Blog
Provence: Far Right Country
France is holding its breath. The first round of the presidential election is but a few days away, and it is arguably the most unpredictable one for some time. At the very least, France will see a change of president, and it is likely that he or she will be affiliated to a party that hasn’t governed before. One hot topic for the press is the unprecedented – and, for many, alarming – popularity of the far-right Front National party candidate, Marine Le Pen. Swiss Sunday newspaper NZZ recently sent me to western Provence, to the traditional heartland of le Front National in the South of France. My photographer’s mission? To go boldly forth and make portraits of the people who will cast their vote in favour of the ‘FN’ [Front National]…
Pocket of Resistance in the French Alps
The remote mountain valley of Breil-sur-Roya has something of a rebellious history. Word has it that the community once tried to make a break for administrative independence from Nice; in wartime, Jews were harboured there; it is also a rare commune in the South of France to have voted in a left-wing mayor. Now Breil-sur-Roya is rebelling again. Villagers have been breaking the law by providing shelter and food to illegal migrants who have crossed the Italy-France border on foot.
From Russia with Love
The phone call came out of the blue one evening. “Is this Rebecca Marshall, South of France photographer? I would like to invite you to Russia”. The 2016 edition of Uglich Photo Parade, one of Russia’s most prominent annual photo festivals, was being planned. With ‘France’ as one of its themes, organiser Yuliya was looking for a France-based photographer to give a workshop. So it was that I set off on an unexpected adventure that was to involve food and travel photography, street portraits, a fierce bull, elk ticks and space cheese.
How to Sell a Superyacht
Defined as a crewed yacht that is at least 24 metres long (the length of a tennis court), a superyacht comes with a price tag of over a million Euros per metre. Just filling up the fuel tank of the biggest boats can cost 200 000 €. While a private jet might be seen as a justifiable business expense (time being a valuable asset to Very Important People), a superyacht can’t be couched as anything other than pure indulgence, however imaginative one’s accountant. Yet the market is currently very healthy indeed. Last year, twice as many superyachts were sold globally compared to 5 years ago, and the French Riviera is a good place to buy one.
Behind the Veil in Nice
Strutting down La Promenade des Anglais in Nice or La Croisette in Cannes, enjoying the air / the view / the buzz of being admired or admiring: ‘flâner’ [the neat French word for this activity] is a favourite pastime in the South of France. It is a pleasure that anyone can indulge in, regardless of age, means and looks. However, when I, as photographer, was assigned to spend the afternoon with a woman wearing a niqab, I learned that strolling on the French Riviera is not always enjoyable and Nice, it turns out, looks rather different through a veil.
Lavender Production in Provence
Lavender is often seen as the quintessential symbol of Provence. Every summer, visitors flock to the South of France to see lavender fields, generating a thriving tourist trade around them. However there are still hidden areas of Provence where lavender growers are left entirely in peace. Last summer, I was chosen as photographer to join Stern magazine’s writer making a travel reportage about off-the-beaten-track lavender growing in France. The assignment involved excessive heat, mud, espionage, getting lost, getting high and pushing a van. Life as an assignment photographer is rarely dull.
Transhumance: Story of a Journey
Summer is well and truly under way in the South of France. A few weeks ago, in its anticipation, flocks of sheep across Provence were moved from lowland farms to high mountain pastures in the Alps. This annual transhumance (seasonal moving of livestock) has been a French rural tradition for over 2,000 years. Sheep, and their shepherds, spend summer where the air is cooler – and the grass actually IS greener. I packed as light a photographer’s bag as I could and joined a farmer, his shepherds, family and flock in this ritual migration. It was a rather extraordinary trip of 3 days and nights on foot.
King of the Cannes Jungle
Handelsblatt magazine chose the simple title of ‘King of Bling’ for their portrait of fashion designer Philipp Plein, and any visitor to Plein’s sumptuous villa in Cannes will quickly see why. Crossing the threshold, their first view will be of an enormous stuffed lion, frozen in an upright posture of attack. But, bravely continuing past it, the visitor will be rewarded by a wall display of hundreds of bottles of special Plein edition Moët & Chandon champagne, and a beautiful, young Pleinite waif might step out of the shadows to greet them. In his self-styled design jungle, Philipp is king – and what better place for this kind of jungle than the Côte d’Azur?
The Man Who Made Me See
A month ago, Dr Charles Ghenassia, with the aid of a laser and a very steady hand, cut open the corneas of my eyes and successfully removed the cause of my severe short-sightedness and astigmatism with his forceps (yes, literally). This man, giving me the gift of 20:20 vision, has consequently earned his place as one of the Most Important Men in my Life. So to thank Dr Ghenassia, and to mark this momentous happening as a photographer, I took my large format film camera to Nice and made a single portrait of him.
Contemporary Art in Nice
Provence has long been associated with art. Cézanne, Renoir, Chagall, Picasso and Matisse are among the many painters who have been drawn to the bright Mediterranean colours, the light and the agreeable climate of the South of France (photographers, I can attest, also appreciate these qualities…). But does a homegrown arts scene thrive on the French Riviera today, or does it depend on the legacy of its former glory? A writer from German magazine, Stern, came recently to investigate the current art scene in Nice for a travel feature, and I, photographer, was happy to join in his two day art immersion.