Debs profile picture

Debs

~~ Se do cheòl a thogadh m'inntinn ~~ photograph of Cédric Waterschoot (most stonking bass player

About Me

Welcome to my space. :-) I love folk/Celtic music and work as a folk magazine editor, & freelance journalist & photographer. I'm also a festival director and am putting together a short folk festival for later in 2008 at the moment. I'm also currently working with musicians on their PR/photography requirements, & on articles for various publications. My work has been published in several magazines. I also have a part-time career in the civil service, working in HR policy.

Below is a slideshow of photographs I took at Martyn Joseph's superb Otley gig on 24 April 2008.

ABOUT MY PHOTOGRAPHY ~ I took up digital photography to complement my writing interests, recently upgraded my kit, and find I'm working in more varied and interesting ways than I did before. I'm delighted with the response I've had to some of my work from musicians and folk-scene followers alike. All the photos on my page & in my blogs are my copyright (unless otherwise indicated). I don't supply hi-res photographs free of charge (unless it's for a bona fide charitable project), so please don't ask me for them on those terms. However, I love to share lots of my lo-res photos (via my blogs and albums) with fellow fans and friends I've met at gigs/festivals over the years; we share a love for the folk/Celtic scene after all!


THIS IS TO MUSICIANS/FESTIVAL/GIG ORGANISERS ESPECIALLY: Please don't use my lo-res photos without first asking my permission - I take them for professional use and with permission. You will be most welcome to use them WITH my permission, and on condition that you credit me as the photographer. :-)

Although my photos are used mainly for journalism, I'm also honoured to receive commissions and requests for photos for PR purposes, so if you want to know about this aspect of my music photography, please get in touch. The same applies if you'd like to discuss music PR or writing commissions generally.

I hope my passion for/interest in whatever subject I'm photographing/writing about is evident in the images I show on my page and in my writing. A lot of thought, care and hard work goes into it all. In my photography (whatever the subject), I am looking to try and capture the soul or the essence of the subject in front of me, and to present everything as honestly and clearly and in as sympathetic a manner as possible - as far as the lighting conditions will allow of course!


My Interests

Check out The Living Tradition Magazine for the best coverage of the UK folk scene..



Music, music journalism (folk/roots/nature/countryside etc), words, my children, friends, life, thinking, countryside & nature, photography (trying to capture something of the 'soul' of the subject in front of me), languages, linguistics, accents, festivals, gigs and camping.

In the slideshow above: a few of my very favourite places. Quite a few of these photos were taken MANY years ago, when I was probably about 16 or so! :o)

I'd like to meet:

I've met many creative, gifted, inspiring and helpful people on MySpace, and a lot of them are in my Top 40. I have been particularly inspired by the folk scene photographers and writers I've met here - photographers Lieve, Con, Oscar, Ani, Pauline (Pauline is also a writer); writers Mike, Claire, Katarina (the latter two also take brilliant photos!). Other visual/word artists who really inspire me are Ylva, for her nature photography and beautiful grasp of language; Andy for his sensitive appreciation of wildlife, music and literature; Clare for her exquisitely sensitive portrait painting; and Phil, for his superb knowledge and appreciation of the folk scene, and for his passion for birdwatching and nature. Alex, for his tireless work in setting up and running Folk Radio UK. There are some outrageously talented, unsung types there who inspire me more than they realise. I celebrate them all on my page. The musicians who have perhaps inspired me most significantly are Karine Polwart and Margaret Stewart, though they probably haven't got a clue that they have - I just love their honesty!

I'd like to hear from cheery, upfront people who are PASSIONATE about/involved in the same sort of music and cultural interests as me - folk & Celtic music & culture, photography, writing, journalism, folk festivals, threatened languages, good books, art, poetry etc - I hate most things mainstream!

Music:

The musicians who have most influenced my listening and shaped my music taste have been Kate Bush, Pat Metheny and Capercaillie/Karen Matheson. I LOVE folk, Celtic & Gaelic music, Breton music and the music of Galicia & Asturias. Also folk/world/roots/acoustic/singer-songwriter/jazz/experimenta l & fusion. Favourite instrument is the human voice (esp. female); also guitar (acoustic/electric), harp, piano, flute, fiddle/violin, cello, strings, bass, pipes, drums/percussion of all kinds. Love programming in music too. Adore music with roots....

Favourite albums of 2008



Movies:

Art House/European (esp. French & Italian); irreverent films; period drama; films I can enjoy with my kids.

Television:

Hardly watch it. But I love period drama when it's on!

Books:

Novels by Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Brontes, George Eliot, HE Bates, Marcel Pagnol, Milan Kundera. Poetry by Norman MacCaig, RS Thomas, Edward Thomas, George Mackay Brown. Maps & travel guides. Books about gardening/plants/landscapes/threatened languages/island communities. Cookery books (esp. Mediterranean).

Heroes:

Fictional characters: Lizzie Bennet, Dorothea Brooke. :) Writers: Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, HE Bates and Norman MacCaig.

My Blog

Tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton in photographs and words

Humphrey Lyttelton and Band played at Wetherby Festival on October 21 last year. It was our 30th Anniversary Festival, and we knew that 'Humph' would fill every single seat w...
Posted by Debs on Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:48:00 PST

Kathryn Tickell photos

I just came across a batch of photos I took of Kathryn at the Ashcroft Arts Centre in Fareham at Easter.  It was a very happy find! She is one of the most wonderful musicians on the entire folk s...
Posted by Debs on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:42:00 PST

Carpe Diem - Seize the Day

I spent yesterday afternoon hugging (and fighting back the tears as I did so) someone very special and dear to me.  She has just found out her husband has a malignant brain tumour, they both have...
Posted by Debs on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:38:00 PST

Photographers Freedom

There's nothing worse than being passionate about something and being denied the freedom to do it.  Such as taking photos. Happens sometimes at gigs and festivals where you're stopped from t...
Posted by Debs on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:06:00 PST

Name that festival?

I'm planning a folk weekend for late autumn in 2008.It's going to be very good craic indeed!It's a sort of 'side shoot' of our regular biennial mixed arts festival which normally spans around 2 weeks....
Posted by Debs on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:55:00 PST

Hills and happiness...

Views of the North York Moors landscape taken just a few weeks apart.  The scent of the Moors when the heather is in flower is simply intoxicating. 'Hills make you happy'.  One o...
Posted by Debs on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:54:00 PST

Spine-tingling synergy from Lau at Fareham Festival

Those moments of raw synergy in live music don’t come along all that frequently...but they hit Lau’s performance big time.  The lads appeared to be grossly hungover from th...
Posted by Debs on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:48:00 PST

Raw & honest music: Spiers & Boden at Gosport & Fareham Easter Festival

This was one of my absolute highlight gigs of this Easter’s festival.  Spiers & Boden played 2 sets; one set was late afternoon in the main venue, and this gig was ...
Posted by Debs on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:30:00 PST

Peace and solitude high up in the North York Moors...

Wow, it’s been one of those weeks!  Loads going on, kids and husband all off school, me working every day, jealous of them all, loads of hassly stuff here, there, and everywhere.  In ...
Posted by Debs on Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:22:00 PST

Julie Fowlis & Dochas at Saltaire Live - good music, craic, and happy news!

Always FANTASTIC when a band like Dochas comes to the area - last time I saw them was of course at Wetherby Festival.  I was completely exhausted  on Thursday but was determined ...
Posted by Debs on Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:55:00 PST