Brice Portolano

Between 2015 and 2020, photographer Brice Portolano travelled from the islands of Alaska to the Patagonian steppe and from the forests of Lapland to the highlands of Iran to capture the daily lives of 10 extraordinary people who made profound changes in their lives in order to live closer to nature. They consciously built a life away from the hustle and bustle of the city, usually without a phone signal or internet access. Their lives are arduous, but also full of a sense of personal freedom, self-determination, and fulfilment. These photographs present an inspiring vision of the joys of finding one's place in the world and the challenges of living off the grid. In these 10 vivid portraits of alternative lifestyles, we meet: Tinja, the dog sled driver in Lapland; Ali, the Persian horseman; Barny, the self-supporter in a circus wagon in Cumbria, England; Zaya, the reindeer herder in the Mongolian taiga; George, the hostel father in Tuscany; Sylwia, the artist on the Greek island of Lefkada; Sky, the Argentinean goucha; Ben, the hunter in Utah, USA; Jerry, the oyster farmer in Alaska; Elena, the lighthouse keeper in Norway. Text in English and German.