Living off Grid: French photographer Antoine Bruy captures the lives of families who escaped dependency upon the rat race to live simpler lives off the land [PICS] - www.ofINTEREST.net

El Pardal, Sierra de Cazorla, Spain, 2013.
El Pardal is a place situated in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park, established in 1986. This is where Antoine Bruy encountered Amiro, a German man who has been living in an area of the park for the last 25 years. The nearest village is a 3 hour walk away.

12 August 2014, by Mikhael Love, IIO

Could you or have you ever thought of living where there's no running water, no supplied heating source and no food market for as far as the eye can see?

Throughout the world, there are the families who have done just that and many more having thoughts of going rough. They have chosen to turn their backs on the breakneck speed of modern life to become at one with nature, free from the rat race.

By what ever name used to reference - prepping, survival, homesteading, nomad, "off the grid", "back to land", recluse, roma, gypsy ... - to those who leave the so-called social/economic society of today's seemingly humane way of living, life is just what they are making it. Perhaps one day we will look back at people who undertake such a way of life as the real humans!?

This report focuses on those throughout Europe who have taken up the life of leaving it all for times gone by.

Leaving city life for mountain ranges including the Carpathians and The Pyrenees, they pride themselves on living "off the grid" without access to any of the mod-cons that the 21st Century may have to offer.

French photographer Antoine Bruy spent years traveling across Europe interacting and photographing men, women and children who have joined the so-called 'back-to-land' movement on their very own organic farms.

Ramounat in The Pyrenees is well known to be the birthplace of back-to-the-land movement in France. It is here Bruy met Peter, a German man who has been living there for the last 30 years. He came originally with his wife and children, but they left decades ago. The ramshackle house belongs to Peter.

During this age of hand-held technology and urban living, a Waldenesque desire to live removed from it all has taken hold. Most of us only dream about a more solitary life abandoned to the wilderness. Photographer Antoine Bruy did just that, spending a period of time between 2010 and 2013 hitchhiking through Europe with no fixed course or destination for his series "Scrublands".

Driven by random encounters and chance, Bruy met those individuals who have sacrificed all modern comforts for autonomy from social expectations and consumption. The photographer would stop for days and sometimes weeks at at time, helping people farm land or raise cattle. He notes that though he shot in several countries, the communities are homogeneously linked through makeshift buildings, recovered materials and agriculture-based living. Still today, the "Roma" who have been living such lives for years, upon years, exist throughout Europe. For reasons both political and deeply personal, Bruy finds a distinct beauty in a world where there is no clock ticking or desperate necessity to conquer, “but a ballet of days and nights, seasons and lunar cycles.”

Vincent, The Pyrenees, France, 2012.
Mr. Bruy met Vincent who was a mathematics student that shunned academia for a simpler life.. He has been living in Ramounat for the last 7 years.

Urs, The Pyrenees, France, 2012

This boy who has grown up in the so-called 'back-to-land' movement poses with his dog in Urs.

The Workshop, The Pyrenees, France, 2012.

Marcel, The Pyrenees, France, 2012

Olivier nursing a sheep, Ardèche, France, 2010

Olivier is a French shepherd who raises sheep and goats. Here he is nursing a sheep who was bitten by a dog. Bruy spent one month with Olivier and his wife to watch the animals and help out with their land.

Lake of Laghetto, Alps, Switzerland, 2013

Christian, Alps, Switzerland, 2013

Sabine, Alps, Switzerland, 2013

.

Bruy met Christian in Ces, a tiny village situated in the Leventina Valley. In the early 70′s some young people discovered Ces as an abandoned village and started rebuilding it. Before arriving there, Christian was an engineer. He’s been living in Ces for the last 30 years and is now raising cows with his wife Sabine. Sabine has been living there for the last 15 years with her husband Christian who left a life as a teacher of philosophy and literature.

