PRINCESS Diana's favourite photographer is back with a celebration of the beautful and bizarre in his latest picture book Any Objections.

The new book, packed with bronzed and naked models in various uncompromising positions, is typical of Mario Testino and underlines why some commentators have dubbed him Mr Testosterone.

His visit to the Oxford Union last week was yet another coup for new Union President Lucy Aitkens as she tries to give break away from the Union's traditional stuffy image in favour of guests with more street cred - and Mario certainly has that.

Being able to shoot Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell on the loo together, pants round their ankles, speaks for itself.

Yet his book has been a surprise in the fashion world, where he is best known for his exquisitely styled photographs of couture collections.

Not only was he a firm favourite of the late Princess Diana, photographing her for the famous Vanity Fair cover but he more recently shot Madonna and her daughter Lourdes for Versace and has launched the careers of several supermodels. But while he is a firm favourite of the fashion set, currently taking photos for high profile advertising campaigns such as Donna Karen, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, he is also a rebel.

In the late 1980s he refused to pay the exorbitant fees demanded by supermodels Linda and Naomi and is the man credited with standing up to the 1980s supermodels.

Instead he championed his own breed of supermodel, including Kate Moss and Stella Tennant, as well as several other Brit-pack beauties.

And while the 46-year-old is still at the top of his profession, when he first arrived in London in 1976 from Peru, he was a complete unknown.

Born in Lima to an Italian father and mother of Irish descent, he began his career in Britain by selling portfolios to wannabe models for £25, which included hair and make-up, while living with friends in an abandoned hospital.

The legendary doctor and nurse parties they threw soon attracted the rich and famous, writers, painters, film-makers and beauties, and he began to make a name for himself. It is hard to imagine such lowly origins now when you consider the fat fees he receives for photographing the couture collections for some of the top fashion houses.

But one look at his book Any Objections explains a lot. From the man on the street to Linda Evangelista, Jerry Hall and Grace Jones, his photographs really fire the imagination. He obviously has the contacts and skill to both shock and mesmerise, but his book is certainly the first glimpse that the fashion world has seen of 'his other side'. It reveals a far fuller picture of his photographic ambition and skill, than the small and coveted jobs he completes for the cliquey world of fashion.

It depicts raw material, where he is normally recognised for his refined pictures. From Rio de Janeiro to Milan, New York, Tangier, Moscow and Madrid he has travelled the world to capture colour, laughter and emotion. But he remains a top artist in the photographic world and certainly provided Oxford with a glimpse of the colourful and exotic world of someone who, through the nature of his work, surrounds himself with 'the beautiful people'.

Story date: Saturday 26 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.