A Palestinian Woman Returning to the Ruins of her House, Sabra, Beirut, 1982

© Don McCullin, courtesy Hamiltons Gallery, London

UPDATE 30 November: Digital photography ‘can’t be trusted’, says McCullin

McCullin (below) will be the subject of a special exhibition of his work at Photo London, which takes place at Somerset House from 19-22 May 2016.

The public will also have the chance to meet the photographer at the event on 19 May, when he will be in conversation with Tate photography curator Simon Baker.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA[Photo credit: Chris Cheesman]

Near-Checkpoint-Charlie-Berlin-1961.webNear Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, 1961

© Don McCullin, courtesy Hamiltons Gallery, London

The extensive talks programme is also scheduled to include renowned photographers Martin Parr, Nadav Kander and Rankin.

Photo London will showcase the work of 80 galleries – 10 more than at the inaugural event in 2015.

And, for the first time, Photo London has won the backing of Michael G Wilson, a celebrated photography collector and co-producer of the James Bond films.

Wilson has pledged to lend 12 large-scale photographs by Craigie Horsfield, drawn from his archive of more than 11,000 images.

‘London has, it seems, fallen in love with photography,’ said Photo London co-founder Michael Benson at an event held at Somerset House this morning.

Photo London 2016 will feature a new temporary structure in the courtyard of Somerset House, plus a new dedicated area for talks.

Benson added: ‘London is the only city in the world where you dare to imagine that you would get this kind of dynamic response to a new cultural venture like Photo London.

‘We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received from the City’s cultural organisations.

‘From national art institutions like the Tate, the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A to emerging artists, young collectors and galleries, especially in the creative hubs of the East End and South London, from the best dealers to all of London’s auction houses, and above all London’s brilliant photographers, we have been delighted to find that so many people of all ages share our passion for photography and believe like us that London has the potential to become the world capital of photography.’

Photo London 2016 will be backed by the Pictet Group, an asset management organisation.

Last year’s high-profile visitors to Photo London included James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

Full details of Photo London 2016