When I think of rural based photographers, I don’t only think of landscape, wildlife or nature. All of these elements can and do appear in the narratives constructed by photographers based on rural life, but people are often at the centre of these photographers work. Not always obviously, sometimes it can be conceptually. These are photographers who bring us insight into the lives of those who live outside of the urban sprawl. They are interested in the environment and our impact upon it. Their work can be political, social, conceptual and humanistic in its approach. There are no rules, other than a focus on life outside of towns and cities. As always this personal list is in no particular order.

Further reading
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/06/24/the-photography-canon-and-why-it-is-important-not-the-camera-brand/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/06/25/the-unp-top-20-photographers-working-with-colour/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/06/26/the-unp-top-20-landscape-photographers/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/06/28/the-unp-top-20-wandering-photographers/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/06/29/the-unp-top-20-portrait-photographers/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/06/28/the-unp-top-20-fashion-photographers/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/07/02/the-unp-top-20-urban-photographers/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/07/03/the-unp-top-20-music-photographers/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/07/05/the-unp-20-top-photographers-who-keep-kept-it-personal/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/07/06/the-unp-top-20-conflict-photographers/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/07/08/the-unp-top-20-interesting-photographers/

James Revilious www.jamesravilious.com

Kurt Markus www.kurtmarkus.com

Robert Darch www.robertdarch.com

Stephen Gill www.stephengill.co.uk

Brett Weston https://brettwestonarchive.com

Flor Garduno https://florgarduno.com

Fay Godwin www.faygodwin.com

Sebastian Salgado www.instagram.com/sebastiaosalgadooficial/?hl=en

Dorothea Lange www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/dorothea-lange

Marion Post Wolcott www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/marion-post-wolcott

Ragnar Axelsson https://rax.is

David Wright www.davidwright.photography

Paul Glazier https://elliott.gallery/a-closer-look-paul-glazier

Eirik Brekke www.eirikbrekke.no

Mark Steinmetz www.marksteinmetz.net

Allessandra Sanguinetti www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/alessandra-sanguinetti/

Jem Southam www.instagram.com/jemsoutham/?hl=en

Raymond Depardon www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/nature/living-with-the-land-raymond-depardon-explores-his-rural-roots

Peter Henry Emerson www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/victorians/peter-henry-emerson-rural-photography/

Yasuhiro Ogawa https://ogawayasuhiro.com

Dr.Grant Scott
After fifteen years art directing photography books and magazines such as Elle and Tatler, Scott began to work as a photographer for a number of advertising and editorial clients in 2000. Alongside his photographic career Scott has art directed numerous advertising campaigns, worked as a creative director at Sotheby’s, art directed foto8 magazine, founded his own photographic gallery, edited Professional Photographer magazine and launched his own title for photographers and filmmakers Hungry Eye. He founded the United Nations of Photography in 2012, and is now a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, and a BBC Radio contributor. Scott is the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019), What Does Photography Mean To You? (Bluecoat Press 2020) and Inside Vogue House: One building, seven magazines, sixty years of stories, (Orphans Publishing 2024). His photography has been published in At Home With The Makers of Style (Thames & Hudson 2006) and Crash Happy: A Night at The Bangers (Cafe Royal Books 2012). His film Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay was premiered in 2018.

© Grant Scott 2026

Image: Robert Darch