Using aerial photography to explore how the Scottish landscape is used, perceived and valued.
Photography by Richard Cross.
What Lies Beneath pairs landscape photographs with images taken directly overhead at the same location. This dual perspective — the view we’re used to, and the one we rarely see — reveals hidden patterns in nature and the imprint of human activity. Together, they offer an alternative view of familiar terrain, inviting reflection on how the land is used, perceived, and valued. Read more…
Herdsman
The iconic Buachaille Etive Mòr (Great Herdsman of Etive) stands as a sentinel on the edge of Rannoch Moor, its pyramidal form instantly recognisable. From above, the road across the moor blends into the background, hardly more visible than the deer trails that crisscross the ground below. In the ‘picture postcard’ view of the landscape, human intervention can seem diminished, while the deer—their trails largely invisible from ground level—leave their own mark, shaping the vegetation in ways we’ve stopped noticing, their impact hidden in plain sight.
Select an image to reveal What Lies Beneath…
Richard Cross
I started photographing the landscape as a way to engage with the natural environment. Using a drone to shift perspective, these images are part of an ongoing project exploring how we see, use and value the Scottish landscape.
Images, text and website © Richard Cross