Hello there, my name is Michael. I’m a graphic designer, photographer and blogger from the west coast of Scotland with a passion for the outdoors, camping, hiking, cycling and snowboarding. If you are looking for graphic design, photography or other digital assets, get in touch via my contact page. If you’d prefer a bit of outdoor adventure try the blog.
I love to make memories, photographs, graphics and more digital content influenced by the great outdoors. Contact me if you’d like to make them with me. Whether it’s a photoshoot or content for your social media or website.
Join me…. in real life or on Instagram & Facebook with same name.
Also, I’m a volunteer designer and activist for Protect our Winters UK. POW UK’s mission is to change the narrative on climate change, educating and empowering passionate individuals to take simple and rewarding actions, which will in turn create consumer and corporate pressure for sustainable products and investments. If you would like to take action yourself, visit the POW UK website for ideas and tips, or get in touch with myself.
The Right to Roam in Scotland is close to my heart, and when the opportunity to preserve and protect this through Social Media came to be, as well as designing the logo, I signed up to the cause Roam Responsibly immediately.
Scotland’s Instagrammer community voiced out its concern over the Scottish outdoors in Spring 2017. The community was concerned about the degradation of the popular Scottish nature sites due to littering and over-use by visitors. Together, Scotland’s Instagrammers signed a charter, which addressed the issues mentioned above and agreed to promote responsible roaming outdoors, as well as promote the Scottish Outdoor Access Code itself.
We created a social media campaign #RoamResponsibly, through which we aim to spread knowledge of responsible ways of enjoying and spending time in nature and inspire people to take action to protect and preserve the Scottish landscapes and wildlife. We aim to also raise awareness about the Scottish Outdoor Access Code as well as relevant organisations in Scotland.
A lover of nature and wildlife in particular, I completed a Future Learn/Open University course ‘Introduction to Ecosystems’ furthering an understanding of the world around us and the links between organisms and their surroundings. I’m also a long-standing member of the RSPB. Please join and help give nature a home.
And what does Ruanaich mean? Well it’s the name of the house I grew up in. The name originates from Gaelic, but we are not sure of the true meaning. Many Scots Gaelic words were Anglicised or corrupted as they were written down. It could be a form of ‘Rannoch’, one translation could be ‘Steadfast’ which we like, as it makes sense for a house or as I’ve been told by native speakers ‘to wander’. Another is from a traveller’s branch of Gaelic which translates as ‘to say’ or ‘to speak’. Either way it’s unique, not always easy to remember, but it’s home.
