The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Dundee landscape photographer Shahbaz Majeed, whose image of the Forth Bridge is shown on the polymer £5 note, is to appear on the BBC’S Landward programme.
Alittle-known photographer from Dundee who captured arguably one of the most famous pictures in Scotland is to appear on the BBC’S Landward.
Photos by Shahbaz Majeed, who also works in IT at Dundee University, are featured on the polymer £5 and £20 notes.
His image of the Forth Bridge is featured on the polymer £5 note and people often send him their notes to sign.
Showcasing the beauty of Scotland, Shahbaz has won awards for his new take on some Scottish landmarks.
He also won plaudits for a picture of the Tay Bridge in Dundee which used long exposure to capture a train crossing.
Shahbaz is set to have more of his pictures of Scotland feature on the BBC show Landward when it airs tomorrow night.
“I’d been invited on previous seasons, but it was delayed because of Covid,” Shahbaz said of his coming appearance. “They want me to speak about landscape, why I focus on Scotland and what it means.
“They also talked about my background with banknotes and about my dad who immigrated to Scotland in the 1970s.
“My dad is really proud that this is our home and that his son now has an image on Scotland’s currency.
“It’s quite emotional for him actually.”
Shahbaz said a lot of people do not actually realise it is his work on the bank notes. “When the £5 note came out in 2017 there was a lot of publicity,” he said. “The £20 polymer just came out last year when Covid hit, probably the worst time to announce a new cash note.”
Shahbaz said he enjoyed photographing Scotland and showing it off to locals and the world and said he often receives messages saying people want to visit because of his pictures.
As well as pictures of Fife and Tayside landmarks, such as the V&A, Shahbaz also pictures more remote areas like Glencoe.
He was recently asked to take aerial shots of the V&A and his work has been used by the university to promote the city to students across the world.
Landward will air on BBC1 Scotland at 7.35pm tomorrow.