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OUTSIDERS
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The role and influence nature has on how we can live our lives is paramount. In a world of increasing technological domination and the rise of urban living the outdoors has, for a long time, been overlooked in favour of the claim that our lives have been made simpler already. Sadly it seems like our lives are more complicated than ever before, that is why it would appear as though urbanites across the world are, in a lot of cases, heading outdoors for the first time to really experience the true simplicity of life that is only found in nature. We are coming back in from the outdoors with a fresh perspective on our lives and our practices. The link between creativity and nature is an obvious one, but it is more than this, it’s the effect nature can have on a persons state of mind and outlook which is the most important. We are reconnecting with our history and craft and hopefully preparing for the future with nature as a more present role in our lifestyles. For me nature and living an outdoor lifestyle has been the most inspiring presence in my short existence, there is nothing more exciting than seeing now how it is effecting a new generation. There are infinite ways for you to experience the outdoors and hopefully through the pages of this book you will be encouraged enough to take the first of many adventures in the wild or invite others to share your experiences. Contemporary Outdoor Culture By Jeffrey Bowman
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Spending time in nature is a humbling and inspiring experience. From the adventurer who sets out to conquer the highest peaks and overcome the greatest of physical challenges, to a group of friends sat around the glowing warmth of a camp fire on a cold fall night, there are endless opportunities to enjoy our green and pleasant land and now more than ever the outdoor movement is thriving. The Outsider is a visual documentation of the tendency to pursue an outdoor lifestyle in today’s creative and urban culture with the hope that the reader might seek to explore further what is beyond the pages and see for themselves all that nature has to offer. An outdoor lifestyle is one that has, in previous times, been a choice that few have made. Not everyone has the resolve to climb a towering mountain to reach the summit in the upper limits of our atmosphere or turn their back completely on civilisation seeking permanent solitude and isolation, deep in the wild. But what the collective majority do share is the ability to seek adventure, however big or small, along with an inquisitive nature that is reconnecting us with the landscape and feeding back into contemporary culture today. Spending just a few minuets browsing through websites like Tumblr and you can see they are overwhelmed with outdoor imagery from log cabins tucked away deep in a forest, to the figure of a hiker set against a never ending backdrop of mountains. Solitude and simplicity resonates through every single image, it becomes clear that people are searching for something else amongst these archives, something that is being left unfulfilled by their urbanised lifestyle, possibly the peace and quite that nature so kindly offers. Spread amongst these stockpiled images you will find endless examples of the influence that nature has on the creative visual culture. There’s an abundance of Illustration, design and typographic works that all celebrate the outdoors, taking on many forms they cover a spectrum of formats from the graphics found on the underside of a snowboard, to hand crafted typography breathing life into the wisdom of John Muir. It’s no surprise that something as inspiring as nature is surging through creative practices and brands are turning to some of the most interesting creatives out there to visualise the outdoor lifestyle. The Outsiders has looked at a cross section of brands, products, photographers, illustrator, designers, craftsman and adventurers to gain a greater understanding of the role that nature plays in contemporary visual culture. It’s fair to say that from everyone involved in this book that this is not a trend but very much a way of life that pushes each and everyone to create, make and craft some of the most interesting and exciting projects across the world.
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TH E A D V E N T U RE
An adventure is something that has endless starting points, but it’s the spirit of adventure itself that begins them all. It’s defined by an experience that excites and challenges us and nature kindly offers herself up as the playground for us to live out our adventure, no matter how big or small it may be. It’s the possibilities and the starting points that hold the most excitement, the anticipation of zipping up your wetsuit and paddling out into the early morning waves, spotting your line before dropping into a meter of fresh POW, unfolding a map and plotting a route, chalking your hands up before that first move, packing you bag and loading the van, looking up from the bottom unable to see the top, peering out of the tent on a fresh spring morning to the very first step on your first hike. These feelings you get just before you start are what keeps outdoor enthusiasts coming back day after day looking for the next adventure. 05
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Documenting these adventurers has never been so easy, with social media we can give on the spot updates of our location and upload visual documentation of events as they unfold bringing an audience along with us. The accessibility we have now, as an audience, to follow a person on an adventure is what is largely responsible for the uprising in the outdoor lifestyle. Ordinary people are able to have extraordinary adventures and share them with the world giving the encouragement needed to inspire the desktop audience to seek an adventure of their own. The Outsider presents an array regular people doing exceptional trips through some of the stunning imagery they have captured on their journeys, from the bicycle adventures of Cass Gilbert (While out Riding) and Joe Cruz as they individually pedal around the backcountry roads of the world, to the motor cycle
tures the spirit of friends enjoying time together in nature from camping to drifting around in a canoeing. Photography is important when it comes to capturing the spirit of adventure and the beauty of nature. Few do it better than the photographers in The Outsiders. Cody Cobb and Kilian Schoenberger somehow find a way to make their images of the outdoors feel tangible, finding a balance between the stillness and the overwhelming scale of nature. David Boyson-Cooper and Mike Seehagel present the outdoors in such a way that it feels like there is no other way of life but the one they see through their lens, that man was truly meant to live in nature.
duo of West America’s James & Jordan, with no real plan other than to ride from Canada to Patagonia letting the unpredictable nature of adventure do the rest. Some people choose to go solo on there trips while others seek the company of a partner or a group of friends, America Y’all is the adventuring husband and wife duo of Jeremy & XXX who blog extensively there everyday adventures in nature, from small caping trips to exploring the open road around their state. It may have once seemed like a male dominated world but outdoor photographer Anki Grothe captures the spirit of female adventuring with series ‘Nature Ladies’ where a group of her friends set off to explore the snowy back yard of their home in Norway. The adventures don’t always have to be ones where extensive physical exertion is involved, photographer Matt Pensworth cap06