Brad Walls’ aerial view transforms pools into artwork

Aerial photographer Brad Walls provides a crisp conclusion to the summer months with new book Pools From Above – you’ll want to dive right in

The Unknown Hue, Cuadra San Cristóbal, in Ciudad López Mateos, Mexico City. From Pools From Above by Brad Walls, Smith Street Books
The Unknown Hue, Cuadra San Cristóbal, in Ciudad López Mateos, Mexico City. From Pools From Above by Brad Walls, Smith Street Books
(Image credit: Brad Walls)

This year, for many of us, summer truly arrived. It waltzed confidently into the gaping space we’d made for it on our picnic blankets, rested its head on our shoulders and lifted our hearts. A long-lost love, stolen from us by two years of closed pubs and restricted travel. Now, as we fold away beach towels and bring out umbrellas, Brad Walls releases Pools From Above, a luxurious reflection on summer pleasures. 

Walls started his aerial-view photo series with only 20 images, intending it to be a small project, but when he published them, the tranquil depictions gained unexpected traction. The series grew and, in time, a book seemed inevitable.

An aerial view of a long blue pool surrounded by a row of bushes and a green lawn.

One Lap Only, taken in Malibu, California. From Pools From Above by Brad Walls, Smith Street Books.

(Image credit: Brad Walls)

Walls began a four-year journey in which he photographed around 1,000 pools, refined to around 100 images in the book, in which swathes of blue are punctuated with pink, yellow and red poolside elements; jutting angles and irregular shapes dominate the page; leaves dust a frame’s outskirts and a pool cleaner's shadow twists, interrupting ripples on a blue floor. 

Walls’ mantra for the book lay in its inclusivity. The images range easily through artistic, architectural and playful. ‘I wanted anyone to pick up the book and feel something,’ he explains. He has ensured, in the variation of shapes and inclusion of a range of sports, paddling and architectural pools, that Pools From Above is a comprehensive artistic project, and takes its place among photography books to covet. It simultaneously offers insight into an exclusive world where a carefully designed backyard oasis is commonplace, while giving the organised lanes of a public pool just as much prestige. 

An aerial view of an oval blue pool with steps going into it surrounded by grey tiles and a green lawn.

Patchwork, taken in Palm Springs. From Pools From Above by Brad Walls, Smith Street Books.

(Image credit: TBC)

The book sits comfortably amid Wall’s other projects; his work is distinctive – perhaps because of the slightly displaced viewpoint that it takes in using drones, or the organic repetition in his photographs. He pinpoints symmetry and leaves it alongside its opposing counterpart, documenting dancers and synchronised swimmers in their element. 

Providing harmony and balance, Walls’ book is a delightful conclusion to summer, and a comforting flick-through that leaves you feeling nostalgic, perhaps inspiring a blissful poolside trip.

An aerial view of the round swimming pool surrounded by a green lawn.

 Swan, taken in Malibu, California. From Pools From Above by Brad Walls, Smith Street Books.

(Image credit: TBC)

An aerial view of a swimming pool made of a clear material surrounded by red and white checkered tiles and plants.

Retro, taken in Tulum, Quinta Roo, Mexico. From Pools From Above by Brad Walls, Smith Street Books.

(Image credit: TBC)

INFORMATION

Pools From Above by Brad Walls, £28, Smith Street Books, released on 4 October 2022. Available to pre-order.

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Martha Elliott is the Junior Digital News Editor at Wallpaper*. After graduating from university she worked in arts-based behavioural therapy, then embarked on a career in journalism, joining Wallpaper* at the start of 2022. She reports on art, design and architecture, as well as covering regular news stories across all channels.

With contributions from