There are no borders or barriers that can stand in the way of a journey when passion becomes its driving force. Peter Laing knows this well. 

We immersed ourselves in the visual landscape of the Scottish portrait photographer for an artistic exegesis of his work, discovering that at the core of his practice lies a single, unwavering goal: the search for ‘humanity’ within a heterogeneous multitude of subjects, in order to portray it in its purest, most honest and, as his body of work reveals at first glance, most aesthetic form. The same essence he learned to listen to during a brief yet professional career as a surfer, and through a long series of experiences lived across the globe.

To give life to this philosophy, Peter chose to direct his photographic gaze toward sports portraiture: where art reveals itself clearly through human gesture and anatomy, and where the sense of being is crystallized in moments of kinetic movement. We tried to describe the creative approach of this Scottish talent, whose sporting interests are wide-ranging, in an open conversation inspired by the evolution of visual storytelling applied to the athletic imagination.

You describe photography as an opportunity to ‘freeze’ a moment in time, a moment that others might not be able to see, and then share it. You also say you deeply love what you do. Starting from the beginning, how did this ‘love’ enter your life, and what does it represent for you today?

“I was born in Scotland, but when I was only a month old my family relocated to France. I grew up within the French system and learnt the language, which turned out to be incredibly useful for my work. Due to my parents jobs as a Pilot (Dad) and Stewardess (Mum) I grew up with the immense privilege of free travel at a young age. Their staff tickets meant we could jump on planes if they had spare seats, which was incredibly fortunate. Needless to say, it was a massive reality check when it stopped at the age of 24! When I was eleven we took advantage of the free travel and spent an entire year travelling around the world, exploring new places. I was homeschooled throughout this period, where my dad became my teacher. My family’s biggest priority was showing me as many places on this planet as possible: it was truly incredible and something I am so grateful for. The memories I have from that period shaped the way I see the world today. During those travels I got my first camera, and I began using it every day. That’s when I fell in love with photography. 

When we eventually returned to France, I was passionate about sports cars. The small countryside village where we lived was about a 2hr train ride from Monaco. On weekends I would go there to photograph the rare supercars, which to be honest were hard to miss in the wealth packed tax haven. This was before car-spotting exploded, before photographing cars basically became another trend. It was back in 2011 I created my first social media page where I’d publish my shots. This grew to a point where manufacturers and wealthy owners began inviting me to shoot their cars. I learnt a lot about composition and the importance of post production during this period. 

However, when I was sixteen my passion for photography got sidelined. Then at boarding school, photography wasn’t exactly considered the most ‘cool’ thing, and it wasn’t easy for a few years to keep that artistic side of myself alive in such a masculine environment. So during those years my priority became performing in sport. Against the odds it was also in this period that I truly discovered my love for the sport of surfing. I’ve now spent over fifteen years of my life surfing and along with photography it’s my greatest passion. It was definitely challenging to grow as a surfer in Scotland given there was almost no one else doing it and the freezing weather conditions. So all in all being passionate about surfing and photography was definitely not the popular thing to love at that school. Let’s just say I was considered the weird one.

Fast forward to 2020, Covid hit and forced me to make a big decision. I was in my penultimate year of university (The London School of Economics) and I didn’t want to spend the entire pandemic stuck in a London apartment. Once the rest of my degree was confirmed to be taught online, I began speaking with contacts of mine in Indonesia. It seemed possible to get there, so I rolled the dice and booked a one way ticket. Somehow after a few lonely trips through airports and countless Covid Tests – I had made it! To be at the world’s best waves without any crowds was truly surreal – a surfer’s dream and a period of my life that I will cherish forever. During that trip I met many people, a lot of them surfers with major contracts with brands like Red Bull and Quiksilver. I always had my camera on me during strike missions to different locations as we chased waves. It was when sponsors of the guys I was surfing with started to approach me asking for pictures, that I realised I could maybe make a living from it. I had the chance to earn money taking photos, to travel the world, and to connect with millions of lives completely different from my own. So I’d say my real gateway into photography as a career came through surfing. 

What value does the world of sport hold for you, and what impact has sport had on your life?

“I practiced sport at a high level from a young age – playing hockey for Scotland until I was sixteen and surfing competitively until I was eighteen, even representing my country in world championships. Having practiced different sports, has allowed me to be quite flexible in understanding what different athletes think and the variety of emotions they can experience. Understanding sport from the athletes perspective helps you as a photographer understand the subject’s emotions better. Because I am passionate about all sports and always fascinated to try new ones my work reflects this love. Through constantly exploring new nuances of sport and seeing things in the moments where fans may not normally be or notice, pushes me to improve my skills.”

Let’s dive into your photographic work, starting with your encounter with a legend of the ring whom we had the pleasure of interviewing as well, Oleksandr Usyk (https://athletamag.com/en/combinations-and-compositions-oleksandr-usyk/). How did you perceive the essence of this generational champion?

