Beginning around July and running until August is summer in picturesque Provence. 'Tis the season where the landscape is painted with the rich colors and soothing aroma of lavender. And that's just the beginning of what Provence can offer, as we take you on a tour of the region's small castle-like towns, cozy alleys, olive copses and beautiful landscapes that stretch from one horizon to another.
We will follow in the footsteps of the masters such as Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso, who were entranced by Provence's natural beauty and were inspired to create many of their masterpieces here. Of particular note are the region's Valensole plateau, with its blue lavender blooms, lone trees in the vast fields, towns and villages, where will get a taste of the elements that inspired these two timeless artists.
While photographers will surely enjoy the tour, there is also much to be had and experienced for amateurs and beginners as well — Provence is the kind of place whose beauty manages to touch and inspire everyone. You'll learn to maximize the tools you have on hand to compose images in order to capture the area's magnificent landscapes, as well as process your photos. There are also a myriad of subjects to photograph as we stroll through the towns and villages, which will be filled with unique architecture and colorful people, and whose character changes as we move from daytime to nighttime.
After initially meeting up at the Marseille airport at 13:00, you'll be brought to your accommodations where you'll have some time to freshen out and get settled before we head out and take some late afternoon and evening shots of the landscape at the Valensole plateau.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire, so they say, but here, we mean it in a good way. We begin the second day of the tour by visiting the spectacular lavender fields just before sunrise breaks at Valensole. After that, we'll get the opportunity to rest and devote ourselves to our lectures on photography and processing. We'll head out again before the day ends to capture some great images as we head back to the lavender fields for a golden hour sunset shoot.
More beautiful lavender fields await us on our third day, where we will visit a few towns that each have something different to offer — Banon with its cheese and lavender manufactures, Abbey de Valsaints and its 600 rose cultivars, and the historic Sault.
We'll rise early again so as not to miss the summer sunrise near a small town named Gordes, after which we'll make the most of the soft morning light at Abbaye de Senanque and its lavender fields and then take our breakfast in the cozy little town of L’isle sur la Sorge. Up next will be more unique photographic opportunities at the ruins of Oppede-le-Vieux, and we'll wrap the day up with a sunset and evening shoot at Rousillion, where we'll take a break from the lavender fields and concentrate instead on capturing the ochre rocks, old quarries and the famous Ochre Trail.
We'll greet the sunrise in the lavender fields on the fifth day before heading to Aix-en-Provence, where we'll take out breakfast. The area also happens to be an ideal spot for street photography, so we'll make it a point to visit the local market, visit shopkeepers and artisans, all the while capturing our own artistic interpretation of their simple town life. And before capture the golden light of the sunset at the Valensole lavender valley, we'll brush up on more techniques and lessons on processing where we'll be able to take a more serious look at some of the images we've taken so far.
You'll be heading off to Marseille and will be at the airport around noon for your flight home.
We highly recommend that you get a travel and medical insurance. Your own domestic medical insurance and private health scheme will not cover you whilst you are overseas. The tour is always dependent on weather, as the Icelandic weather can indeed be highly unpredictable. Likewise, visits to ice caves are dependent on favorable conditions, and indeed the ice caves themselves are not permanent. When it comes to the Northern Lights, while they are most likely to be seen between September and April, there is no guarantee that they will appear on a given day.
1-6 Jul 2020 – Guided by Julien Grondin (6 spots left) 1-6 Jul 2021 – Guided by Julien Grondin 1-6 Jul 2022 – Guided by Julien Grondin
Julien Grondin, known as « Beboy » on social media is a French landscape photographer.
He was born and grew up in Reunion island. He is 37 year old and has a serious background in graphics and design industry making understanding color management, compositions, and editing photo is an easy task for him.
Julien traveled full-time during 5 years to fully live his passion for landscape photography, exploring Asia, Europe, and the US as well. Now based in France, Julien is particularly well known for his lavender photos. Indeed, every year, for 5 years now, he keeps exploring every corner of Provence to find the best locations and aesthetic spots.
Ask him anything about how, where and when to get the perfect lavender shot, Julien will have the answer. In addition to his skills in photography, food is also a huge part of his field of competence and, talking about that, Provence has a lot to offer!
Julien Grondin, known as « Beboy » on social media is a French landscape photographer.
He was born and grew up in Reunion island. He is 37 year old and has a serious background in graphics and design industry making understanding color management, compositions, and editing photo is an easy task for him.
Julien traveled full-time during 5 years to fully live his passion for landscape photography, exploring Asia, Europe, and the US as well. Now based in France, Julien is particularly well known for his lavender photos. Indeed, every year, for 5 years now, he keeps exploring every corner of Provence to find the best locations and aesthetic spots.
Ask him anything about how, where and when to get the perfect lavender shot, Julien will have the answer. In addition to his skills in photography, food is also a huge part of his field of competence and, talking about that, Provence has a lot to offer!
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