Bermuda Put Top Lensman’s Career In Focus

On the eve of a major New York retrospective celebrating the work of the world’s foremost photo-journalists, Ron Wyatt says some holiday snaps taken in Bermuda are responsible for launching his career — but not for the reasons you may think.

Mr. Wyatt is best known for what may be the the single most instantly recognisable photograph taken at the 2008 Beijing Olympics –a stunning night-time shot of the“Bird’s Nest” stadium, its intricate patterns shimmering on the waters.

He told a New Jersey newspaper this week his Beijing Olympic experience marked the culmination of a 33-year journey which began with his first marriage in 1975. He brought a borrowed Kodak Instamatic camera with him on his Bermuda honeymoon.

“The pictures I brought back were awful,” Wyatt said. “They were out of focus and shaky. I was so unhappy with them that I decided to study photography.”

At the time, Mr. Wyatt worked on the chassis assembly-line for General Motors at a New Jersey plant. His new hobby soon led him into freelance work for newspapers and sports photography. On winter Sundays he would hop from city to city chasing good weather and highlight shots of NFL games for “USA Today”, “TV Guide”, “Gameday Sporting News” and other publications. His sports photography weekends began eating into his regular work week until he finally became a full-time photographer in 1983.

The iconic Olympic stadium image joins 29 others in an exhibit of Mr. Wyatt’s work opening at the Calumet Gallery in New York next week. The show — entitled “Ron Wyatt’s China” — presents 10 large-scale prints on paper from the 2008 Olympic Games alongside 20 further images on canvas of Chinese landmarks such as The Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors at Xi’an.

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