In this new feature, photographers answer three questions to offer insight into their creative practice.
DS: In your series Céibhfhionn, you aim to visually explore a young dancer’s life. How long have you worked on the series and what narratives are emerging in the work?
MF: I started working on Céibhfhionn in February 2025, but it is currently on hold whilst I concentrate on a new project for my final work at university. I hope to continue it again in the near future as it has been so enjoyable to work on. I’ve found that narratives of youth and culture are mainly emerging within the series, which are reoccurring themes in my work. I really enjoy working with young people to tell their stories and would love to work on more projects exploring themes of youth. It will be interesting to see if any more narratives appear when returning to the work.
DS: Themes of community come up in your work, for example in Hoops. You’ve also done a project called Bread and Milk in your local community. What did you want to explore and get across to a viewer and why did it feel important to work on these projects?
MF: I made the project Bread and Milk in my first year of my HND at City of Glasgow College, the work was made just after Covid-19, people were still wearing masks and being advised to isolate. At the time, I was working in a corner shop and found myself interested in the small interactions I was having with customers, knowing it was probably the only interactions we were having at the time, I was interested in exploring the insight I had into their day through what they were buying at the time. I started to make diptychs of customers and what was in their bag. Reflecting on the project, there’s probably a few things I would do differently now, but it was my first time exploring documentary photography and realising the passion I had for this kind of visual storytelling.
DS: You have recently been working with a 5×4 camera. What difference is it making to the images you end up with, and to the decisions you make while you are photographing?
I have recently started working with analogue photography in general a lot more within my practice.
Previously, I had mainly worked with digital, but l’ve been looking for ways to slow down my image making and increase the overall quality of my images. I found that a lot of work I’m drawn to and inspired by is shot on large format, I really like the shallow depth of field you can get from it. Shooting on large format, or even just on film in general really slows down the process, l’ve found I’m a lot more thoughtful when it comes to composing the image. I haven’t shot much 5×4 yet as I’m still getting used to the set up, but it’s something I’m hoping to do a lot more of.
