British cinematographer (Francis) David Watkin died 19 February 2008 of cancer. Born 23 March 1925 in Margate, Kent, England, he won the Academy Award for Cinematography for Out of Africa (1985). He also worked on the Beatles’ 1965 film Help!, The Three Musketeers (1974), Chariots of Fire (1981), Yentl (1983), and White Nights (1985).
His genre work includes the films: Bogus (1996), Murder on the Moon (1989), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1989), Return to Oz (1985), To the Devil a Daughter (1976), The Devils (1971), The Bed Sitting Room (1969), and Marat/Sade (1967).
Watkin also developed a system of lights for night shooting that simulates natural light. Mounted on a crane, it can be raised into the air, creating shadows and degrees of smoothness that are found in the real world. The device is known as the Wendy Light, after Watkin’s nickname “Wendy.”
Watkin is survived by his partner, Nick Hand.