Our life is in Midlothian with a cat who very much believes this is her house. We’re home bodies but that doesn’t sway our quest for a holiday in the sun every now and then.
FAMILY, FRIENDS AND A GOOD SAUVIGNON ARE WHAT GROUND ME
but I’ve learned I need quiet, on-my-own time just as much. I’m 100% comfortable in my own company. A wander round the garden. A moment to think. That daily reset keeps everything else ticking along.
IT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO ME - MY GARDEN
I miss it deeply in the colder months. Digging, planting, experimenting, pretending I know what I’m doing. It’s messy, imperfect, and constantly evolving... which now that I think about it, probably explains a lot about how I photograph families too.
Things I’ll never tire of - reading. Fully committing to psychological dramas. Laughing is so very important and good for the soul. Old things — furniture, antiques, anything with a bit of history. Charity shop rummages.
THIS IS A BIG YEAR FOR ME - I'M TURNING 50
and honestly, I’m happy with the me I’ve turned out to be. I have my parents to thank for so much of that.
Mum studied at Glasgow School of Art, and I’m proud to say those creative genes made their way down to me - and now to my children too. She sewed, knitted, dress-made, created constantly… and without realising it, she showed me that making things with your hands is a kind of love language.
I can’t just sit and watch the telly - I have to be engaging in a creative activity of some sort at the same time. There’s always something half-finished nearby, but I like it that way.
MY DAD HAS BEEN A HUGE INFLUENCE
An engineer but also, I feel, a very under rated hobbyist photographer. (Something I found more of an annoyance than appreciative of at the time.)
When he passed away in 2017, I found myself going through all the photos he’d quietly taken of us growing up. There was my sister, standing at the sink doing the washing up like it was the most important job in the world.
And there I was, sitting proudly on the bathroom floor next to an entirely unrolled toilet roll like it was my greatest achievement. We hadn’t posed for any of it. We probably didn’t even realise he was watching.
SEEING MY CHILDHOOD THROUGH HIS EYES IS SUCH A GIFT
It’s made me realise how much love lives in those completely ordinary family moments - the ones that feel small at the time but end up meaning everything.
And that’s when my approach to photography really changed. I don’t just want to take beautiful photos; I want to capture the bits you’ll miss one day, when your babies aren’t babies anymore.
All of these little pieces of my life - the nostalgia, the love for simple moments, the creativity; they shape how I photograph. Dad always thought I was observant and it’s true. I could people watch for hours and not get bored. Plus, I get told I have the patience of a saint. (I live with children, after all).
Ultimately, I want to give you what my dad gave me - ordinary, imperfect, spontaneous moments that feel like home but most of all feel like you.