Two girls taking a bath, Carpathians, Romania, 2013

Julian working on the bathtub, Sierra del Hacho, Spain, 2013

Composting Toilets, Sierra Nevada, Spain, 2013

The Swing, Sierra del Hacho, Spain, 2013

Sierra de Cazorla, Spain, 2013

Mr. Bruy teamed up with a movement that links volunteers with organic farmers. He would stay for months at a time helping with task in return. The people are those who abandoned a lifestyle of performance, efficiency and consumption in order to build trust. Mr. Bruy sought to gain a deeper understanding of this.

This make-shift pyramid dwelling is how many of the people Mr Bruy met were living. They have no access to running water, central heating or any other mod cons

Antoine Bruy plans to continue "Scrublands" next year in the United States.

Here you can find a fund that has been set up to help with this endeavor:

http://en.fotofund.org/campaigns/scrublands

(note: all photos were taken by Antoine Bruy)

Living off Grid: French photographer Antoine Bruy captures the lives of families who escaped dependency upon the rat race to live simpler lives off the land [PICS] - www.ofINTEREST.net

El Pardal, Sierra de Cazorla, Spain, 2013.
El Pardal is a place situated in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park, established in 1986. This is where Antoine Bruy encountered Amiro, a German man who has been living in an area of the park for the last 25 years. The nearest village is a 3 hour walk away.

12 August 2014, by Mikhael Love, IIO

Could you or have you ever thought of living where there's no running water, no supplied heating source and no food market for as far as the eye can see?

Throughout the world, there are the families who have done just that and many more having thoughts of going rough. They have chosen to turn their backs on the breakneck speed of modern life to become at one with nature, free from the rat race.

By what ever name used to reference - prepping, survival, homesteading, nomad, "off the grid", "back to land", recluse, roma, gypsy ... - to those who leave the so-called social/economic society of today's seemingly humane way of living, life is just what they are making it. Perhaps one day we will look back at people who undertake such a way of life as the real humans!?

This report focuses on those throughout Europe who have taken up the life of leaving it all for times gone by.

Leaving city life for mountain ranges including the Carpathians and The Pyrenees, they pride themselves on living "off the grid" without access to any of the mod-cons that the 21st Century may have to offer.

French photographer Antoine Bruy spent years traveling across Europe interacting and photographing men, women and children who have joined the so-called 'back-to-land' movement on their very own organic farms.

Ramounat in The Pyrenees is well known to be the birthplace of back-to-the-land movement in France. It is here Bruy met Peter, a German man who has been living there for the last 30 years. He came originally with his wife and children, but they left decades ago. The ramshackle house belongs to Peter.

During this age of hand-held technology and urban living, a Waldenesque desire to live removed from it all has taken hold. Most of us only dream about a more solitary life abandoned to the wilderness. Photographer Antoine Bruy did just that, spending a period of time between 2010 and 2013 hitchhiking through Europe with no fixed course or destination for his series "Scrublands".

Driven by random encounters and chance, Bruy met those individuals who have sacrificed all modern comforts for autonomy from social expectations and consumption. The photographer would stop for days and sometimes weeks at at time, helping people farm land or raise cattle. He notes that though he shot in several countries, the communities are homogeneously linked through makeshift buildings, recovered materials and agriculture-based living. Still today, the "Roma" who have been living such lives for years, upon years, exist throughout Europe. For reasons both political and deeply personal, Bruy finds a distinct beauty in a world where there is no clock ticking or desperate necessity to conquer, “but a ballet of days and nights, seasons and lunar cycles.”

Vincent, The Pyrenees, France, 2012.
Mr. Bruy met Vincent who was a mathematics student that shunned academia for a simpler life.. He has been living in Ramounat for the last 7 years.

Urs, The Pyrenees, France, 2012

This boy who has grown up in the so-called 'back-to-land' movement poses with his dog in Urs.

The Workshop, The Pyrenees, France, 2012.

