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Remote – situated far from the main centres of population – distant- Oxford Dictionary

REMOTE is a story of extremes, extreme distance, extreme weather, extreme landscape. Three very different places, all remote, the outback of Australia, in particular Western Australia, a state that is mostly remote, with few people and lots of land. The Outer Hebrides of Scotland, the most westerly part of Scotland, islands that are windswept and mostly treeless, rocky and rugged. Iceland, a country of fire and ice, wild and windy. 

All these places are at risk in our changing climate, in Iceland glaciers melt more quickly, increasing the water flow, increasing the temperature, changing the plant life.  The peat bogs of the Outer Hebrides dry out releasing the trapped carbon into our atmosphere, changing the situation for the tiny yet critical plant life.  The heating up of the desert of Australia means that water becomes less available, and the weeds take over from the native plants, forever changing the delicate balance and depriving the native animals, birds and insects of food and shelter. 

I am drawn to these places because of the extreme nature of them, the colours for each telling the story of place. The strong colours of western Australia, the contrasts between the land and sky. The softness of the colours of the Outer Hebrides and the dramatic landscape of Iceland with towering mountains, black volcanic rock and soil, and slow-moving glaciers.

All these places host hardly little plants, that can survive extremes in temperature and rainfall. Rivers, forming the land, some huge, some seasonal, but all carving through the land, gathering water, providing for the animals, plants and people. The desert and gorges of Australia host oases where life flourishes despite the heat and lack of rain. The tiny plants of the rocky, windy and harsh lands of the Outer Hebrides and Iceland are the basis for life. They find homes amongst the rocks, peat and ice. 

These plants are heroes of these places as they are hardy yet delicate. So critical to the eco system for the life of many. I wanted to highlight the beauty of these important and delicate places and plants as they are at risk in our changing climate and will be lost without care and protection. Beauty abounds in all these remote and rugged places. In the large view and the small.