November 30, 2003
Cairo Museum. Get into row with American tourist
who reprimands me about touching a stone statue inside
the museum...telling me that I'm ruining it and that
I can't touch it. Meanwhile, there are many statues
outside and exposed to the elements and windows are open
inside the museum. I walk away, then decide that
enough is enough of this. I go back and give him
a good tune-up. Went to the Citadel after which
was frankly boring. You could see the pyramids
through the haze though...miles away. Back to the
pyramids to shoot them at sunset. Get a great shot
of a policeman on a camel silhouetted against the sun. A
very reluctant and sleepy MW poses reluctantly against
the pyramids. |
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Wanted
to go to the Cairo zoo but didn't have time. MW spent
the whole trip looking for a furry camel. Her dream
comes true when we find one at the Hard Rock Cafe. She
is very very very happy.
November 29, 2003
Woke up early and went back to the pyramids. Of
course I forgot you can't take cameras inside. The
guard looks after it, then wants money for looking
after it. This is un-fucking believable. "My
friend, my friend, my friend, etc etc..." At
midday, we get conned into another camel ride. I
quite liked the camels, apart from the local who insisted
on riding on the same camel as me. My bottom
is now so chafed from the camel it's red raw. Get
some good pictures of the pyramids though. Shot
the Sphinx late-afternoon. You can't get right
up to it anymore. |
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November 28, 2003 |
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Fly London to Frankfurt at 6am....then on to Cairo,
Egypt. Have decided in my infinite wisdom to shoot
the pyramids in winter. Because it's a day flight,
have a fantastic view of the pyramids late-afternoon
as I'm landing. As usual, mayhem at the airport. Every
smelly, chain-smoking (I hate smoking) local trying to
scam money off you. Of course I fall for it straight
away. Check-in to the hotel, stopped briefly at
the Khan El Khalilly, then out to dinner at
Abu El-Cid--which is very very dark, full of chain-smoking
locals with hookahs. The cab driver offers
to go to the pyramids. This is now nearly midnight. MW's
dream is to go on a camel. |
I think it's a great
idea. After
she barters and I get embarrassed and just want to pay
the guide what he wants, we get onto a pair of very smelly
camels
and head out into the Giza night. Of course the
guide lied to me and the pyramids were not lit at all. After
wandering up and down sand dunes, my ass is killing me
and she's screaming 'help' (Nice camel...etc...etc). The
guide really starts to piss me off by: a) talking about
football (something I have no interest in) and b)
trying to talk in a really bad Cockney accent, and
c) after deciding in his mind that we'd bonded, he started
to speak in a Scottish
accent...and then asked for a tip. By this
time it was freezing and 1:30am. But at least we
saw the pyramids with no one around...kind of.
November 20
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Horrible ,miserable,cold damp English
day......feel VERY jet lagged.........spend the morning
sorting out photos etc........go to shoot Pete Townshend,
in the afternoon, at the Boathouse studio.Drive back in
chronic rush hour traffic...........still nice to see Pete |
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November 19th
At least the flight was empty. We get in early but circle
for an hour, this starts to make me feel very sick.... Get
home at 11am. Check my e-mails to find a couple of very abusive
ones about what I've put up on System of A Down (I didn't
know I put anything bad??) and Metallica (funny I was talking
to an assistant who worked with them and I around the time
of
The Black Album, I was saying how ok they used to be... He
corrected me pointing out they weren't ok back then, they
just hid it better) you figure out who has the worst ego
me or them. Kazuyo who works for me has gone home to Tokyo
for
a month, of course I'm tired and in a bad mood because she's
not around and I can't find anything (well I can when I bother
to look for more than 5 minutes)
November 18th
Hang around New York all day I'm on a night flight to London....start
get really fed up. Kevin calls and is his usual positive
self. Meet him and John Kalodner for a coffee, wander down
to Tower records and find a really good book called ' Seventies
Rock' by Frank Moriarty. Hang around until the evening, I'm
so bored I go out to JFK airport early and sit in the terminal
for 4 hours.
