Lavender in Valensole

I recently joined Fédération Photographique de France (UR13) and participated in one of their one-day photo trip. That was a first experience for me and I found it very interesting to be with a group of photographers, shooting, talking, laughing in a friendly and uncomplicated way.

This trip destination was in the region of Valensole, in Provence, France. As usual that meant early wake-up and meeting with other members of the Club. Valensole is approximately 2.5 hours from my place and makes a great opportunity to talk with new friends and get to know each other.

There are different options for driving to Valensole from the Nice area. All of them are interesting and your choice depends on what you would like to see. Take the A8 and switch to A51 in Aix-en-Provence, or the D2 then D4085, and even D6085 and then merge on D4085. For some reasons we missed the exit on A8 and took the next one near Vidauban which brought the opportunity to drive through numerous small but beautiful villages. At some point I realized we were at a location I already visited (Cabasse: see my blog post Getting Lost In Var and Maritime Alps). This was great because I saw things I missed the time before.

We finally got to Valensole 3 hours later (Ahhh.. a good espresso on the way is always welcome) and the weather was just perfect. Some clouds appeared later in the day and added a bit of drama to some of the shots. The area is filled with Lavender fields, and lots of people shooting everywhere. This is a very popular spot for photographers so you need to find the right angle to get a clean shot. Still, I ended up with some shots including people because I thought they added something valuable to the scene.

On our way back we decided to go through the Gorges du Verdon, which I had already seen but it was still nice to revisit! If you've never been to the Gorges I strongly suggest you plan a trip there either on your way up to Valensole or on your way back. At the end of the day the light falls on the rocks/peaks very nicely!

All in all it's been a great day shooting besides club members and I look forward to see them again soon.

You can find the whole picture set on my website at www.normandprimeau.com

Fédération Photographique de France (UR13) can be found here.

Goodlight!

Norm

© Normand Primeau