1. How did you first get into photography, and when did you realize it was the path you wanted to pursue?

I got my first camera when I was 13, and I bought a dark room with some money that my grandad had left me. I grew up in Edinburgh and my early photos were portraits of my friends. I remember using the dark room at school and absolutely loved it in there: the dark, the silence, the smells of the chemicals. It was so exciting to see the images appear on the photo sensitive paper. I really miss making images that way. After leaving school, I went on to study photography.

2. Your Poolside series has such a distinctive, serene atmosphere. What initially drew you to photographing swimming pools, and how has that focus evolved over time?

I was introduced to the beauty of the incredible architecture of swimming pools in Edinburgh, my home city, while on a shoot at Glenogle, a Victorian swimming pool right in the heart of the city. At the time, I thought it would be a one-off project, but it turned out to be the inspiration for my Poolside series, initially photographing a collection of Victorian pools in Edinburgh before expanding to other locations across the UK, and then in Paris with a collection of pools called Into the blue.

My interest really goes back to my childhood though. Glenogle was the pool I learnt to swim in as a child and I’d go there during summer holidays. I spent years jumping in and out of that pool without paying any attention to the space itself – to the high ceilings and the rows of changing rooms flanking the pool, or to the scale and grandeur of the building. As a child, it was something fun; it was about being in the water. Returning years later, I was fascinated by the architecture.

3. There’s a strong sense of symmetry and precision in your compositions. How intentional is that structure versus letting the space guide you?

That sense of symmetry is intentional. My work explores my passion for architecture and composition and I’ve been fascinated by both for years, both consciously as a photographer but also growing up in Edinburgh and absorbing so much incredible architecture.

Throughout my work, I’ve always wanted to capture the striking geometry of each space, alongside the dramatic proportions and the atmosphere. When you look at each piece, your eye is drawn in to the architecture and the symmetry, and I use blocks of colour to show interesting shapes and proportions. I love the orderliness of symmetry.

4. Light plays such a key role in your work. Can you walk us through your process for capturing the mood you envision?

One of the most striking features of these pools is the light – the natural light that’s streaming in from the windows or rooflights, and the light that’s reflected from the water. I’m always drawn to stillness – the stillness of the water, and the way the light shifts and changes in a space and the sense of calm this creates. I want to convey that sense of calm in my photos, and working with that gentle, shifting light is such an integral part of that.

5. Your photographs often feel timeless, almost cinematic. Are there particular films, eras, or visual references that inspire you?

I am hugely inspired by Wes Anderson and I have often mentioned how much my work is influenced by him. There’s so much to discuss about Wes Anderson’s work but I’m particularly drawn to the consistency of the colour palette through his films, and also the way he uses symmetry and perspective in his composition.

I’m also inspired by directors such as Terrence Malick, Stanley Kubrick, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and Bong Joon-ho’s imagery in Parasite was breathtaking. And Severance springs to mind with the incredible use of colour and the lighting - the art direction is inspiring.

6. Architecture is clearly central to your imagery. How do you scout or select the spaces you photograph?

With lots of research, but it usually starts with an idea or a space that I’ve seen or been told about. My latest collection of work, At the onsen, is from Japan, and it took me just over a year of planning as I spent a long time researching various bathhouses and selecting the ones I wanted to visit. I was connected through my friends at Accidentally Wes Anderson to a wonderful Japanese man called Hiro who assisted me with the entire production, and I couldn’t have done this collection without his knowledge.

Sometimes it’s about a conversation to leads to something more. Back in 2018, I was chatting with a French lady at one of my exhibitions in Edinburgh and she told me about the pool at Molitor – the incredible hotel and spa in the 16th arrondissement in Paris. We talked for a long time about the history of the pool, and when I started to read about it I just fell in love. It was while researching Molitor that I also found photos of Butte aux Cailles, and I couldn’t get those images out my head. That was the catalyst for Into the blue as I felt it would be exciting to make a series featuring these beautiful Parisian pools.

7. Do you view your work as more about documenting reality or creating a heightened, imagined version of it?

That’s a good question. On one hand I want to capture and be true to the feeling within a space – to the sense of calm, as I mentioned earlier, and the way the natural light helps create that mood. But I also want to strip away anything extraneous; anything that distracts your eye and reminds you that you’re in a contemporary setting. I’m doing a lot more post-production on my images now than when I started.

For me, it’s about minimising the ‘modern’ distractions and taking a building or a space back to how it was intended. There’s a balance between what I choose to keep and what isn’t necessary for the image. At the same time I like people to feel that this is how the buildings are, that they can step into them.

8. How do you see your photographs translating into a collector’s space, do you think about scale, mood, or environment when creating them?

I’m very fortunate in that I’ve seen my photographs in a lot of different contexts, from exhibition spaces and hotels to people’s homes. Last year I worked on a collection of pictures for a 1930’s hotel and I designed the collection around the feel of the building. It was a proud moment to see all of the work hanging in the space. I think when you’re creating pieces where symmetry and balance and calm are at the core of your approach, then people gravitate to the calm, and that can sit within any environment.

9. Looking ahead, are there new subjects, locations, or concepts you’re excited to explore?

I’m currently planning two projects: one a big production for the start of next year, in India, and another collection much closer to home in Edinburgh. I am currently in the process of storyboarding both of these productions.

I’ve also started work on an underwater series, which I shot in a film studio in London. Again I’m working with light, and with the absence of light, and that’s been a new and challenging experience.