Photographer Baron Wolman is the secondmost-successful graduate of the Class of 1955 from Bexley High School.

   Considering that the most successful member is Limited Brands founder Leslie H. Wexner, Wolman hasn't done too badly for himself.

   "Maybe I had more fun than Leslie did, working for Rolling Stone at its inception (in 1967) and then spending a lifetime doing something I love - which is taking pictures," said the 71-year-old, a cousin to civil-rights lawyer Benson Wolman.

   Several of the Rolling Stone photographs will be displayed today through Sunday near the food court of Polaris Fashion Place.

   The collection includes images of Jerry Garcia, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin, Pete Townshend and other musicians.

   The Dispatch, Wolman said, indirectly played a role in launching his career.

   "I was in the Army, and in 1961 I was stationed in Germany when the Berlin Wall went up and JFK visited. I was taking pictures, anyway, so I sent a letter to The Dispatch asking, 'Would you guys like to have some pictures and text from a local boy on the front lines?'

   "To my surprise, the paper said yes - and then ran the photographs and my text on the front page of the features section. They even sent me a check for $50.

   "I thought, 'If I can get paid for doing what I love, I'm going to turn this hobby into a career.' "

   Q: One of the things that made your three-year stint with Rolling Stone so exceptional, you've said, was your access to musicians.

   A: That's true. It's so different now that I would dissuade anyone from trying to make a living in rock 'n' roll photography. There are so many restrictions now, so many limitations. The artists are so obsessed with controlling their images.

   You have to remember that, in 1967, none of the people I photographed were as famous as they would eventually become. I had total access - onstage, backstage, anywhere I wanted to be.

   And the musicians appreciated it. Remember: There was no MTV, so they figured any exposure was good exposure. And, if I may say so, I think we (photographers) did a great job.

   Q: You told Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner that you'd work pretty much free but that you'd own all the photos you took, right?

   A: I did. And that turned out to be a pretty good thing for me in retrospect; it meant an annuity for me.

   Nowadays, you don't own the pictures; you can't republish them anywhere. You're limited to the first one or two songs of the set.

   Q: Was shooting rock stars fun?

   A: Well, it was, first and foremost, a job. I'd shoot for several hours at a concert and then go home at 2 a.m., put the film in the soup, pretty much be up the night. Then I'd do it all over again the next day.

   I guess, in a way, I didn't know just how much fun I was having, or I might have enjoyed it a little more.

   But we did know how lucky we were. We (photographers) knew we were there at the beginning of a (cultural) revolution. That much was very clear.

   Q: You told me that people always ask whether you spent the 1960s constantly high.

   A (laughing): That's a common question. I have to remind people I didn't have autofocus; I didn't have preset exposures. We had to do everything manually and then get a photograph of a musician who was moving around onstage.

   If I'd have been high, you wouldn't want to see the photographs I'd have taken.

   Q: So no drugs at all?

   A: Well, you couldn't help but get a contact high walking into the Fillmore Auditorium (in San Francisco). Call it a fringe benefit.

   Q: Yet rock 'n' roll photography is only a sliver of your work, isn't it?

   A: Yes, but, for obvious reasons, everyone sort of focuses on the rock 'n' roll stuff... I have done a lot of aerial photography and spent a couple of years shooting pictures of the NFL.