The White Horses of Camargue

In southern France, in the Camargue area, one of the oldest horse breeds in the world roams the wetlands and marshes. I’ve always wanted to photograph these horses galloping through the water, an iconic image of this location. I had my opportunity in May and what an incredible adventure it was. Photographing a group of running horses headed towards you is very exhilarating and being very close to them as they charge by, like in the image above, is a bit intimidating. Born with black and dark brown coats, they turn white as they reach adulthood.

These horses are strong as well as beautiful and capturing them in action was a joy.

This area of France offers other photographic opportunities including the nature park, parc ornithologique PONT de GAU, a preserve for a tremendous number and variety of birds. Hundreds of flamingos gather there and the park contains numerous rookeries for herons and egrets. The park is a bird photographers dream.

As a bonus during this trip, it happened to be the same week as an annual gypsy festival in the town of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer. Thousands of gypsy’s from around the world gather here to celebrate their patron saint and hold processions through the town.

A final session with the horses at sunset produced this image and a wonderful memory of this visit to France.

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