Albert Watson

With the 'ROIDS! project, Albert Watson – who has been recently awarded an Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his lifetime contribution to and achievements in photography – became interested in scanning his Polaroids at a massive resolution. This creates an effect as if you would observe them under a microscope, which shows all their beauty along with all their flaws. Watson is creating a fascinating combination of old technology in the new digital world. By blowing the scan of the Polaroids up to almost 2.5 meters (96 inches), Watson makes their attraction physically perceptible.

Albert Watson has captured the perfect image of A-listers, from pop superstars to presidents, in some of the world’s most exotic locations. But, the photographer admits, he has never been happier than hunkered down in the wind and rain of Skye, framing the wild beauty of one of Scotland’s most spectacular islands. Albert lives in New York but a holiday in Skye many years ago made him want to come back and capture it on film. 'It stayed with me as being an unusual, interesting and charismatic place and I wanted to shoot the landscapes,' Albert said. “It was a personal project and a real case of getting back to my roots. I planned it for two years and I went in with a complete back-up crew to help me. 'I was there for six weeks and we did 12 hours every single day. We got up in the dark and finished in the dark.' Such is Albert’s attention to detail, he spent three days just photographing the surface of lochs as the wind changed the patterns on the water. 'I was looking for something mysterious that had atmosphere. I deliberately went in October and November because I was hoping for bad weather – and of course I got it. I find blue sky with white fluffy clouds deadly when it comes to creating a powerful landscape and I was looking for wind and rain and mist.'