Marcel, The Pyrenees, France, 2012

Olivier nursing a sheep, Ardèche, France, 2010

Olivier is a French shepherd who raises sheep and goats. Here he is nursing a sheep who was bitten by a dog. Bruy spent one month with Olivier and his wife to watch the animals and help out with their land.

Lake of Laghetto, Alps, Switzerland, 2013

Christian, Alps, Switzerland, 2013

Sabine, Alps, Switzerland, 2013

.

Bruy met Christian in Ces, a tiny village situated in the Leventina Valley. In the early 70′s some young people discovered Ces as an abandoned village and started rebuilding it. Before arriving there, Christian was an engineer. He’s been living in Ces for the last 30 years and is now raising cows with his wife Sabine. Sabine has been living there for the last 15 years with her husband Christian who left a life as a teacher of philosophy and literature.

Two girls taking a bath, Carpathians, Romania, 2013

Julian working on the bathtub, Sierra del Hacho, Spain, 2013

Composting Toilets, Sierra Nevada, Spain, 2013

The Swing, Sierra del Hacho, Spain, 2013

Sierra de Cazorla, Spain, 2013

Mr. Bruy teamed up with a movement that links volunteers with organic farmers. He would stay for months at a time helping with task in return. The people are those who abandoned a lifestyle of performance, efficiency and consumption in order to build trust. Mr. Bruy sought to gain a deeper understanding of this.

This make-shift pyramid dwelling is how many of the people Mr Bruy met were living. They have no access to running water, central heating or any other mod cons

Antoine Bruy plans to continue "Scrublands" next year in the United States.

Here you can find a fund that has been set up to help with this endeavor:

http://en.fotofund.org/campaigns/scrublands

(note: all photos were taken by Antoine Bruy)

Survivalist, "Person of INTEREST", surrenders to lawmen in Utah mountains - www.ofINTEREST.net

Elusive survivalist Troy James Knapp, 45 captured in Utah

Via

Survivalist surrenders to lawmen in Utah mountains

By PAUL FOY

From Associated Press

April 03, 2013

Sanpete Sheriff's Officers escort Troy James Knapp, 45, to the Sanpete County Jail Tuesday, April 2, 2013, in Manti, Utah. Authorities on Tuesday captured Knapp, an elusive survivalist who is suspected of burglarizing Utah cabins and leaving some covered with threats and bullet holes — ending a saga that began six years ago and drew in police and residents around the state. Knapp, dubbed the "Mountain Man" by cabin owners, was taken into custody in the snowy mountains outside of Ferron in central Utah after firing several shots at officers in a helicopter, authorities said. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

MANTI, Utah (AP) — For six years Troy James Knapp eluded authorities, moving from cabin to cabin across the Utah mountains, taking food and weapons and leaving notes to brag about it.

It all ended Tuesday as lawmen made what they called a surprisingly easy capture outside a remote cabin after the suspect fired off a few harmless shots.

"He was laughing with our guys. He said, 'Boy, you really snuck up on me,'" said Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis. "He threw his rifle down in the snow and said, 'You got me.'"

The 45-year-old survivalist is suspected of burglarizing dozens of Utah cabins and leaving taunting notes for owners — "get off my mountain" — and for sheriffs across several counties — "gonna put you in the ground!" Now he faces multiple felonies in at least four counties, including for shooting at a police helicopter and officers on the ground.

The self-styled "Mountain Man" looked sullen as he was walked into Sanpete County jail late Tuesday, already in jail garb from a quick stop at another county jail. Sanpete County prosecutor Brody Keisel said Knapp will have his first court appearance in Manti within days on a number of felony charges.
Knapp has an impressive memory and was eager to recite his travels and numerous cabin break-ins, bragging that authorities knew only the half of it and showing maps, Curtis said. He does not yet have an attorney.

Authorities believe Knapp had lingered around the snowy mountains outside Ferron, about 125 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, since last fall. He took shelter at cabins in the middle of the Manti-LaSal National Forest.

