Olly Geary's 'Limpid Blue' Maps San José Through Family Directions

Scottish photographer and director Olly Geary has published 'Limpid Blue,' a photographic project created during a month-long trip to San José, Costa Rica. The work explores the city's unique navigation system, where addresses are given through anecdotes and oral directions passed down through generations, as many streets lack official names or numbers. Geary began each day from a familiar landmark, letting curiosity guide his route to form a photographic map shaped by the city's rhythms. The series interweaves images with directions shared by his family, charting both San José's topography and his own familial history. Geary was selected as a winner of the 2025 Art & Photo Book Award, and with support from Bookmobile, the project was turned into a book. In an interview, Geary discusses his instinctual approach to image-making, the influence of travel, and his desire to spend more time in Scotland for a long-term project on landscape and culture. He cites Nan Shepherd's writing on the Cairngorms as a current inspiration. The book aims to create a tactile experience, inviting viewers to navigate unfamiliar imagery as one would unfold a map.