Welcome to the May 2021 newsletter.
Spring has kicked off beautifully here in the Loire Valley. Early on in March, the magnolia flowers were out in abundance in various parts of the area, then the rapeseed fields started flowering before the wisteria filled the air with its beautiful perfume.
I’m sure that most of us would rather forget the last 12 months, but in a way, it’s actually been good for me as I’ve been able to carry on raising my profile in various ways. I am hoping that one of those ways is going to lead to a long commission in Asia in the coming months. I won’t go into details until it’s sure, but rest assured, it is a belter.
Having done my various camera club presentations over the last year, I’ve been getting various requests to do a photography tour of the Loire Valley. In the past, I’ve hesitated doing this for various reasons, but having greatly expanded my knowledge of the area over the last 12 months, now is the time to get it in the diary.
As the summer approaches, I am hoping to be travelling again. I have a number of job offers that are to start from the summer and go progressively over the next 6 to 9 months. One of those job offers is going to see me back down in the southern hemisphere, so I’m really looking forward to that.
So let’s get up to speed with trip reports and future photography workshop and tour dates for those that are interested.
In early March, I headed off down to the department of Haute-Vienne. The department’s capital is the city of Limoges, and it’s a place that I’ve been wanting to go to for a long time.
Limoges itself has a number of historic buildings, but the principal reason for getting down there was the cathedral. Having been unable to travel in the usual ways, I’ve been discovering more of France to see what’s around, which is why the trip report isn’t as exotic as normal.
But I digress! Haute-Vienne is a beautiful area of south central France, as, apart from the aforementioned city of Limoges, there is a ton of stuff to do down there. The countryside, for example, becomes far more undulating and in places offers beautiful views over the department. If you like architecture, then you’ll find again that the Romanesque style is very much entrenched down here.
However, I’d like to get back to Limoges and its stunning cathedral. Upon entering the cathedral, I gave it a look around. I always make sure that I can set up a tripod, as at times it’s not always possible. This was the first tick in the box. But the next and most important one came when I asked if I could go up to the mezzanine floor at the back of the building to look down the nave. To my surprise and joy, they said yes.
To successfully capture buildings such as cathedrals, you ideally need a tilt-shift lens to fully do these magnificent buildings justice. I personally feel that hundreds of years ago, the builders and architects went to the trouble of designing a beautiful building, so we need to ensure it’s photographed beautifully.
Being up high above the nave is one of the most ideal ways to photograph either cathedrals or churches. The views are both stunning and breathtaking.
Dating from the late 14th century, the Château de Sully-sur-Loire is an absolute joy to any photographer with its beautiful fairytale-like towers and moat. It is here that, from what I understand, the world’s largest inscribed and protected UNESCO World Heritage Site begins to enthral you. It’s certainly enthralled me each time I’ve been, no matter what the weather.
This year, I’ve visited Sully-sur-Loire half a dozen times. I’ve been searching for a specific light each time for the book that I am working on, which is going to guide photographers to the various places that should be high on their lists.
When you undertake a project like that, you need to capture each place across the seasons. You have to see where the various access points are, as well as ensure that the information you provide to people can help them take their own images they want to hang on the wall.
Although for me it’s a good two and a half hour drive, I’ve always found that if the weather has played ball, then it’s been worth it. This year alone, I’ve seen it on a frosty morning, a picture postcard afternoon and a sunset that went crazy with the light while accompanied by my two kids.
The first image below, with the lights on, I felt lucky to get. The castle was illuminated just after sunset, but about 20 minutes after the lights came on, they decided to turn them off! I was in the middle, taking a long exposure, but thankfully enough light had been captured for the final image.
Check out why I go back to locations time and again in search of “that” light.
As photographers, one thing that we shouldn’t do is become stagnated. It’s easy to keep focusing on landscape or architectural photography. Or, looking out onto those stunning cityscapes from up high, if you’ve been given access to a particular place.
One such area that I’ve never focused on is studio photography. The thought of it filled me with dread as having to learn flash, sync speeds and whatever else seemed to be of no use. But something clicked in me a couple of months back, and I’ve been slowly filling in the gaps and starting to work on bringing those skills to a polished level. I’ve even managed to win my kids over as they’ve been able to get in on the work, either learning how to operate the camera or helping me do some DIY V-Flats, which help control the light in a studio setup.
Does this mean I’m giving up on travel and landscape photography? Absolutely not! I just want to expand my knowledge as a working travel photographer so that it includes different avenues, should the opportunity arise to put that skill to use.
Is studio photography expensive? It needn’t be, and I’ve discovered that with a third-party Godox V860ii C flash, a light stand and an umbrella that some nice natural portraiture can be created if you start to get a handle on how light works. The examples below are my two kids shot with the gear mentioned using a technique called checkerboard lighting.
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