Tir A'Mhurain reimagined

For many the name of Paul Strand is synonymous with the Island of South Uist, it is seemingly obligatory for photographers interested in the Outer Hebrides to own a copy of his seminal book Tir A'Mhurain. First published in 1962, the photographs for the book were taken in 1954 when Paul Strand visited South Uist with his wife Hazel Kingsbury Strand.

Tir A'Mhurain

As far as I am aware, there are two versions of the book. I have the second version (published by Birlinn) and there are some notable differences in the choices of photographs, although the cover image, which also appears near the end of the book, is unchanged.

Croft No.4, 2024. Rhum and the Small Isles in the distance

With this being the 70th anniversary of the visit that produced the photographs I was intrigued to visit the spot where the cover photo was taken. I've photographed and talked about the house in the middle of the picture before but had always resisted reproducing the image.

This isn't a slavish attempt to reproduce the image. It was a visit to find the spot in similar conditions with the intention to share what the location looks like seventy years later and perhaps make a print that looks similar to the original. I'm sure that many that can't get to Uist are as interested in the result as me.

Those that know the area where the photograph was taken will be aware that there is a small cnoc nearby which is clearly the place to investigate. My assumption was that Strand had gone to the top, but this was clearly wrong (although Strand did take a similar image, a print of which is in the Brooklyn Museum)

From the top of the cnoc

The right location (within a few feet at least) was found by following the path down to the other side of the cnoc. The main differences in the scene are changes in the houses and the presence of the Eriskay causeway. And the lack of ponies. But there was a pair of Golden Eagles circling overhead throughout my visit.

70 years on

Many of the other locations in the book I am familiar with and have photographed. Over the course of this year I'll be revisiting a few of them to look for comparisons of the contemporary scene to the ones that Paul Strand saw in 1954.