A little-known Dundee photographer who captured arguably one of the most famous pictures in Scotland is to appear on BBC Landward.
Photos by Shahbaz Majeed, who also works in IT at Dundee University, are featured on the polymer £5 and £20 notes that many of us use every day.
His image of the Forth Rail 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 common 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 BBC Landward when it airs later this week.
“They want me to speak about landscape, why I focus on Scotland and what it means,” Shahbaz said of his coming appearance.
“They also talked about my background with banknotes, and about my dad who immigrated here 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 don’t actually realise it’s his work on the bank notes: “When the £5 note came out in 2017 there was a lot of publicity. The £20 polymer just came out last year when Covid hit, probably the worst time to announce a new cash note.”
Shahbaz said that 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 local landmarks like 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.
The Dundee-based photographer splits his time between his work at the university and his passion, which he now enjoys alongside his daughter.
He said: “She’ll actually tell me to photograph things I wouldn’t think of, like a bird, while I’m trying to focus on landscapes.”
BBC Landward will air on BBC One Scotland at 8.30pm on BBC Scotland April 23 at 7.35pm on BBC One.