David Bailey

Although Bailey was initially brusque, shooting his portrait ended up a pleasure, says Harry Borden.

- David Clark

For me, David Bailey is one of the ‘Holy Trinity’ of living British photographers, along with Don McCullin and Martin Parr. They’re very different in style, approach and subject matter, but are great photographers. Memorable portraits of great photographers are rare, and my favourite picture of the young Bailey was taken in the early 1960s by Terry O’Neill. It shows him striking a pose as he directs a model during a fashion shoot.

In August 2011, I was commissioned to photograph a 73-year-old Bailey for The Sunday Times, which was publishing an interview with him by journalist Lynn Barber. Bailey was talking to her about an exhibition of his paintings that was being held at a London gallery. It was agreed that we would do the shoot at his farmhouse in Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor.

I drove down with my assistant Emily, and had a slight feeling of trepidation at the thought of shooting Bailey’s portrait. However, I wasn’t as intimidated as some people I know who have photographed him because his photographic heroes – people such as Irving Penn and Richard Avedon – are my heroes, too. We also had a professional link, because at the beginning of my career I had assisted John Swannell, who, many years earlier, had assisted Bailey.