Sometimes in between our jobs, families-everyday life, we hope and dream of escaping to an isolated countryside. Well, Antoine Bruy, a French Photographer, made that dream reality by hitchhiking from the year 2012 to 2013, across Europe. He wandered through some remote mountain regions with no fixed route or destination in mind. On his way, he met people who had willingly left the city life and retreated into the wilderness. They had sacrificed their modern comforts for something greater; freedom and autonomy.

He created a series he called scrublands, where he documented the faces and homes of people who live away from civilization.

He stayed with them for days and weeks and helped them raise their livestock and farm land. He learnt a lot about how these people were living self-sufficient lifestyles.

They were once students, teachers, engineers, etc. who now rely on recovered materials, makeshift buildings and agriculture to survive.

His captivating photos capture the Walden-esque existence these people live.  They show how it’s both beautiful and idyllic to live in these secluded and wild environments.

“The people and places depicted in my pictures display various fates which I think should not only be seen at a political level, but more importantly, as daily and immediate experiences,” Bruy explains. “These are, in some ways, spontaneous responses to the societies these men and women have left behind. This documentary project is an attempt to make a kind of contemporary tale and to give back a little bit of magic to our modern civilization.”

We are very thankful to Antonie Bruy for this amazing photographs, you may check his site: www.antoinebruy.com