Fred Watkins

Fred Watkins is a renowned editorial photographer who has covered national, political and historical events, politicians, celebrities, and day-to-day life for the past 40 years. He began in the Time-Life photo lab, washing and drying prints and assisting some of Life Magazine’s greatest photographers such as Gordon Parks, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Carl Mydans, Dmitri Kessel and David Douglas Duncan. Watkins also worked with the first Black Pulitzer Prize winner in photography, Moneta Sleet, at Johnson Publishing Company.

Watkins started out as paparazzi and learned the ropes from the king of paparazzi, Ron Galella. He then did freelance assignments for Time, Life and People magazines while still working in the Time-Life lab. In 1987, he was hired as a staff photographer for Johnson Publishing Company.

Watkins's assignments have taken him around the world. He was the first photographer to photograph George W. Bush in his private quarters on Air Force One. He has traveled with Presidents Clinton and Bush to Africa, and with Jesse Jackson to Brazil. Watkins also traveled to Jerusalem to photograph the Gaza Strip and other historic landmarks. His most honored accomplishment was to document Nelson Mandela's first tour of the USA after being released from prison in 1990.