This word carries a very positive connotation, just as "notoriety" does a negative one. He probably gained some prestige from this picture. If you wanted a word that is non-pejorative and possibly has less of a positive connotation, but implies fame as "notoriety" does, you could use repute.

Can notoriety be positive?

"notoriety" can sometimes be positive, nimfae, like in your example. Notoriety can be a claim to fame. That comes after the comma, in the definition.

Is notorious a negative connotation?

Notorious is a word that got a bad rap by association with an undesirable lot. The most common meaning of 'notorious' is "widely and unfavorably known." The word does have a neutral meaning ("widely known"), but it tends to be colored by the pejorative meaning. ...