La Rocheliere — Rural France
We have owned our house in France for nearly thirty years — longer even than our place in Cape Town. Although there were a few prior photographs I liked, I felt that I should now try to take some more definitive shots of the area, using newer technology, better post-processing software, and a slightly improved photographic eye.
Our place is deep in the heart of rural France, and although quite lovely, it doesn’t have the dramatic seascapes that Cape Town enjoys. The beauty of the countryside is more subtle, and difficult to capture. It is also impacted by the French approach to farming, which is to create huge featureless fields on the one hand, or to leave woods and forests completely untended on the other.
What the area has, however, are numerous drop-dead gorgeous towns and villages tucked in along the winding river Gartempe, with spectacular abbeys, châteaux and old mills along the river banks. This album contains all my favourite photographs of the area. All the locations are within a twenty-minute drive of our farmhouse, and they remind me why we think of this place as our second home and love it so much.
Photographs in this album include: The Abbaye at Saint-Savin, Blue sunrise at Nalliers, Moulin at Nalliers, Gartempe at St Pierre de Maille, Boules in the square, The Chateau and Basilica at Chauvigny, Dark skies over the Abbaye, and more.
▸ Technical data — all 27 images
| Image | Camera | FL | f/ | Shutter | ISO | GPS |
|---|
| The Abbaye at Saint-Savin from St Germain | OM-5 | 40mm | f/10 | 20s | 320 | 46.5656°N, 0.8683°E |
| Blue sunrise at Nalliers | OM-5 | 102mm | f/6.3 | 1/30s | 200 | 46.6022°N, 0.8658°E |
| Moulin at Nalliers | OM-5 | 34mm | f/6.3 | 1/10s | 200 | 46.6011°N, 0.8658°E |
| The Abbaye tower | OM-5 | 9mm | f/10 | 1/160s | 200 | — |
| Getting the bread | E-M5 Mk II | 45mm | f/6.3 | 1/160s | 200 | — |
| Gartempe at St Pierre de Maille | OM-5 | 37mm | f/6.3 | 2s | 200 | 46.6792°N, 0.8383°E |
| Boules in the square | Sony RX100 | 37mm | f/5.6 | 1/640s | 400 | — |
| Mill at Angles sur l’Anglin | OM-5 | 9mm | f/8 | 1/40s | 200 | 46.6897°N, 0.8897°E |
| Chateau de Touffou | OM-5 | 51mm | f/6.3 | 1/200s | 200 | 46.5892°N, 0.4819°E |
| St Pierre de Maille | OM-5 | 9mm | f/8 | 1/80s | 200 | 46.6783°N, 0.8383°E |
| St Savin Abbaye bridge | OM-5 | 9mm | f/8 | 1/100s | 200 | 46.5644°N, 0.8683°E |
| Sunrise at St Savin | OM-5 | 22mm | f/8 | 1/60s | 200 | 46.5644°N, 0.8683°E |
| Angles sur l’Anglin | OM-5 | 9mm | f/8 | 1/80s | 200 | 46.6906°N, 0.8906°E |
| View from Angles | OM-5 | 9mm | f/8 | 1/125s | 200 | 46.6908°N, 0.8906°E |
| Pont de St Savin | OM-5 | 9mm | f/8 | 1/160s | 200 | 46.5644°N, 0.8683°E |
| River Gartempe reflections | OM-5 | 17mm | f/6.3 | 1/40s | 200 | 46.5644°N, 0.8683°E |
| Abbaye interior | OM-5 | 9mm | f/4.5 | 1/25s | 1600 | — |
| Gartempe at Montmorillon | OM-5 | 9mm | f/8 | 1/160s | 200 | — |
| Le Loir at Lavardin | OM-5 | 9mm | f/8 | 1/100s | 200 | — |
| Lavardin chateau and church | OM-5 | 9mm | f/8 | 1/200s | 200 | — |
| Skittish sky in Montmorillon | Nikon D600 | 14mm | f/2.8 | 1/4000s | 100 | — |
| Eglise Notre Dame from the Gartempe | Nikon D600 | 14mm | f/2.8 | 1/4000s | 100 | — |
| Boules in front of the Abbaye | OM-5 | 81mm | f/6.3 | 1/160s | 200 | — |
| The old mill at Saint-Savin | OM-5 | 14mm | f/7.1 | 124s | 200 | — |
| The Chateau and Basilica at Chauvigny | OM-5 | 61mm | f/5.2 | 1/800s | 200 | — |
| The Abbaye quarters | OM-5 | 15mm | f/5.6 | 1/200s | 200 | — |
| Dark skies over the Abbaye | Fuji X-T3 | 17mm | f/8 | 120s | 160 | — |
For camera settings, techniques and equipment used in shoots like this, see the Technique posts on mcaughtry.photo.
