Steve Dubois' photostream  

First light somewhere between Trausse and Caunes. Less "A Year in Provence" and more a week in Aude.

This shot was taken in the pouring rain on a half term break in the Aude region of France. Not one to pass-up a tourists-free view I managed to scramble over the rocks and stones to grab a few opportunistic shots of the four Cathar castles on this site. The wind and the rain contrived to make things as difficult as possible; this being one of the few photos to come through unscathed by the elements (or at least the offending raindrops had the courtesy of landing on a part of the frame that was easily photoshopable). I conclude that brollies are in this year!

White, wet, wild & windy...oh, and alliteratively wonderful. So why the "blooming nightmare"? Well apart from the obvious pun on field and sky, I find scenes like these so tricky to photograph.

When drawn to a location by the "long view" I feel compelled to try and cram it all in, looking to recreate the "big picture". It's just that compositionally, it's...well...a bit dull, lacking in identity, failing to do the place justice.

De-constructing the scene, there are only 4 constituent parts: flowers, trees, hill, and clouds. Just four? How hard could it be? To add insult to injury, every flower turned it's "collar to the cold and damp", bowing reverently towards the hill, away from my prying lens. Or put another way, the wind was blowing in the wrong direction!

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the moment. It was a great scene to behold and I'm so glad I passed that way. Better than being stuck on the M25 with just a limp, over-priced, pre-packed, soggy triangle of a sandwich for company.