More from France

Well, I obviously never managed to post last week. We were so busy with our Bourgogne workshop, that there was never any time (or energy) to cope with more than basic e-mail, let alone sit down, compose a blog, and process some images for it.

Friday morning, before we officially started, Arnie and I went off to the local market town of the day and picked out fruits, cheeses, and other goodies for our reception. As we were leaving, I thrust my share of our purchases into Arnie's arms and dashed back with my camera to capture one of the locals who was taking home a fresh loaf of bread. You can see that he was impatient for me to click the shutter so he could continue on his way!

Meanwhile, Florence, our hostess, had gone shopping for some traditional Bourgogne fare. All that, added to some wine we had sampled and bought, made for the makings of a very good feast and a festive evening when we returned from our first afternoon of shooting.

We had a blast. Our group instantly gelled, and as the wife of one, who flew over and joined her husband the last Thursday, said, she kept getting e-mails from him that he had never laughed so much. We weren't far behind!

The weather was mostly cloudy, which initially discouraged our group, until they realized that overcast skies make for wonderful, saturated colors. When the sun did come out, they also saw how harsh it can be unless it is early morning or late afternoon.

Either way, it didn't keep us from shooting, and we showed them the types of shots that work in harsh sun, as well as how to use the cloudy days to their advantage.

Our first afternoon saw puttering around one of our favorite little villages, home to some of the great grand crus in Bourgogne. Come to think of it, I'm not sure that we went to any little village that didn't have grand crus! Some of my favorite shots in France have been garnered in this little town, and it was fun showing our group about and seeing what inspired them. I loved seeing them attracted to some of the same scenes and details that have always caught Arnie's and my eyes.



Later, we returned to our hotel for our reception where we laid out the rough plans for the week, all dependent upon Mother Nature and what inspired the group. Give the success of our first afternoon, they seemed content to take our lead in locations.

Later, we returned to the same village, a mere ten minutes from the hotel. We were up in the vineyards as dusk settled and the lights came on in the villages below. It was so neat to see our group discover that one could shoot well after sunset.


The next morning, we gathered for imaging. It was great watching everyone's photographs come alive as they edited and processed them. We were really enjoying their progress.


We returned to our little town for lunch before heading out for a long afternoon, first visiting the rose capital of Bourgogne, according to the town's sign. France is known for it beautiful flowers, but there are more varieties of roses here than I have seen anywhere else, including some famous botanical gardens. Set against the wonderful textures of old stone and wood, they were a feast to photograph.

Our group was getting to know our mantras, and when we would check on how people were doing to help them, they were already making comments of "What was it you were saying about not wasting all those wonderful, expensive little pixels we paid for?" or "I think I have more than one subject here," or "How did that sneak in to the edge of the picture?"

After several hours in that village, we continued on to a craggy, hilltop town, home to some great Haute-Cote de Beaune wines. I stopped in at a little cave where Arnie and I had a lovely time two years ago chatting with the owner's wife while tasting wine. Everything was open, but I couldn't raise a soul. I heard voices, and finally figured they were coming from above, around the other side of the building, and sure enough, I found the "son," a gentleman who was enjoying his partial retirement as the next generations took over.

He came down to the tasting room, and after we sampled some wine and chatted with him, he posed for us, then invited us down into the real cave. I love the smell of those old caves, ever cool under their arched ceilings. Our host did some testing of wine for us, and our group was really excited to have gained access to this private area.

We had agreed to all meet by the fountain, and everyone wanted to stay longer. They were having so much fun and finding so much to photograph. Arnie and I had visited this village several times, so pointed our students in this direction or that to inspire or challenge them.


Eventually, we wended our way down off the hilltop and stopped in the valley below to take advantage of the late-afternoon light streaming across the vineyards.



Sunday was market day, a large one in another nearby town. That's what I love about this area; everything is so close. There is so much to see and do without traveling more than a half hour.

We headed there first thing, so we wouldn't miss anything. It was raining, so we all took our parapluis. All of the stalls were protected, some under traditional market halls, others under colorful tents. Everything looked so inviting and delicious. We challenged our group to ask permission to photograph at least one person at the market. "Oh no, do I have to?" mock-whined one of our group. This, of course, after he had said he would like to become more comfortable photographing people. We all laughed, and he completed the assignment with minimal angst.

