No:2 in the series is another shot form The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Edinburgh in 1997. This image of Nelson Mandella is included not because it’s a great picture but because of who it is. For me he is the standout politician of my generation and here he is looking straight down my lens, a 400mm with doubler as he arrived by plane for the conference at RAF Turnhouse. There is a real eye contact, probably imagined on my part but nonetheless felt by me. This image features on my web site and I have used it in posts before but for me despite it’s simplicity it’s an image that comes to the forefront of my mind whenever anyone asks about my favourite picture or people I have photographed. Over the following few days I photographed him on several occasions but this is the image that sticks in my mind.

MANDELLA 2Nelson Mandella, South African President, arrives at RAF Turnhouse, Edinburgh, for CHOGM.
© Roger Donovan, Media Photos