9:30pm flight home.
November 16th
Madison Square Garden, the prestigious New York show,
a mad house back stage. Gene Simmons asks me to take
some photos of him and Diana Ross and her sons....
Shoot Steven and Liv Tyler and Steven with Lenny Kravitz.
Try and do a session with Joe and Paul - this turns
into a nightmare as the only place is by the freight
elevator and it keeps opening full of people. Paul
Stanley starts getting very pissed off...!! Go out
with Kevin Shirley and Rick Sales after the show. |
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November 12th
Wake up. Its snowing in Minneapolis, go to Cold Stones for
ice cream (I know I'm stupid but Americans eat ice cream
in the winter). 3pm leave hotel for the airport its by a
huge military cemetery, the biggest vie ever seen going back
to the civil war. Fly with Aerosmith to Grand Rapids its
really bumpy, I don't mind flying but we are being blown
sideways coming in to land. Unbelievably its even more cold
with the wind chill factor.
Get a ride with Kiss after the show to New York which is
very, very nice of them.
November 11th
Still in Minneapolis a day off, its sunny but still freezing.
Spend the day hanging out with Joe Perry hunting Pheasant.
Go to the Hard rock in the evening, see a Beatles plate for
Sgt. Pepper on the wall dated on a plaque 1963... funny,
the album didn't come out until 1967! Go to the movies to
see the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Its as bad as the first
one...... Its also bad that I went to see it.
November 10th
Arrive Chicago 5:30am connect on the 6:45am to Minneapolis,
arrive at 8am its FREEZING... Hotel is very old style
America, you ask somebody something in the hotel and
nobody knows anything. Its cold and depressing! Go
to the show early, shoot Kiss hanging around in the
corridor and a beautiful ice sculpture of the Aerosmith
and Kiss logo. Aerosmith film the show. |
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November 9th
Raining all day..... 11:30pm flight to Chicago, a guy comes
up to me who's very nice and tells me how much he likes my
photos which makes a nice change.
November 8th
Drive to Venice beach to John Lydon's home. He owns Mae
West's (the old Hollywood actress) Spanish beach house. John
is feeling very sorry for himself with the flu, at first
he doesn't want to do anything, then he's fine and really
co-operative and easy, he's also very, very funny! Shoot
him at home and on the beach its a really overcast day and
cold but he's a pleasure to deal with.
6pm shoot The Mars Volta. The brothers start off slowly
but take direction really well and are interested in what
you are doing. The guitarist Omar is very impressed by the
fact I shot the Iron Maiden album - Live After Death. He
leaves singing me Maiden songs......
November 7th
Flying from London to Los Angeles. The flight is full of
people coming back from the MTV awards, run into Stewart
Parr who employed me for the Eminem tour. I use the term
employ quite loosely...... Stewart managed to spend the second
half of the flight talking about himself (how hard he's working
and flying to St Barts in a private jet for thanks giving....).
Stewart thinks he's so overworked, my heart bleeds for him.....
Arrive at L.A. at 2:45pm. Speak to John Lydon, who has the
flu. Get a message from the editor of classic rock - Sian
Llewellyn who wanted me to shoot Jon Bon Jovi in Atlantic
city next week to tell me I'm banned (it can be any photographer
but me) which is amusing as every time I bump into Richie
and Jon they're always friendly.. The reason I don't shoot
them is because people in their management organisation
have petty issues with me because I won't bow to their egos.
This is an organisation where the staff egos are bigger
than the artists. The same thing happened last month when
Q magazine wanted me
to shoot
him......
To
be
honest
and
truthful
as
much as I like working, who wants to bother with the Narcissistic
camp! My long day is getting progressively worse.
Go out in the evening for Sushi, the man next to me at the
bar is drunk and wanting to talk. I start off being polite
he is a really obnoxious New Yorker trying to tell me he's
from Idaho....?!! In the end I told him to leave.... What
a shitty day I'm having, at least I got a nice message from
Maggie Wang.
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