"It is a relief to know that he has been caught," said Eugene Bartholomew, the owner of a cabin broken into recently at Ferron Reservior under the windswept Wasatch Plateau, where the snow is still piled four feet deep in places. "If he slept in the beds, that's fine with me. As long as he didn't tear up the place."

Bartholomew was planning a trip to inspect his cabin.

No one was hit before Knapp was captured after his brief effort to flee on snowshoes from dozens of officers who converged on snowmobiles and a snowcat, Sanpete County Sheriff Brian Nielson said.
Armed with a rifle and a handgun, authorities said, Knapp was wearing camouflage clothes and sporting a graying red beard.

At first, lawmen didn't know exactly where to look for Knapp. They got a Good Friday tip from a pair of hunters who had a chance encounter in the area with Knapp, who introduced himself as a "mountain man," Curtis said.

Authorities from several counties spent the weekend planning a stealthy search for Knapp. A surveillance party led by Emery County Sheriff Greg Funk quietly approached Ferron Reservoir by snowshoe at 1 a.m. Monday, other authorities said.

"They could hear him chopping wood," Curtis said.

Nine hours later, with the help of the helicopter, they flushed the suspect out of a cabin where he was barricaded. Knapp tried to take off in the woods.

"He walked into a line of guys with guns and realized he was done," U.S. Forest Service officer Scott Watson said. "We were so happy it turned out the way it did."

Knapp had been photographed by motion-triggered cameras on snowshoes with a stolen rifle slung over his shoulder as recently as last fall in Sanpete County. Iron, Kane and Garfield counties have all issued arrest warrants for him on burglary and weapons charges.

He had been living off the comfort of cabins in winter and retreating to makeshift summer camps deep in the forest with stolen guns and supplies, detectives have said.

Knapp's motives have never been clear, but he told authorities he didn't like being around people. He has been tied to cabin burglaries across a region from the mountains around Zion National Park 180 miles north to Sanpete County.

Records indicate Knapp fell off the radar in 2002 when he apparently left California in violation of his parole for a burglary conviction. He had been charged with theft in 2000 in California, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison, according to records.

By 2007, southern Utah authorities began investigating a string of cabin burglaries they believed were tied to one person. Over the years, detectives found unattended summer camps stocked with dozens of guns and stolen, high-end outdoor gear.

It wasn't until early 2012 that investigators identified Knapp as the suspect from cabin surveillance photos and videos.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Iron County Sheriff's Office shows a remote camp littered with supplies and trash, believed to have been left behind by Troy James Knapp, in the southern Utah wildness near Zion National Park. Authorities say they have arrested Knapp, a survivalist suspected of burglarizing Utah cabins and evading law enforcement for years. (AP Photo - Iron County Sheriff)

Survivalist, "Person of INTEREST", surrenders to lawmen in Utah mountains - www.ofINTEREST.net

Elusive survivalist Troy James Knapp, 45 captured in Utah

Via

Survivalist surrenders to lawmen in Utah mountains

By PAUL FOY

From Associated Press

April 03, 2013

Sanpete Sheriff's Officers escort Troy James Knapp, 45, to the Sanpete County Jail Tuesday, April 2, 2013, in Manti, Utah. Authorities on Tuesday captured Knapp, an elusive survivalist who is suspected of burglarizing Utah cabins and leaving some covered with threats and bullet holes — ending a saga that began six years ago and drew in police and residents around the state. Knapp, dubbed the "Mountain Man" by cabin owners, was taken into custody in the snowy mountains outside of Ferron in central Utah after firing several shots at officers in a helicopter, authorities said. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

MANTI, Utah (AP) — For six years Troy James Knapp eluded authorities, moving from cabin to cabin across the Utah mountains, taking food and weapons and leaving notes to brag about it.

