panorama Chateau Marquessac to Beynac (Dordogne)

Larger is a must. The detail is stunning. This reminds me a little of some of Grant Woods' patchwork quilt landscapes. I love the rough brambles of trees to the left, giving a sense that not all of nature has relinquished to human hands.

Walking to the ends of the gardens of Marquessac you come to this overview, a

perfect place for a panorama. Please view this larger as the small version is like a

thumbnail.

This looks like heaven to me. Or..rather, if I had to describe how heaven should look like, this picture would beat what I would be able to recreate from scratch.

...at the end of the garden you can hear the breeze in the trees, the droning of bees, the twittering of swallows, the tearing of crisp french bread, the aroma of cheese, and the pop of the cork...A lazy summer afternoon in the Dordogne perfectly captured! Cheers, RickDB

To be in France in summer....! Alfredo

Combine Rick's prelude with this gorgeous image and I feel like I'm there... Mike

 

 

Has to be seen large Dennis and even than, I wish it was larger still for better details.... I like the panoramic mode that present the two sides of landscape, the natural growth on the L and the human touch on the R. I like as well your high point of camera, and blue sky. A great corner to visit and explore. ;-))

.... wow, this is "pals" comment. Great to see you folks posting on this "bagatelle".

 

Jeff, so much of France has that "quilt" landscape feeling ... go to Google Earth sometime and just go over the French countryside. It is amazing that the country is so well ordered but has wilderness and wild savage countryside at the same time. I think the French like their "sauvage" countryside a great deal. I'll defer to Pascal on that.

 

Pascal, welcome back from France and your guests! In a month or so, you'll be visiting in Massachusetts and we can really have a talk! Can't wait. As you know, the Dordogne is my "omphalos", the center of my world. I just posted a panorama of the exact spot! So I have to agree with you completely ... this is how I would make the Earth and Heaven had it been in my power. Henry Miller called it the "Cradle of Poets" ... here are his words:

 

"I believe that this great peaceful region of France will be a sacred spot for man, and when the critics have killed off the poets this will be the refuge and the cradle of poets to come. France will someday exist no more but the Dordogne will live on just as dreams live on and nourish the souls of men."

 

Rick, you have been there and you know exactly. Swallows were indeed darting about, les hirondelles. As to the epicurean part of your fantasy, that came later, by the river Dordogne that you see in this shot, just downstream from Josephine Baker's legendary Chateau des Millandes. But there were still swallows and a breeze in the trees. BTW Rick, forgot to ask: when you were in France, did you find out the information about your family?

 

Alfredo, salut to that. Wouldn't it be nice. This begins, in late May, the perfect time. Ah, but I shall wait until September :)

 

Mike ... wish we could all be there. I'd pour the wine, you can pass around the sausages and cheeses. Lay down in the grasses and watch the clouds float by. With this group, I'd bet we'd see some real interesting forms in those clouds:)

 

Pnina, in full size (over 7000 pixels across) it is indeed stunning. It was funny, CS3 could not automatically align the images like normal, it had to be done by hand. The reason? The 24TS aligned the image EXACTLY. The two images were perfectly aligned on the vertical seam without sharing a single line of pixels. As for the shot, I'm not one for walking (unlike Mike Mancil), especially uphill, but PJ and I hiked for about 45 minutes to get to this spot, lugging all of our photo gear as well (well, PJ was burdened with most of the gear - shameful - because I had hurt my shoulder ... at least, that was my story:). But we got there and it was worth it, completely. Thanks for your comments and I'm glad you liked the shot. So, will we see you in December? Pay attention, Jeff.

For a moment I thought I was browsing at the French Tourism site. This is an excellent perspective and spectacular is a description that falls short when looking at your composition. It feels like opening the first page of an enchanting book. I really wish I could be here. Bravo!

... the gang is really showing up. Word must be out that there's going to be a picnic soon :) My vote is for Adan to cater. Thanks for your kind words, Adan, glad you like the shot. It is an amazing part of the world ... I know you've been to Paris, but have you spent time in the French countryside?

Jamais, mais je veux visiter la campagne dans l'avenir.

...Visited St. Ambroix, a charming medieval town where, according to the story, we had an estate, but the protestant cemetary is now the site of the gendarmerie. We talked with le marie and he gave us the name of a local historian. Then went to the hamlet of Boisson, found some Boisson "relatives?" in the grave yard - but no Du Boisson. Le marie de Boisson was not available - so we will just have to go back! Cheers, RickDB

... Boisson/Allegre-les-Fumades is the village in the Gard, right? The ruined chateau there is Chateau de Boisson.

