Having explored Scotland extensively over the years, the South West of Argyll & Bute remained the only large area I’d never visited.
Notes from the South West follows a ‘road trip’ through the area over 5 days in 2016. My journey took me southwest to Oban, down through mid-Argyll to Knapdale, Kintyre, Cowal and the island of Bute. These areas consist mainly of a series of wooded peninsulas jutting south west, with the very tip of Kintyre extending as close as 12 miles from Northern Ireland. Travelling through, you never stray far from the coast, and I was very aware how closely people’s lives are linked to the sea.
My initial interest in visiting was to work on images for my long-term project ‘Out of the Ordinary’, but once there I quickly realised I was creating a separate body of work. My approach was loose and unplanned – sometimes driving, sometimes walking – following any direction that caught my interest.
The resulting collection of images is a personal record of places (and occasionally people) encountered on my travels, and they explore as much my reaction to the area as the places themselves. They reflect a period of intense image-making, immersing myself and creating my visual interpretation of this remote area.
Notes from the South West series
About Iain
Iain’s photography explores both natural and man-made environments, and the interaction between the two. Frequently graphic in style, his work is often concerned with change – human impact on the landscape but also the reverse, where nature regains its hold. He splits his time between long term personal projects and spontaneous exploring, reacting to what he comes across. Increasingly he is drawn to ordinary places – whether in an urban or rural setting – seeking to find interest in the commonplace.
Iain is the founder and editor of Another Place.
You can contact and view more of Iain’s work through his website: http://www.iainsarjeant.co.uk/
Unless otherwise stated, all images in this article are © Iain Sarjeant
