Preserving an “incredibly exotic” country

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Swiss Yodelling Festival, Interlaken, 2011 Olivier Vogelsang

Cattle display at Combyre, Veysonnaz, 2009 Olivier Vogelsang

Fake firs used for camouflage at Fort de Pré-Giroud, Vallorbe, 2009 Olivier Vogelsang

Minaret at Petit-Saconex, Geneva, 2009 Olivier Vogelsang

Commemorating the 1476 Battle of Murten, 2009 Olivier Vogelsang

After the grape picking, Lavaux, 2007 Olivier Vogelsang

Demonstration against the World Economic Forum, Geneva, 2009 Olivier Vogelsang

Carnival, Basel, 2012 Olivier Vogelsang

View from a pass, Nufenen, 2009 Olivier Vogelsang

Lake Cauma, Flims, 2012 Olivier Vogelsang

"My right foot's Swiss, the other's foreign." Carouge, 2007 Olivier Vogelsang

Stuffed for carnival, Évolène, 2010 Olivier Vogelsang

Demonstration against the World Trade Organization, Geneva, 2009 Olivier Vogelsang

At the football World Championship in South Africa, Switzerland beat Spain 1-0. Geneva, 2010 Olivier Vogelsang

Meadow patrol, Rütli, 2007 Olivier Vogelsang

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Olivier Vogelsang, a photographer from Geneva, explains how his latest book, Switzerlanders, began one Swiss National Day on the Rütli meadow, Switzerland's historical birthplace.

“Switzerland is a country of contrasts – you can either love it or hate it. You can see patriotism clashing with anarchism, and the throwing of flags into the air.

For a foreigner, it’s hard to form an opinion without resorting to clichés. The book aims to shatter the usual links and portray a country which is simultaneously familiar and incredibly exotic.

All along my journey, I felt a greater sense of disorientation in Switzerland than in several other countries. The language barrier certainly exists for some people, but that’s not the only thing: in criss-crossing cantons which are like little states with their peculiarities, in making it over alpine passes which are sometimes closed for more than seven months a year, I’ve become aware of the extraordinary diversity of this small territory. It could be lost at any moment.”