Summer in Provence, from June until August, is painted in the rich colors of blooming lavender. Our journey to this wonderful land will be easy and warm, filled with midsummer aromas and pictures: small castle-like towns, cozy alleys, olive copses and endless lavender fields from one horizon to another. We’ll pay a special attention to landscapes of the Valensole plateau, with its blue lavender blooms, lone trees in the vast fields, towns and villages. Van Gogh and Picasso created their masterpieces here; we’ll try to follow in their footsteps, to find the same kind of inspiration.
The tour is intended to be equally interesting both for accomplished photographers and the beginners. We’ll focus on landscape shooting as well as learning to compose, shoot, and process the photos. We’ll also spend a considerable time in towns and villages, learning how to shoot architectural objects, street details, and people both in the natural light and in the evening with the streetlights on.
Day 1, 29 June
Meetup in Marseille. We greet you in Marseille airport at 13:00 and drive to the hotel in Provence where we will spend the next several days. In the evening, we have a landscape shoot at the Valensole plateau.
Day 2, 30 June
We meet the sunrise at Valensole, amongst the flagrant lavender fields. We devote daytime to rest and post-processing workshops. Then we’ll be off to the blooming fields again to catch the last rays of the evening sun.
Day 3, 1 July
We are in the middle of the summer! Today we’re making a small circle through little towns and picturesque fields of Provence: Banon with its cheese and lavender manufactures, Abbey de Valsaints and its 600 rose cultivars, Sault – all of them but islands in a vast sea of blooming lavender.
Day 4, 2 July
We start our day before dawn and meet the morning sun near a small town named Gordes. Then we’re off to the Abbaye de Senanque and its lavender fields. Breakfast in another cozy little town, L’isle sur la Sorge. Then we’ll visit the ruins of Oppede-le-Vieux and in the evening, arrive for sunset and evening shooting sessions at Rousillion. This town isn’t colored by lavender for a change, but there’s something even more interesting near it – the ochre rocks, old quarries and the famous Ochre Trail. Roussillion became known as “The Ochre Town” in 18th century when the textile industry demanded huge amounts of ochre paint, and this name stuck with it till today.
Day 5, 3 July
In the morning, we’ll have another shoot in the lavender fields, and then we’ll be off to Aix-en-Provence for breakfast and a street photo session. We’ll take a stroll at the local market, visit shopkeepers and artisans, photograph little details of a small-town life. After that, we’ll return to our hotel for a master class in photo processing. After lunch, we’ll have another shoot in the Valensole valley at sunset in the lavender sea.
Day 6, 4 July
This morning we’ll meet the first sunrays in beautiful beech alleys of St Remy, the place where Van Gogh painted his masterpieces. We’ll tread the Van Gogh path through narrow streets and alleys of the St Remy village. If you have time then we’ll visit another village called Le Baux de Provence, famous for being a residence of a powerful Les Baux family that reigned in Provence for centuries.
Day 7, 5 July
Another day of shooting purple sunsets and sunrises in Valensole. Also, we’ll visit a couple of colorful markets in local villages and small towns, to catch an opportunity of street and genre photo shoots.
Day 8, 6 July
Our workshop is over, we’re packing our bags and depart to Marseille. We’ll be in the Marseille airport around 11am.
Included in the price:
– All transfers
– All meals
– Lodging
– Instruction and master classes by two professional guides
Not included in the price:
– Airfare to and from Marsielle airport
– Visas (if applicable)
– Single supplement
What to bring
Gear:
– DSLR camera with tripod and remote shutter release
– A wide angle lens. For example, Nikkor 14-24 or Canon 17-40. Best lens for use in wide-angle scenes or architecture photography
– A middle-zoom lens such as a 24-70 mm
– A telephoto zoom lens, such as a 70-200 mm. One of the most important lenses in Provence. Be sure to have additional tripod mount to this lens.
Wear:
– Casual clothes for dinners and lunches and photography workshops at villa Gaia
– Summer clothes
– Coat for morning photography (may be down to 10-15 C)
Tour leaders
Daniel Kordan
Daniel was born in Moscow area. In his childhood he graduated the art school. After that, he is studied in Moscow institute of Physics and Technology and became an optics physicist. During the study he gain experience not only in physics, but also in mountain climbing and hiking, guiding tourist groups in winter and in summer in Russian mountains. Right after graduation he became a guide of photo-workshops and chief editor of “Continent expedition” magazine. This magazine is about travel and adventures all over the world. He has got several awards in photography: Golden Turtle’ 13 Nature nomination winner, National Geographic Russia contest 2013 and 2014 finalist, Best of Russia’13 and ’14 winner, best photographer’13 finalist and others. He is spending most of his time in Norway, Lofoten islands and in Tuscany at villa Gaia, guiding groups of photographers.
Iurie Belegurschi
Iurie Belegurschi is a landscape photographer based in Iceland, where he runs photo tours and workshops. He was born in Moldova and has been living in Iceland since 2006. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality. His photos have been published worldwide in books, calendars, greeting cards, magazines and some of the most popular newspapers like The Daily Mail, The Independent, The Sun, The Huffington Post, and The Telegraph.
