Keir Lammas asked Amy Hall to help him with a cover for his new single
Hull singer-songwriter and photographer collaborate in shoot that shows city in a new light
A Hull singer-songwriter planning the release of his latest single called on the help of an aspiring local photographer for its cover. The project dreamt up by Keir Lammas and Amy Hall ended up capturing the city in a whole new light.
It took a matter of hours for the pair to come up with a different life-through-the-lens look at Hull, which both were thrilled with. Keir, 29, of east Hull, is an ex-Royal Navy submariner who decided to start performing to help combat anxiety and grow his confidence.
He recorded and released his first single, Bittersweet, earlier this year and has gone on to perform at local venues and festivals. “I feel like a musician and it’s so lovely,” said left-handed Keir, whose USP is playing a right-handed guitar upside down.
“My new single, Rainy Days, comes out mid-January,” said Keir, who describes his musical style as “between folk and country”. “A few months ago I went completely sober – I’ve had issues in the past with alcohol and the social anxiety I have is as a result of that – and the single is all about that really.
“It’s a bit of a melancholic type song but an interesting subject matter. Our culture is so entrenched in drinking.”
Music is a “positive force” in Keir’s life and he is pleased to represent Hull through performing. Next year, he hopes to release a total of four singles, “spaced out” over the 12 months.
He asked Amy Hall, a 19-year-old photography student from Hull, to shoot images to help with the cover of Rainy Days. He said: “We’ve been working together quite a lot recently, she’s trying to build up her portfolio.
“She is such a great talent. She has a real eye for it and it’s quite rare to see that.
“The photos that have come out are amazing and have been shot on location on the Marina, at Paragon Arcade and Trinity Square areas. I really think they highlight some of the beauty of this lovely city.”
Amy, a former pupil at St Mary’s College in Hull, is in her second year of studying photography at Sheffield Hallam University. She said: “I started photographing Keir and he asked me to do a single shoot for him.
“It was after National Geographic recommended Hull as a top place to visit. This was a nice way to showcase Hull and it was nice to find unique ways of representing the city that weren’t typical.
“We went for the old infrastructure as well as the modern to come up with something that’s more than just a picture. It was super fun to do.”
Amy said: “When I photograph people I like them to have input; they feel part of it and that’s important to me. I got Keir to give me some ideas of what he wanted and I had all of my equipment with me and we went out – I am quite observant and I was looking out for stuff that was around us – and we did it all in one day, just wandering around and taking photos.
“It was quite relaxed, a very natural process. I try to get the person I’m photographing to feel as comfortable as they can, so the picture comes out natural and not forced.
“This was Keir just being Keir. Nothing was altered; I didn’t change anything.”
Amy said she is not sure where her photography will take her but it was “the best choice I ever made”. She said: “Keir has been absolutely amazing; I’ve been trying to find my way into the music scene with my photography and he has been my gateway, introducing me to people and venues, he’s been lovely to work with.”
You can find out more about Keir Lammas via his Instagram page or on Facebook. To discover more about Amy Hall’s work, you can find her on Instagram.