Photographer Gavin Evans captures the unguarded moments of celebrities

The aim of Scottish photographer Gavin Evans is not to make the stars look pretty or get their 'best side', nor does he want to be their new best friend. Rather his images are about capturing the unguarded moment when chance and circumstance collide portraits gavin evans (www.gavinevans.com)

Harvey Keitel

He was one of the people I'd really, really wanted to photograph. I'd seen him in Nic Roeg's Bad Timing and my father had taken me to Marrakech when it was filming there, so it was quite significant for me. He was in Scotland working on something for the BBC, but when I turned up at the press junket I was told he wouldn't be photographed. I was gutted and just started to hit the free wine.

I'd had a good bottle and a half – I could hardly stand up – when this guy comes up to me and says, "Do you wanna do the photograph now?" It was Harvey. We went outside and he was standing against this wall while I was fumbling around with my camera – I could have been pointing it at myself for all I knew. I didn't know what I was doing, but he seemed to think it was quite amusing. I did six, seven frames, then got back on the bus home to Edinburgh, thinking I'd just made the biggest mistake of my professional career. Fortunately, when I processed the film, the pictures were great, but I certainly recommend no-one drinks and take photographs at the same time.

Brian Wilson

I didn't know who Brian Wilson was; I'd heard of the Beach Boys, obviously, but the other journalists were in awe – it was like we were going to see a god, an icon. I could hear music tinkling from next door. I set up all my equipment, then Brian came shuffling in. He was almost comatose. I took five frames of him staring into the camera, then was about to suggest something else when he said, "That's it, Gavin." End of session.

His minders had been filming me throughout the shoot to make sure nothing defamatory was said. Then they wanted two Polaroids – one for me and one for them. So I stood next to Brian, they took the first one, and in my head I'm thinking, "The second shot's mine," so I raised one eyebrow ironically and they took it. Just in case they went ape and thought I was disrespecting the great man, I grabbed the Polaroid before it and shot out. In the lift I looked down and there I was, one raised eyebrow, and that was what Brian was doing – exactly mirroring me. He couldn't have seen me doing it – it was really, really weird.

Bjrk

In my field I come across every type, and Bjrk ticked the box marked 'magical'. What do you expect of someone from Iceland, who lives half the year in the dark and half in constant light? Her genuine elfin charm was the product of a childhood of Moomins and the Northern Lights.

She had brought a jar of glitter, which she scattered in the air, adding a pixie quality to the moment. I had 15 minutes to capture her before she flittered off to her next appointment, leaving a trail of stardust in her wake.

Iggy Pop

I was commissioned by Time Out to shoot Iggy in October 1996, and I didn't really know what to expect. The first thing that struck me was that he only came about halfway up my chest. He's absolutely tiny, but he has amazing presence and a powerful physique. I just put on the music and let him perform. I got a whole book out of that session, and each shot, I think, tells a different story; there isn't one that is the definitive Iggy.

David Bowie

This image was shot maybe ten years ago, when David Bowie had just been doing some recording work with Brian Eno. The two of them came into the studio really distracted. They were obviously buzzing with what they'd been doing, but David was the consummate professional and gentleman. To make the difference between my image and the plethora of others, I thought of playing the iconoclast by correcting his iconic features – his mismatched eyes. I planned to make them match digitally in post-production. By coincidence, he'd had a pair of blue contact lenses made up for the shoot. We talked about the one thing we had uniquely in common – our Somali partners. He chose an image from the session for his world tour.

Daniel Craig

I spotted Daniel scurrying down a Soho side street. The skies were black and he was avoiding the downpour wearing a black leather trenchcoat. I'd recently seen the actor's faultless and empassioned portrayal of Geordie in Our Friends in the North. With this in mind, I stuck my neck out and asked if he'd participate in the National Theatre Auditions charity project I was working on at the time. When Daniel gave his line (you can see the video on my blog) I knew his rivers ran deep. Here was someone with an extraordinary talent.