Graham Watson

Graham Watson (New Zealand) is a British cycling photographer whose images helped shape the visual history of professional road racing over four decades. From the Tour de France and the great European Classics to seven Olympic Games, his photographs brought the speed, atmosphere, landscapes and human drama of cycling to audiences around the world.

Graham began his career in a London portrait studio, where he learned the foundations of composition, lighting, exposure and darkroom printing. Already a keen cyclist, his path changed after a weekend trip to Paris to see the 1977 Tour de France. A photograph from the trip won a competition organized by Cycling Weekly, helping launch a career that would take him from British races to the heart of professional cycling in Europe.

By the 1980s, Graham had become one of the leading photographers serving English-speaking cycling media, while also working internationally for magazines, professional teams and sponsors. As the founding photographer for Spain’s Ciclismo a Fondo, he documented the rise of riders including Pedro Delgado and Miguel Indurain. Often working from the back of a motorbike, Graham photographed cycling not only as a sport, but as a story shaped by changing light, dramatic landscapes, unpredictable weather and the passion of the crowds lining the road.

Across four decades, Graham documented generations of cycling champions while adapting from black-and-white film and darkroom printing to digital cameras and same-day online race coverage. He authored or co-authored more than 20 books and, following his retirement in 2017, published 40 Years of Cycling Photography, bringing together memorable images and stories from a remarkable life spent following the sport. Now living in New Zealand, Graham continues to enjoy cycling on quieter roads — with more time for good food and the occasional Belgian beer.Years of Cycling Photography, is a visual retrospective of a remarkable career spent on two wheels, in motion, and behind the lens.