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When Lettice told me her name I thought it was her stage name … a green party person I thought ... LETTUCE … no green fly on her.

When I first saw Lettice it was at an open mic night in Leeds, jamming with a band. I was blown away by her looks, so much so that I did not really take in the violinist side of her and was thinking how much I would like to photograph her.

I saw Lettice three or four times over the next few months jamming with a couple of different line-ups. I did try and get a few shots of her in the dimly lit atmosphere of a down town Leeds bar, but I was still thinking that Lettice would make a great model, either hair and beauty and / or for a rock shot with her violin.

I still did not really listen fully to her playing and her backing vocals but thought yes a pretty girl who has a nice voice and seems to be happy playing her violin. But all that was to change after the Cockpit gig in Leeds, where I had photographed her with rapper, model & radio presenter Lightning Sykes outside the venue before the show.

As we walked back inside I asked Lettice if she had ever thought of modelling, Lettice replied, ’ Do you think I am too fat’ ? I replied,‘Where’? I said that she could do hair & beauty modelling, and Lettice replied,’ that would be great, do you think I should pack in playing the violin and just concentrate on modelling’? I said, ’No, maybe one will help promote the other‘.

So Lettice took my contact details and I took her phone number and we loosely arranged to do a modelling shoot the following Thursday. After a few days Lettice got back in touch with me and asked if we could do the shoot a day later, I agreed not realising that Friday was my birthday.

Lettice also sent me a text with a link to her myspace website asking if there were any of her pictures there that we could use for her modelling portfolio. I went to have a look at her pictures and found a video of her performing on violin in a very classical type of film set. The video and her performance was absolutely brilliant and Lettice had written the piece herself. ‘On Our Own‘.

I began to read her biog and found that Lettice had played the Royal Albert Hall, Buckingham Palace, and even accompanied Princess Caroline of Monaco on violin at the British Embassy in Paris. Her background totally amazed me, and to think Lettice had asked me if I thought she should pack in music and the violin to concentrate on modelling!

So on my birthday Lettice arrived with her chaperone Lightning Sykes and we began the modelling shoot in my studio with three wardrobe changes, then we went to an old disused mansion house close by where we did a short shoot around the grounds using the mansion as a backdrop.

Beauty and the beast, Lettice was totally stunning, I was amazed by her improvisation and not once did Lettice run out of modelling poses. Lettice is every photographer’s dream, and probably every man’s dream too. With looks like a sex symbol and a genius on violin and vocals this young lady will be a star.

Finally, Lettice played happy birthday to me on violin twice, once in the studio and once at the old mansion house, making my birthday one of the best I have ever had.

Ten out of ten is too cheap for Lettice, what more can I say …… !

Steve.

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