Becc Sanderson & Graeme Stephen at The Mill Sessions

The 3rd of The Mill Sessions was last week, and this time featured jazz singer, Becc Sanderson with guitarist Graeme Stephen. As before (see Beth Fouracre at the Mill Sessions and Sean Taylor and the Mill Sessions), time was set aside for me to take photos.

Both were quite relaxed in front of the camera, but Becc knew how to play to it - which was fun for me, as usually I have to spend quite a bit of time getting people to a point where they stop looking like a rabbit in the headlights.

As usual, click on any of the images for a larger version.


Graeme and Becc


Jazz guitarist, Graeme Stephen


Becc Sanderson relaxed in front of the camera


Taking this photo I was practically lying on the floor on my back to get the angle I wanted.


In every photo session, there's always a time when the person cannot keep a straight face.

Becc's dress, by the way, is a genuine vintage from the 1950s.

I am a photographer, and not a film maker. However, the camera I have does have quite a good movie capability on it, so I recorded one of the songs to give you a taster. This is "Cry Me a River". I especially love the breathy quality as she begins to sing.



If you're up in Scotland for the Edinburgh Festival this summer, then do keep an eye out for Becc who has is doing a show this year.

Meanwhile if you would like to experience more of Becc's singing, then visit her MySpace page, here. And you can discover more about Graeme on his website, here.

Tawona and Ernest - Seeds of Thought

Continuing the arrangement with The Bakehouse, in Gatehouse of Fleet (you might remember me writing about it when I photographed Bashabi a few weeks ago), on Saturday past I was invited to photograph guest poet, Tawona Sithole, and his brother, Ernest.

The brothers are based in Glasgow, though they’re originally from Zimbabwe. Along with artist, Tarneem Al Mousawi, they founded a group called "Seeds of Thought" combining poetry, music and art.

They took to the camera well, quite quickly overcoming any apprehension.





Although, they didn’t always find it easy to keep a straight face



They also play mbira (sometimes known as a thumb piano), which has quite an amazing sound.



Between The Bakehouse and The Mill Sessions, I’m getting to meet some really interesting people. It’s just as shame I only get to spend an hour with them.

For those on Facebook, you can find more out about Seeds of Thought here:
http://www.facebook.com/seedsofthoughtglasgow