s. In 2007, his nude photographs of Moss, taken in Marrakech in 1993, sold at Christie's for nearly £70,000 – more than five times its pre-sale estimate.
“His first celebrity shot was a portrait of Alfred Hitchcock in 1973 in which the film director was photographed holding a dead goose with a ribbon around its neck for the Christmas issue of Harper's Bazaar.”
