This was shot for the cover of the books supplement in The Times. I had no brief as such, which is great, they just asked for me to allow enough room in the picture for the title and text. McCall-Smith wrote a series of books called 'The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency' which have been turned into a television series. I had first listened to the radio play versions on BBC Radio Four, which I loved and was quite excited to meet him.
He turned out to be a real gentleman, we didn't have much time, but I had everything set up in the studio waiting for him. I had luckily bought a fake fur background a few years before, and never had a reason to use it, but as his books are set in Botswana it seemed like the ideal time to break it in. Also another stroke of luck, there was an antique travel chest knocking around the studio which was perfect for him to lean on.
There is always a worry that you will have an idea like this and the subject will turn up and refuse point blank to be photographed like that. I once wanted a singer in a fairly cool pop band to sit on a really great looking retro scooter, and he said no which really surprised me. Maybe he just didn't like my scooter! Anyway, no such problem here, Alexander loved the idea and was quite amazed that it suited the African theme so much.
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