Historic Environment Scotland

About the project

Historic Environment Scotland is a charity and public body leading the way in protecting, understanding and sharing Scotland’s historic environment, now and in the future for the benefit of everyone. HES asked McAteer Photo to collaborate with them on a really interesting project and create both a collection of images and a library of voices.

When we think of our historic environment in a Scottish context, it’s natural to picture popular places of interest such as the rolling hills of Glencoe or the majesty of Edinburgh Castle but actually the historic environment is everything that has been made or created over time, be it a building, a garden, an object, a book or even a song or a piece of music as well as the castles and the landscapes.  But rather than telling people why it’s important, HES have been asking people what is important and why, to help them shape their plans for the future.

We were tasked with sourcing regular people of all ages from all walks of life across Scotland and record their stories in pictures and sound: their honest thoughts, opinions and ideas about what the historic environment means to them and how it touches their lives. We photographed each person in a place that meant something to them – a place they hold dear, whether that be in their home, a place they love to visit or even at work – and were fascinated with their individual take on the subject.  The project took us across Scotland, as far north as the Isle of Lewis and south to The Borders and reminded us of how fortunate we are to live among amazing people in a beautiful country.

We show a selection of the 35 strong collection of interesting people and will let HES tell their stories and onions about history and heritage through their corporate plan which is due to be published in the spring of 2019. As they say, if the historic environment belongs to us all, then everyone must have a say in it.

See more of our people photography here.