South of France: Wild Horses and Lavender Landscapes

Randall Ball

Randall is an award-winning photographer based in Houston, TX who specializes in capturing stunning environmental portraits of wildlife. His journey in photography began as a combat photographer in the Marine Corps. Later, he pursued a formal education at the renowned Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA. Randall's commercial work has been featured in worldwide in advertising campaigns and major magazines. In addition to his photography, Randall is passionate about teaching. As an Adjunct Faculty Photography Instructor, he has conducted organized classroom study and in-the-field workshops domestically and abroad. In 2021, he began leading workshops for Art of Seeing Photography Adventures and continues to lead many of our Photography Adventures. Click here to see a selection of Randall’s images.

Ken Lee

Ken Lee, the founder Art of Seeing Photography Adventures is as passionate about helping others grow as photographers as he is about creating his own images. Ken’s Whole Brain approach to teaching photography addresses both the Craft (gear, technique, post-processing) and Creative (Composition & the Photographer’s Eye) aspects of image-making – and the completely different approaches needed to master both. Click the links to read more about Ken Lee and The Art of Seeing, what you can expect from an Art of Seeing workshop, or to see examples of Ken’s photography.

We understand life happens and plans may change. If you need to cancel your reservation, the following policies apply to this workshop:

Deposits are NOT refundable but may be transferrable to another Art of Seeing workshop for up to 24 months from date of cancellation in accordance with the following schedule:

Regardless of when you cancel, if we fill your spot*, you will receive a refund of all fees paid less your deposit and $150 processing fee. If we cannot fill your spot, the amount of your refund is based upon the cancellation date:

• Cancellation 120 days or more from workshop start date: 100% refund of fees paid less deposit and $150 processing fee. Deposit transferrable up to 24 mos

• Cancellation 90 – 120 days from workshop start date: 50% refund of fees paid less deposit and $150 processing fee. Deposit forfeit.

• Cancellation less than 90 days from workshop start date: No refunds.

*canceled spots are filled after the workshop reaches full capacity

Click here to read our complete Terms & Conditions

We highly encourage participants to purchase travel insurance to recover expenses not covered by our Cancellations & Refunds policy in case you need to cancel your reservation. 

Day 1 Montpelier Arrival

Welcome to France! We will greet you at the airport and transfer to your charming hotel in Aigues-Mortes. Relax and recover from your travels until 4pm when we gather for our Introductions & Workshop Overview meeting follow by our first French meal at a local restaurant.

Day 2: Montpelier

We depart before dawn for the Parc Ornithologique, a natural Camargue wetlands area with one of the largest arrays of birdlife in Europe, including the famous Pink Flamingos. Our local contacts provide us with access to the park before sunrise and before it opens to the public. Capture images of birds flying at sunrise. Our guides will direct us to prime locations among the waterways and lakes to capture a variety of species, from single birds to large flocks of pink Flamingos.

We return to our hotel for meals and some downtime before heading out in the afternoon to photograph the Black Bulls of Camargue, thundering through the shallow waters of marshland, as they are herded by the Gardians on horseback – a unique and thrilling photographic experience.

Day 3: Montpelier

We start this morning with an early morning beach photoshoot with a beautiful white Camargue stallion. Capture portrait and action images of our subject rearing and running atop the sand dunes and along the beach in golden hour light.

Return to our base to clean up, eat and download images. Time allowing, Randall will cover image management and post processing tips in Lightroom before we head out in the late for another photo session of wild white horses running through the marsh. The horses are herded by the “Gradians”, Camargue Cowboys, who make fantastic subjects dressed in their traditional shirts & hats, trident in hand, surrounded by the herd as well as some close-up portraits of both the horses and the “weathered” ranchers.

Day 4: Montpelier

Another sunrise photo session with the horses running together through shallow waters. In-between the action, we’ll have opportunities to create portraits and close-ups of the horses on their own or in small groups.

In the afternoon, we head to the beach for the ultimate spectacle of the wild white horses running along the golden sand and surf, sea spray flying. We’ll shoot several drives in different directions to capture an assortment of action images in a variety of lighting conditions. There will also be another opportunity to capture “Gardian” portraits as well as more intimate photographs of the horses.

Day 5: Montpelier – Luberon

A relaxed morning to download, review or process your photos. Tap into Randall’s vast knowledge or work on your images on your own until we check out and depart after lunch for the Luberon (~ 2hr drive).

The Luberon is the rural French countryside of your imagination, characterized by strikingly picturesque hill-top villages dating back at least 1000 years

We’ll check in at our hotel and get settled before heading out to explore our first picturesque village in late afternoon light.

Day 6: Luberon

We head off early to capture another beautiful hilltop village at sunrise in the soft morning light.

Late afternoon we set off again to photograph different villages and lavender fields, offering you a wide array of varying landscapes. We also capture quaint shots in the narrow streets of the villages with their photogenic shutters and doors.

Day 7: Luberon

Today we photograph more villages and lavender fields. You can obtain a wide array of images including perched villages at sunrise and sunset, some with lavender stretching out at the foot of the village and others with wonderful views out across the valley floor with a patchwork of orchards and vineyards.

We also photograph a beautiful and still working 12th century abbey in a sublime, solitary setting, surrounded by fields of lavender, one of the most iconic sights in Provence.

Day 8: Luberon – Provence

A final early morning photo session of our little town at sunrise, with the sun warming the reddish orange colors as the sleepy village awakens.

We return to the hotel for breakfast before checking out and heading for Provence in the late morning.

Check in to the hotel upon arrival and take time to unwind and unpack.

Late afternoon, we set off for a shoot in a picturesque village, followed by an early dinner. Afterwards we’ll move to another vantage point to photograph the village with lights twinkling at sunset.

Day 9: Provence

Before sunrise, we set off to photograph the Lavender fields in the pale morning light. We will capture different views of the lavender, dotted with small stone shepherd’s huts with the mountains as a backdrop.

In the afternoon, we return to capture the beautiful purple lavender and sunflowers – a sight and scent to behold! We end the day when the sun sets over the lavender fields.

Day 10: Provence

We set off again today for the lavender and sunflower fields, but we head for different locations today, giving you the opportunity of photographing diverse landscapes with varying backdrops, providing a wide array of stunning landscape images at sunrise and sunset.

Day 11: Provence – Marseille

A relaxed morning for a leisurely breakfast before checking out of the hotel and departing to Marseille, arriving at around noon, in time to check in for your homeward flight.

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