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
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
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
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 4
In the morning, we’ll have another shoot in the lavender fields, and then we’ll be off to Aix-en-Provence (or any other market village) 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 5
Another day of shooting purple sunrise in Valensole.
And following post processing masterclasses, delicious lunch we meet the final sunset!
Day 6
Our workshop is over, we’re packing our bags and depart to Marseille. We’ll be in the Marseille airport around 11am.
Price: 3200 USD
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 750 USD
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
– Summer clothes
– Light jacket for morning photography (15-20 C)
