This is a portrait of Dr. James. D. Watson, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA for which he and two others won the Nobel Prize in 1962. Watson went on to become a towering figure in the new science of molecular biology, first at Harvard University and then as director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he is now chancellor. He has just published an autobiographical book: "Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science", which is why I had an assignment to photograph him. It is wonderful to be in his presence and hear what he has to say - I have been privileged to photograph him about four times during my career. Oh, the title of the blog? Dr. Watson is 79 years old, and he mentioned that he works 80 hours a week! What a wonderful testament to staying active as one grows older!
He's 79 years old and works 80 hours a week. This is living? If he works 5 days a week, that's 16 hours a day. If he works 6 days a week, that's more than 13 hours a day. If he works without any days off, that's a bit more than 11 hours a day. Obviously, to this genius of a man, work and pleasure are one. Otherwise, how could he possibly spend so many hours, so many days and years steadily working, working, working. It's amazing. Nice portrait.
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