I Want to Break Free

Last weekend we had a discussion about landscape photography and the fact it is being ever further railroaded down the path of creating a false narrative about the world in which we live. People come to the Highlands to seek out a “wilderness” which doesn’t exist and hasn’t for a very long time - this is a human landscape… a working landscape… indelibly marked by generations of people stretching right back into antiquity. This is the landscape I want to photograph, with the photographs telling the story of the land. As a result I am planning on expanding my initial project on the Highland Clearances to stretch the concept further, exploring the landscape that we have created, that we occupy. I want to look into the history of the land, the stories associated with it - the myths and legends as well as recorded events.

I am deeply connected to this landscape, more so than I realised when we moved here. True, I am a Sutherland - with more than a smattering of Sinclair in the mix - but I found that my mothers side come from Fortrose and were Frasers, a common name still around this corner of the Highlands. This probably explains the resemblence I have to the reconstruction of the Rosemarkie Man! I want to explore my own connection and my own story and place in this landscape amongst other things - it’s going to be epic!

There is going to be a new Substack coming along to sit alongside this too… and building the YouTube side of things!

8th September 2026