In general, if you have never been to a European market, they are a riot of color, smells, textures, and people watching. We took it all in and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. We even managed to get a few shots of our own, including one of two gentlemen here who shared a stall. They had been watching our group photograph and were determined that they were going to be photographed ... individually, but when we tried to photograph one, the other jumped in. Obviously, one did not want to play second fiddle to the other!

We had a leisurely lunch in town, and eventually headed back to our digs for imaging. Everyone wanted to get in a few hours on that before we headed to Arnie's and my favorite restaurant, a very short walk down the road. For those of you who have been following the blog, this is the one that, to our great disappointment, was closed when we arrived in Bourgogne.

I had brought alone some prints I had made of shots we did last time we were there. They recognized us instantly, a surprise, considering how many people they must have seen over the two years since we were last there. Then again, the last time we were there, I had photographed some good friends of theirs who were having a little reunion with their nephew.

We were sitting out in the charming courtyard for dinner, and I arranged them for a nice shot. In thanks, they invited me to join them for glass of very fine champagne. Arnie had gone back to our room to get one of our little flashes. By the time he returned a few minutes later, we were deep in conversation, laughing and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. They spoke a little English, but mostly, I translated back and forth. We continued our camaraderie, our tables close to each other, as we enjoyed our delicious, multi-course meals prepared by the owner/chef in a traditional wood-fired oven. Later, the owner and his wife joined us when all the other dinner guests had gone, and we sat deep into the night, enjoying each other's company and sharing more than one good belly laugh.

So, it was really good to be back. We were a little nervous. You know how it is when you rave about something; you are always afraid that the reality for your friends will fall short of your enthusiastic accolades. Not so. Everyone loved the restaurant. One of the men had escargots that he said were the best he had ever had, and he had lived in Europe and spent quite a bit of time in France.

We lingered over dinner and went through quite a few bottles of wine we had picked up through tastings along the way.

Monday, after imaging and lunch at the nearby village, we headed to the little town along a pristine river with "les cascades." This was the village where we met a gentleman who took us under his wing and served as self-appointed guide and historian when we were scouting the week before. The clouds and light rain really helped, as the reflections off the water were lovely.

The town was little, but it was packed with so much. And the water, it was so incredibly clear. Many jokes were made that they could be doing their laundry in the old, long, stone tubs along the river as people did centuries ago.

It was so peaceful, and everyone spread out and tried out new techniques. We showed them how to photograph water so it would have that lovely, fluid, featherly look.


Earlier, at lunch time, I had made reservations at another little restaurant located across the square. We arrived back earlier than expected, and I was able to move our time slot earlier. It still gave us time to go into the little wine shop and replenish our constantly diminishing supplies. After all, there was tomorrow's lunch, and everyone, kicking and screaming, of course, had easily adopted the very civilized French custom of having a glass or two of wine with our p'tit sandwich, salade, or whatever.

Dinner, as always, was full of fun and frivolity, and we enjoyed our meal. For me, it was a repeat of the traditional Bourgogne meal I had enjoyed the previous week when we were scouting — Oeufs en Meurette aux Bourgogne (eggs poached in red wine with a sauce made from the reduction – fabulous) and Boeuf Bourgignon (very tender and tasty) from the famous white Charolais beef that dot so many of the fields that are not covered in vineyard or wheat. There were also the usual desserts with spun sugar, artful drizzles of chocolate, light-but-lethal concoctions, etc., and we all went back to the hotel well sated.

We were half way through our workshop with several more days to enjoy.

To be continued next week.

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En France — More Photos

We are in France and have been since the 10th. It is glorious in Bourgogne, the heart of French wine country and where the Romans first brought those wonderful grapes so long ago.

The flight over was not as bad as it was in 2006. Air Canada was terrific. We flew from North Carolina to DCA (the other airport in DC) to Montreal to Charles de Gaulle. Customs was a snap, we think because we went through Canada.

I actually managed to get a few hours sleep on the plane. Even more amazing, I got over seven hours sleep the night before, somewhat of a record for me, especially just before a trip as I try to make sure I have not forgotten to do anything before our departure.

