‘Laura felt that she was reconnecting with nature and that it was nice to see so many normal bodies in the pool,' says photographer Madeleine Waller Photograph: Madeleine Waller
Nick got caught up in the tsunami in Thailand. ‘When he returned home he was really scared of open water so he made himself swim’ Photograph: Madeleine Waller
'When I spoke to people about swimming, particularly outdoors, lots of them had a therapeutic reason for swimming. I think you need to be more motivated to swim outdoors. The pool opens at first morning light and when you first step into the water it's so cold' Photograph: Madeleine Waller
'People can be quite competitive and scary in their goggles and swimming costume. Clothed they seemed completely different' Photograph: Madeleine Waller
