Alastair McNaughton "Mac" was born in England in 1949. He graduated from Art College with a BA in Graphic Design and Photography. His love of travel and getting to know indigenous peoples culture has led him all over the world and continues to do so. Photography being the perfect medium for his creativity. To capture the right image, he believes, it's necessary to understand how people live, the problems that beset them, and their own picture of the world.
Mac is a classicist, his work in many ways reminiscent of some of the old school Magnum greats, Henri Cartier-Bresson in particular His instant sense of geometry and composition is natural and well honed from his years as a graphic artist.
Firstly living and perfecting his craft with the Masai in Tanzania, followed by staying in the desert region of Gujarat, India with the nomadic pastoral tribe The Rabari in areas around Bhuj. Later on Alastair spent four years living with the Wangkatja (Wongi) Aboriginal community at Coonana in the Western Australian desert (Ngaanyatjarra lands)
Most recently he started work on a global series of photography concerning the manual production of “Salt” and working towards a book “Salt of The Earth”, covering the salt fields of Hon Koi, Central Vietnam. then moving onto the salt production areas in Indonesia, India and more recently Peru. His next addition to the series will be Lac Rose in Senegal.
He continues in this vein of recording traditional manual creation of various products, before all of this is taken over by machine and technology. He has recently been spending more time back in Vietnam recording local artisans.
Alastair's sensitive approach to his subjects has won him International acclaim and awards.