 

Here is a description:

 

Architecture civile

Ruines du chateau 13eme et de l'enceinte (IMH), au milieu des bois.

Ancien chateau de Boisson 15eme : tour ronde et tour carree (hotel-restaurant-camping).

 

The current Chateau de Boisson is a camping spot and can be seen if you google Boisson/Allègre-les-Fumades. I found an old French map of the area and you can see the marking "Boisson" with an indication of a chateau. For reference, there is a clip of the Google map showing the same places today. The map, incidentally, is the Carte de Cassini, a very detailed 18th C map of France. You can find it on the net at http://quid.notrefamille.com/v2/services_cassini .

 

On the image that I've put together, you can see La Begude just SW and Saint Julien des Cassagnes due west (I've marked them with circles). Just to the left of the Cassini "Boisson" is the marking for a chateau.

 

This was fun!

As always, the detail is amazing.......it appears a little dark though, could just be my monitor. It is a stunning scene. I think I'll print this really large, drink some wine and then roll around on top of it...................

...I've posted some pics of St. Ambroix and Boisson here:

http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=835657

 

Cheers, RickDB

I know I said something like this before, but is really nice to see you trying a different venue; and finding that your proficiency goes beyond Romanesque architecture, and into the overexploited realms of landscape photography; with out loosing your edge and masterfulness. Congratulations on a superb compositional essay and a wonderfully achieved panorama, the image is just as amazing as the place itself. Cheers!

... Tim, I've got a brand new 24" Apple Cinema display and it is such a wonderful bright thing that maybe I'm pushing the images. I've heard that about the latest shot of Saint Eutrope. So, I just looked at the shot again and you might be right. For the time being I'm going to recalibrate with the brightness down a bit, see how that works. Thanks for the heads up. As far as the "rolling around" is concerned, my personal opinion is that if it floats your boat, be my guest :)

 

Rick, what a place, Boisson, eh? I'm going to spend more time on the images. This is France to me. Years ago in the town of Souvigny-en-Sologne, the famous hunting/game area near Orleans, I had the opportunity to eat two nights in a row in a tiny but locally renowned restaurant. After the second dinner, the chef came out and joined us and we had an hour discussion. He was interested in how we found him and why we liked his food, and that led to France in general. Among the many very interesting things we discussed was the nature of France itself. "France is 50,000 villages," he said, "not towns and certainly not cities. Paris is Paris, France is France." He went on to say that to kill a village, close its school. That had happened in his village and he lamented the slow death. It was a moving encounter, as this generous man opened his heart to strangers. Wonderful end to a wonderful meal. So I am glad you found Boisson, and I hope they still have their school, that the heart still beats.

 

Juan Carlos, I've always admired those creative souls who can take seemingly anything and use their personal alchemy to spin it into creative gold. I've always leaned towards things that I needed to study, to probe, and to dig deep into. That's where I found my gold. I think my love for France guides these panoramas, not my ability to photograph. The same with the churches. Thank you for finding value in my work; coming from someone whose portfolio awes me, that is a great pleasure for me.

Hi Dennis, this Marqueyssac lookout/belvedere is probably THE best in Dordogne. And so close to Sarlat, Beynac-et-Cazenac, Fayrac, Castelnaud, la Roque-Gageac, Domme... Aaah ! I like the way you also descibed your "cuisine" experience in this traditional "terroir" region ! After 7 years of expatriation, your photos and your way of talking about France almost make me home sick ! But back to PN matters, the photo is fantastic with details ! Loic

... I guess maybe I'm sorry that you are home sick, but then again, I miss being in France every day as well. It is not too far from the time when I will move there, hopefully. I love that country and her people. And I'll have even more access to those churches!

playing some catch-up here and it's nice to see you get outside too. And while I don't like to spoil a good party I have to say this. I like the way you cropped this, it looks very good as such, great landscape it is therefore. But on my screen it looks too dark.

... the issue seems to be my new screen (24" Mac Cinema Display) ... seems to be too good and all my shots lately are appearing too dark on other screens. I've already toned the display down once, but maybe have to do it again.

As jeff put it, larger is a must. Here's another wonderful panorama. A very impressive technique.

Hi ! Dennis. Nice panoramic view, but I think this is not Beynac you can see here, but La Roque-Gageac. Beynac can be seen from the other side of the Marquessac gardens.

... no castle at the top, of course it is La Roque Gageac! Thanks for pointing it out.