It all ended Tuesday as lawmen made what they called a surprisingly easy capture outside a remote cabin after the suspect fired off a few harmless shots.

"He was laughing with our guys. He said, 'Boy, you really snuck up on me,'" said Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis. "He threw his rifle down in the snow and said, 'You got me.'"

The 45-year-old survivalist is suspected of burglarizing dozens of Utah cabins and leaving taunting notes for owners — "get off my mountain" — and for sheriffs across several counties — "gonna put you in the ground!" Now he faces multiple felonies in at least four counties, including for shooting at a police helicopter and officers on the ground.

The self-styled "Mountain Man" looked sullen as he was walked into Sanpete County jail late Tuesday, already in jail garb from a quick stop at another county jail. Sanpete County prosecutor Brody Keisel said Knapp will have his first court appearance in Manti within days on a number of felony charges.
Knapp has an impressive memory and was eager to recite his travels and numerous cabin break-ins, bragging that authorities knew only the half of it and showing maps, Curtis said. He does not yet have an attorney.

Authorities believe Knapp had lingered around the snowy mountains outside Ferron, about 125 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, since last fall. He took shelter at cabins in the middle of the Manti-LaSal National Forest.

"It is a relief to know that he has been caught," said Eugene Bartholomew, the owner of a cabin broken into recently at Ferron Reservior under the windswept Wasatch Plateau, where the snow is still piled four feet deep in places. "If he slept in the beds, that's fine with me. As long as he didn't tear up the place."

Bartholomew was planning a trip to inspect his cabin.

No one was hit before Knapp was captured after his brief effort to flee on snowshoes from dozens of officers who converged on snowmobiles and a snowcat, Sanpete County Sheriff Brian Nielson said.
Armed with a rifle and a handgun, authorities said, Knapp was wearing camouflage clothes and sporting a graying red beard.

At first, lawmen didn't know exactly where to look for Knapp. They got a Good Friday tip from a pair of hunters who had a chance encounter in the area with Knapp, who introduced himself as a "mountain man," Curtis said.

Authorities from several counties spent the weekend planning a stealthy search for Knapp. A surveillance party led by Emery County Sheriff Greg Funk quietly approached Ferron Reservoir by snowshoe at 1 a.m. Monday, other authorities said.

"They could hear him chopping wood," Curtis said.

Nine hours later, with the help of the helicopter, they flushed the suspect out of a cabin where he was barricaded. Knapp tried to take off in the woods.

"He walked into a line of guys with guns and realized he was done," U.S. Forest Service officer Scott Watson said. "We were so happy it turned out the way it did."

Knapp had been photographed by motion-triggered cameras on snowshoes with a stolen rifle slung over his shoulder as recently as last fall in Sanpete County. Iron, Kane and Garfield counties have all issued arrest warrants for him on burglary and weapons charges.

He had been living off the comfort of cabins in winter and retreating to makeshift summer camps deep in the forest with stolen guns and supplies, detectives have said.

Knapp's motives have never been clear, but he told authorities he didn't like being around people. He has been tied to cabin burglaries across a region from the mountains around Zion National Park 180 miles north to Sanpete County.

Records indicate Knapp fell off the radar in 2002 when he apparently left California in violation of his parole for a burglary conviction. He had been charged with theft in 2000 in California, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison, according to records.

By 2007, southern Utah authorities began investigating a string of cabin burglaries they believed were tied to one person. Over the years, detectives found unattended summer camps stocked with dozens of guns and stolen, high-end outdoor gear.

It wasn't until early 2012 that investigators identified Knapp as the suspect from cabin surveillance photos and videos.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Iron County Sheriff's Office shows a remote camp littered with supplies and trash, believed to have been left behind by Troy James Knapp, in the southern Utah wildness near Zion National Park. Authorities say they have arrested Knapp, a survivalist suspected of burglarizing Utah cabins and evading law enforcement for years. (AP Photo - Iron County Sheriff)