Ruairidh McGlynn EMERGING LAND

Having been trained in product design in the United Kingdom earlier in his career, Ruairidh McGlynn discovered photography a few years ago during a winter trip to climb in the highlands of Scotland. “That journey was the catalyst for my passion to create images and to explore new places,” McGlynn says.

A 2014 trip to Qatar sealed McGlynn’s fascination with the natural world, and his desire to document it. After connecting with a photographer in the Qatar desert, he recalls, “we spotted some faint outlines and found the most amazing lone tree. It was one of those profound events that opens the eyes: From that moment I knew I wanted to focus on projects that examine the coexistence between mankind and the natural landscape.”

While based in Scotland, McGlynn travels and documents sparsely populated locales around the globe. He intentionally captures scenes from a distance, “showing people as small in their surroundings," he explains, "perhaps communicating that the natural landscape is of a serious consequence to those that inhabit it.”

He explains that the tenuousness of such scenery is what fuels his work. “Factors such as population growth, rising urbanization, increased geographic mobility and climate change are impacting the planet at an alarming rate,” he says. “I think if mankind is to live in harmony with nature there needs to be a dramatic change in culture.”

McGlynn hopes his portrayal of rural Scotland will allow viewers to re-imagine it, "to see beyond the geographical limits and find common ground with the exploration of the delicate coexistence between mankind and the natural landscape.”

—Jack Crager

Photo © Ruairidh McGlynn ruairidhmcglynn.com