Now this was a big one. Being asked to shoot Ginger Baker for MOJO magazine is of course a tremendous privilege but it's not without it's own 'atmosphere'. The story is well laid out in the new issue of MOJO (December 2014) and it's worth the read because while Ginger is a legendary drummer, he is also a properly cantankerous old man, loaded with defensiveness and a lot of bitter memory. The reasons for these are well documented too but it does create a challenge when you need to sit the fella down and shoot a portrait. His health is ailing, he chain smokes, he's just done a two hour interview (like this one) laid out on a LazyBoy so it's true to say he wasn't that up for it but I harangued a good 15 frames from him, including, rather brilliantly, some happy-looking ones and I got the briefest of glimpses at what might have been some friendliness and warmth. I then proceeded to bugger that up by letting his dog out. As we left he shouted 'YOU IDIOTS!" then slammed his door. He's probably right.
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