France archives - Eckart Mayer Photography

Four white plastic tables and chairs fully covered by fresh snow

Snow tables and chairs

Even ordinary plastic chairs and tables may become interesting motifs for photoshoots. One way to do that is to find an unusual perspective. Before drones became mainstream, aerial views were not that easy, and usually required flying or at least an elevated position. The other ingredient could be a special setting or something extra, like snow. I took this image during a skiing trip to the French Alps from our hotel room. (Les Trois Vallees, France, March 1993 - Image ID 199303-FR-01)

Two water bottles and glasses with lemon and ice on striped table cloth

Summer refreshment - Drinks with lemon and ice

Even an afternoon refreshment can easily become a photo model. In one of the countless cafes we ordered some drinks. After a few re-arrangements the glasses, bottles and spoons became their own piece of art on the two-colored tablecloth. (Cannes, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-14)

Three trees with red, yellow and green leaves on alpine meadow

Autumn trees traffic light - Photo painting

Even though we travelled the "Route des Grandes Alpes" in the mid of summer, some trees already wore their autumn outfit. One of my personal photo highlights is this natural traffic light of three different trees with the usual colors of our most important road signal. And no, I didn't change the colors in Photoshop. The credit for this piece of art goes to Mother Nature!

Almost full moon rising above red rocks with pine trees

Moon rising above colorful red rocks and pine trees - Photo painting

Later in the evening, I took this photo from a different angle and perspective. The moon nicely rises above the red colored rocks and some pines still illuminated a little bit by the sun. (Cote d'Azur, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-17)

Side view of Pont du Gard aqueduct on a rainy summer day

Pont du Gard aqueduct on a misty rainy summer day

The final attraction on our road trip was a historic one. The Pont du Gard, built by the Romans in the first century, is one of the best preserved aqueducts. With almost 50m, it is also the tallest, and has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Unfortunately, there were no blues skies and sunshine for our visit. But we could still enjoy the magic of this impressive monument, and walk over it to the other side. (Pont du Gard, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-24)

View over Sainte-Croix lake into the steep Verdon gorge

Verdon gorge with lake of Sainte-Croix

One of the most famous destinations in the area is the Verdon gorge, sometimes also referred to as the "Grand Canyon of Verdon". This spectacular gorge is up to 700m deep, and around 25km long. At the end, the river with its fresh turquoise water feeds the artificial lake of Sainte-Croix. (Gorges du Verdon, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-22)

Sun illuminated river flowing through forested mountain valley

Idyllic and densely forested river valley

Moving away from the Cote d'Azur, there are a number of very scenic natural parcs with lots of well maintained and signed hiking trails. We made full use of this opportunity, and explored a number of picturesque river valleys. (Southern France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-19)

Dark thunderstorm clouds over calm turquoise mediterranean sea

Threatening storm clouds over the Mediterranean

After several days in high mountain areas of the Route des Grandes Alpes, it was nice to finally arrive at the sea. However, the Mediterranean welcomed us with quite a threating dark sky and thunderstorms. (Cote d'Azur, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-10)

Yellow house wall with painted window and reflection

Window plus window reflection on a yellow wall

During our walk through the streets of Cannes, I spotted this interesting and colorful wall with a painted single window. Thanks to the afternoon sunshine, there was an interesting reflection of another real glass window right next to it. (Cannes, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-12)

Colorful maritime alps peak with moon on the upper right

Mountain peak with moon in the afternoon sun

The colorful rocks of the mountains alone have a lot of potential when it comes to nature photography. We were lucky enough to have a beautiful moon rising early in the afternoon that added this little extra to the images. (Cote d'Azur, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-16)

View over the city of Monaco and coastline from above

Scenic view of Monaco from above

The best place to get an overview about Monaco and its beautiful surroundings is definitely from the steep mountains rising quickly from sea level. We also visited the city itself to get a feeling for one of the smallest and richest countries in the world. (Monaco view, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-11)