The bags came off the conveyor belt about the same time we arrived at baggage claim, so we picked up our diesel car and headed south to Beaune. The Google directions were excellent and kept us from getting lost in the rabbit warren of roads, avenues, and highways of Paris.

On the way, we stopped at one of our favorite wineries to see if it would be alright to bring our workshop there for photography. Two years ago when we were there, we had done portraits of the family, and I had made prints for them as a surprise. They were delighted, and it was fun to chat and catch up.

For the rest of the trip to Beaune, we ran in and out of driving rainstorms, the kind that force many people to stop along the side of the highway. We just slowed way down. Our rental car was brand new, only 15 kilometers on it, so tires and traction were not an issue. Between storms, it was sunny and beautiful (see one of the images below).

Once in Montagny-les-Beaune, we returned to the same hotel at which we stayed two years ago. Florence, the proprietor, was as charming and helpful as ever, and we greeted each other like old friends. Indeed, with all our correspondence back and forth, not to mention our numerous conversations on our last visit, we are friends.

We headed into Beaune to get some maps at the tourism office. In the same building was wonderful exhibit fashionable clothing and accessories made entirely of brown paper. It was really amazing and whimsical, as well.

Our favorite restaurant in Montagny-les-Beaune was closed until Friday, as the owners were on vacation. That changed our plans, so we headed over to one of the little villages that was on our list for our workshop and dropped off some more prints. The vintner and his helper were delighted and remembered our photographing them before.

Once again, we got permission to go on his land and as the sun set, we made some photographs looking across the rows of grape vines down at the town as the lights came on. It was time for a bottle of wine and dinner, and we found a lovely little restaurant in a 17th century building. Not only was the food delicious, but the service more than first class. And all for a special that included some of the traditional foods of Bourgogne, oeufs poached in red wine, boeuf Bourgignon, etc. And the wine, well, when you are in one of the towns known for its 1re cru wines, you cannot go wrong. Our bottle was superb, and when you think what it would have cost in the States, a real bargain.

The next couple of days, we explored and found some great new locations, as well as some that were great for us photographically, but impractical for a workshop, either because the footing was too dangerous or the drive between locations too far, or...

There was the wonderful round barn reflected in the mill pond (too far), the cascades (footing too dangerous after the rains), the chateau (too far with not enough on the way), the little village with the charming gentleman who took us under his wing (perfect), the larger wine town (also a photographic feast), and so forth and so on.

In the little village, the lovely gentleman told us about "les cascades" as well as the history of the town. The river that ran right through the town was as clear as one could imagine, and a little of it was diverted into a shallow trough at the river's edge. Our self-appointed host explained that he remembered thirty or so years ago when people still washed their clothes there!

Last night, after a full day, we arrived back at the hotel to find one of our workshop participants had just arrived. Since he was without a car, we invited him to join us for supper in town. We had a delightful and fun supper, then walked around Beaune a bit before returning to the hotel to he could collapse after his long night and day of travel from Colorado.

I love the breakfasts here — all sorts of goodies, including fresh fruit, yogurts, confitures, baguettes and croissants, cereals, jambon et fromage, that wonderful coffee that one can only find in France... Life is good!

We start our workshop today and look forward to showing everyone our favorite places, sharing our favorite vintners, and helping them all make stronger photographs. Some of them profess to be rank beginners, but I suspect they are too modest in their self effacement.

You will find more photos than the ones below at my special gallery.

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Another Photo-rich Week in Maine

I did say last week that we were on the road and posting was difficult. Add to that the fact that we were home for only a day and a half before leaving this morning for our workshop in France.

Before the workshop started, we spent the night in a little inn on one of my favorite harbors. It was on the top floor of a cottage right on the harbor with its own deck. We could look out the sliding glass doors and view the entrance to the harbor and the islands beyond. Through the windows on the other side of the room, we could view the fishing docks and inner harbor.

What I loved the most, and what harkened back to my childhood sailing the Maine coast, was waking up to the deep thrum of the lobster boat engines as they headed out for the day.

This trip, I managed to get a few details, a few of which are below, and the rest of which are posted on my personal gallery (a blind page.)

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