When Harry met Mackie...

I was speaking to Mackie at work this morning and it turned out he had a spare ticket for the talk with Harry Benson up at Waverley Gate. You just don't pass up an opportunity like that. The man is not only a photographic legend, but a Scottish photographic legend.

It had been arranged by Kenny MacAskill in conjunction with Creative Scotland as part of the Cash Back in the Community project where the proceeds of crime are used to put on community events. Apparently Kenny MacAskill is an old friend of Harry Benson's and invited him over to speak to students and people in Education.

What a fascinating hour where he showed us, along with anecdotes, a large selection of his photos, from all the Numerous US presidents he's photographed to actors, models and internationally recognised figures like the Beatles, Muhammad Ali and Bobby Fischer.

Mackie was particularly interested in his photos of Fischer in Iceland where despite the huge media circus surrounding his visit Harry's photos manage to appear intimate and isolated with Fischer looking relaxed and happy, something many of the other photos from there never managed to capture.

There was also a selection of his photojournalism from the Watts and New York riots, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy (including the iconic photo of Ethel Kennedy), Martin Luther King's funeral, some of the protests and troubles in Mississippi in the 60s and coverage of Somalia shortly before the battle of Mogadishu.

It was an enlightening hour or so filled with fantastic photos and his mischievous sense of humour, and it was a wonderful honour to get a chance to meet the man and have a brief chat afterwards.

All in all an amazing day! Huge thanks to MAckie for taking me along.