The perfume of purple - Exploring the lavender fields with the ICM technique.
Lavender; is the smell of calm and relaxation. The sound of buzzing bees and the crisp click of crickets. The sight, a sea of swaying purple stretching across honey-coloured stony earth. The feeling of warmth on my back as I drink in the sight of a smell I have known since childhood.
I find it fascinating to try and photograph beyond what I see, and the lavender fields of Provence in south France offered me an opportunity to create images that embrace not just the sight, but the sounds, movement and feeling of relaxation as well. It’s fascinating that whilst the fields of purple appear soft and fluffy and perfectly uniform from a distance, as you immerse yourself among the flowers, you notice how sharp and strong and straight the stems are. Almost like fountains erupting, splaying out to purple droplets balanced delicately at the very tips. Bobbing about in the wind, enticing bees to dance in unison between their scented bubbles.
Using the ICM technique offered me an opportunity to recreate the feeling of softness, uniformity and constant movement. But you will find a couple of sharp images at the end of the album which nod to the delicate and intricate nature of the tiny individual purple knots of each stem which make up the sea of purple you see before you as you stand in the fragrant lavender fields of Provence.
As I create projects to upload to my website at the moment, I am trying to complete answers to a set of questions about the project. I hope you enjoy a little look behind the scenes. If you yourself are working on a project, it might be useful to copy the questions within this blog post and see if you can answer them about your own work.
Could you sum up what the series is about/includes/features?
This series features the lavender fields of Provence. The series aims to show the beauty of this very seasonal and location-specific occurrence. I wanted to accentuate the beautiful colour of purple and use the ICM technique to show the movement and softness of the lavender, even though the crop is grown in relative order.
What prompted you to start this particular project?
The lavender fields of Provence have always been something I have been aware of, but never imagined that I might photograph. Something I admired rather than expected to get the opportunity to experience. However, when planning this year’s summer holiday, Provence came onto the table, and so I planned the holiday specifically with the hope of photographing the lavender fields. The project was fairly loose really to just ‘photograph the lavender’!!! I just love colour in my photography, and having photographed the bluebells in the spring, this project seemed a perfect combination.
Where were you shooting? How did you choose the locations?
These images were made in Provence. I was staying in a small village called Mollans-sur-Ouveze, and most of the images were made on a day trip from the house where we were staying. I also made some images on the way to the airport. Initially I googled ‘the best’ lavender photos in Provence. But I quickly realised most were a 2-3 hour drive away, and then in reality I didn’t just want to replicate what everyone else had made anyway. So, I found a circular road trip route from our holiday cottage and then used Google Maps with the aerial photography option to look for the locations of lavender fields on the route. We then took the car and explored. I found the best locations were those with simple backgrounds, or with something of interest. Otherwise, I kept the background out of my images.
Over what period were the photographs taken?
All these images were made on just two days. I was limited to the opportunities to visit the lavender fields as they were not right on my doorstep! Next time I might plan a holiday house closer to allow me to go out more often over the time I was there.
Did you have particular shots in mind, or did the idea develop as you went along?
In my mind, I just wanted to make photos of lavender – nothing more complicated than that! I knew I wanted to explore the lines of the lavender, but also make images that got a bit more personal and closer up to show the details. I love ICM, and wanted to explore making images with the ICM technique to bring an impressionistic feel to the images which matched with the influence of Van Gogh. It was very different looking down into the fields than actually being in them. From a distance, the regularity, pattern and order were a strong element. When I got closer, I found the sounds of bumble bees and the bouncing of the individual heads of heather in the wind were what inspired the images I created.
What did you enjoy most about creating the series?
I loved the opportunity to explore something so beautiful. Immersed among the heather the smell was just amazing, something quite hard to bring into the images, but it definitely made the photography experience a relaxing one! I loved the opportunity to explore whatever took my notice. When I was among the lavender I noticed how straight and strong the stems were, each plant was like an exploding fountain, I loved trying to replicate that with my ICM style. Some of my locations required a bit of thought with regards the composition, when the backgrounds did not add to the images, I enjoyed the freedom to explore every opportunity without worrying if my images were what anyone else would expect.
What were the main challenges?
I started this project with no expectations on the end result. However, only shooting in the middle of the day, and on locations we found rather than those that were known as ‘good’ photographic locations did offer challenges. I was also managing my photography around a ‘family’ holiday, and anyone who has tried to do that before will know that was probably the biggest challenge! Also, deciding on which images to share. I made some beautiful sharp images of close up lavender heads, that in the end I felt I just had to include in the otherwise ‘ICM’ album. I have a whole set of sharp images which I also love, I’m just not sure where to share these at the moment – maybe I need to make a book with them all in!
I hope you have enjoyed this walk through my lavender photography experience, and that the answers to the questions give a little insight into my challenges and enjoyment of the image creation process.
While I was in Provence, I also enjoyed following the trail of Van Gogh painting locations. You can see my attempt at recreating his Starry Night in my own unique way here.