“To be honest, I was completely mesmerized, and that says a lot. I’m a huge Manchester United fan, but even having football’s biggest stars next to me didn’t have the same effect Usyk had on me. He truly seems like a once-in-a-generation human being. I say it to everyone: he’s the Muhammad Ali of our time. What he has achieved, and the way he has achieved it… I don’t think people will fully understand how great he is until he retires. When Usyk speaks, everyone listens, yet there’s no ego in his words. He has a very strong relationship with God which is something many athletes share, but in his case it feels like that connection is truly special. One incredible moment for me was when Usyk entered the Wembley ring to the Ukrainian anthem. A quarter of the front row was filled with Ukrainians: famous figures, his friends and family. I took a photograph of them singing together. It was a very special moment that gave me goosebumps. Even among the British fans supporting Dubois, you could feel a deep respect for what Ukraine has been going through. It was clear in that moment that he’s not fighting just for money or legacy – he’s fighting for his country. Spending time with Usyk last summer was honestly the greatest honour of my career to date.”

Your work crosses countries, cultures and sports. If you had to identify the thread connecting all these stories, what would it be?

“Emotion. That’s the key word. I’ve always known I wanted to portray emotion, but in recent months, while entering competitions, I’ve been forced to look at my work more critically. I realized that to create meaningful work I had to photograph every detail as if it were part of a larger narrative. Only then could I truly convey emotion. Now I think of a story almost like a carousel of images, and each frame must add something unique to the main narrative. In the Usyk project, for example, it’s not just capturing him fighting in disposable press highlight shots. I looked for the deeper storyline present, as such there are images showing his religious faith, devotion to family, intense close-up portraits, his daughter’s toy… The goal is to make the viewer feel multiple emotions, as if they were standing beside me. In recent years I have found that shooting sport on film slows does the process and forces you to really look for those lesser seen moments”

How does it feel to build yourself both as a photographer and as a storyteller?

“It’s challenging. The challenges in the industry are huge. I always tell younger photographers one thing: what you see published is only 1%. The other 99% is made up of rejected projects and ignored emails. Patience is essential. There are so many talented photographers who struggle to emerge. The advice they usually receive is to narrow their focus: to ‘choose a niche’ and just tell that specific story. The difficulty lies exactly there: choosing the right subject or theme. Developing your personal taste takes time. What some might see as a weakness—the variety of subjects—has actually become my strength. I don’t only focus on surfing, football or rugby, but on sport in general. Alongside that, I incorporate my travels and the cultures I encounter. Still, I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg and to be totally honest, I feel like I haven’t achieved anything yet. This is just the beginning of my journey.”

You’re also a filmmaker. How do you balance photography and video in your creative vision?

“My first credible piece was actually a surf video published about four years ago called Tapped. It appeared in major magazines and won several awards. Balancing video production with photography is quite complicated. At the moment I’m investing a lot of energy into becoming a better photographer and telling stories through still images. Trying to grow simultaneously as a director would dilute that focus. From a financial perspective, video often has greater value, and sometimes it’s easier to tell a story through a moving image. That being said, editing, cutting, colour grading are definitely a more demanding workflow than photography. But a well-made video can reach people more easily, so it’s something I want to keep pursuing. I’ll return to film when the right moment and the right project arrive, perhaps collaborating with talented sound designers and colourists.”

Athleta focuses on the relationship between sport and art. What do you think about this connection?

“There has been a radical shift recently that has shaped my taste and my narrative style. The old boundaries are gone. The biggest evolution in photography is that we’re no longer just searching for the ‘key moment’. For years extraordinary photojournalists have specialised in capturing the decisive moment of a sporting event. Today the concept of creative freedom has expanded. For example, I don’t have to spend 90mins of a match trying to capture Bruno Fernandes scoring a penalty. Instead I can capture more meaningful stills when I photograph him in the locker room, or talking with his teammates in a more human pose rather than a heroic one. This philosophy has influenced my approach a lot, making it more artistic than purely sporting. I’m searching for humanity and emotion: emotions that can be felt both in the world’s best athlete and in a complete beginner.”

One last question related to your Scottish roots: do they reflect in your work?

“I’m very proud of my Scottish origins. Unfortunately, in my country clubs, federations and teams aren’t particularly interested in my approach to photography so most of my work is done abroad. It is frustrating as Scotland has a cultural heritage that I find incredibly special. Sometimes I reflect on the fact that I probably won’t stay in Edinburgh much longer, so before leaving I am working on creating a body of work that reflects my roots. I don’t want to focus on recognised athletes, but on the cultural soul of sports like curling or the Highland Games. It will be a personal project, and it’s probably where my ‘Scottishness’ will emerge most clearly. It will have cultural value rather than financial value.”