Silhouette of people at the end of a tunnel made of ice

Groups of tourists exiting the Aiguille du Midi ice tunnel

To access the most spectacular viewpoint, upon exiting the cable car, visitors had to pass a tunnel through the ice. Not sure if this tunnel still exists with all the climate change and meltdown of the alpine glaciers. At that time, I truly enjoyed this unique experience. (Aiguille du Midi, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-02)

Cat with white and brown fut sleeping on stray with closed eyes

Siesta time - Cat chillout

On the way towards the Cote d'Azur, we passed a lot of mountain villages, where we also stayed over, and bought local products. As usual, I went to explore the area, and found this beautiful cat taking a relaxed afternoon nap. (Route des Grandes Alpes, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-05)

Alpine mountain panorama view from Aiquille du Midi

Aiguille du Midi alpine peaks panorama

From the Aiguille du Midi, one can enjoy a breathtaking panoramic views over the French and Swiss Alps. At the time of our visit in July, there was quite a lot of snow. Together with the intense sunshine and the deep blue sky, this place felt quite magic. (Aiguille du Midi, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-01)

Wild mountain stream flowing down a valley full of rocks

Mountain stream on the Route des Grandes Alpes

You might have heard the saying: "The journey is the destination". This is particularly true when travelling the "Route des Grandes Alpes". This epic roadtrip from the Lake Geneva to the Cote d'Azur crosses 16 mountain passes with an incredibly diverse landscape. Streams and waterfalls are regular companions on this trip. (Route des Grandes Alpes, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-03)

Clouds rising from a mountain valley on a rainy day

Route des Grandes Alpes - Above the clouds !

One of the benefits of crossing six mountain passes at altitudes above 2.000 meters is that sooner or later one may end up above the cloud cover, or at least some individual clouds. Watching them slowly rising with the thermal winds is quite relaxing. With a bit of sunlight, lots of photo opportunities arrise... (Route des Grandes Alpes, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-08)

Close-up of untamed stream flowing over cascades of rocks

Refreshing alpine mountain stream close-up

Zooming in on the fresh and clear cascades of one of the mountain streams reveals the beauty of the untamed alpine nature. I especially like the contrast between the smooth texture of the flowing water and the hard sharp rocks. (Route des Grandes Alpes, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-04)

Two green painted windows with blinds on a yellow wall

Rural village windows - Closed vs. Open

On the way towards the Cote d'Azur, we passed a lot of mountain villages, where we also stayed over, and bought local products. As usual, I went to explore the area, and discoverd a lot of colorful walls and windows making the houses a very picturesque experience. (Route des Grandes Alpes, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-06)

Mountain forest with V-shaped pine tree on a foggy day

V-shaped pine tree in misty mountain area

Theoretically, as a photographer one could stop a few hundreds times, since the "Route des Grandes Alpes" has so many amazing natural treasures to offer just next to the road. Obviously, this would require a lot more time than we had available. So I focused on the most attractive models, such as this V-shapes pine against a misty mountain background. (Route des Grandes Alpes, France, July 1993 - Image ID: 199307-FR-07)

About this archive

The France archives contain most of the images that I have taken in this country. For some French locations with quite a lot of photos, however, I have created a separate portfolio, e.g. for Brittany

France was amongst the first foreign countries for me to visit. The reason was simple. The small town where I grew up had a partnership with a city near Paris. So at the age of 14, I participated in an exchange visit. Excited about seeing all those famous landmarks, I borrowed the Agfa Isola camera from my parents, and captured my first travel impressions. And I decided to study French as one of the main subjects at high school.

For about 15 years then, France became one of my favorite holiday destinations. During multiple trips, I explored various regions of this diverse country. Apart from the rich cultural heritage, I also enjoyed the natural beauty including mountains and coastal areas.

Unfortunately, after the third incident with my car being stolen or broken in, I got fed up and decided to skip this destination for a while.

It's only recently that I have started travelling to France again, since there are still a lot of places to discover. And there are highlights from previous trips that I would like to revisit. So please stay tuned, there will be a lot more photos from France coming up on this website.

Please enjoy scrolling through my France archives.

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