november 2019: autumn / eastern sierras

here are a series of photos made from a trip to california’s eastern sierras in november 2019.

my friends zak, phil and i took a trip up to the sierras this past november in hopes to catch the autumn colors in full bloom. due to its unpredictable weather, every day counts when chasing colors.

we explored parts of bishop and mammoth over the course of 3 days. in mammoth, we noticed immediately that we were maybe about a week too late as the leaves had started to turn brown and wither. there were a few areas around convict lake that were just past peak, which was good enough to capture some color. in bishop, we couldn’t have come at a better time! it was at full peak and the colors were outstanding. this was interesting because last year bishop peaked before mammoth! with the help of @monocountytourism, we were able to time our trip to near perfect.

note: if you don’t already, i would recommend you follow them on instagram as they give you up to date “autumn color” reports, among other useful information based on season. their page can save you a trip or two!

gear: i brought with me about 15+ rolls of 120 film and a handful of 35mm film (color & b&w), and shot all of them before the end of my trip. bummer. in hindsight, i should have brought more 35mm film and paced myself with the 120 film. all in all, i’m happy with the outcome of some of these photos.

excited to head out there again in a few weeks! its snowing a ton. :)

enjoy the photos!

-j

medium format/120 film

cameras: mamiya 7 and mamiya rz67
film: kodak portra 160, kodak portra 400, and ilford delta 3200

lake sabrina, bishop ca

35mm film

camera: contax g2, 28mm lens
film: kodak portra 400, and kodak tri-x (400tx)

I love Gordes.

The sights, sounds, and smell. All of it. The homes and buildings are made with white stones and it’s perched on top of a hill facing the Luberon. The charming cobblestone roads, narrow alleys, and window shopping along the cute storefronts, while inhaling the smell of fresh crepes are a few reasons why Gordes will be one of my favorite places in France.

This charming and historical village is located in Provence, about 30 miles east of Avignon, and approximately 150 miles west of Nice, which is where we were stationed for the second half of our trip to France.

Since the mid-century, movie stars and famous artists have made Gordes their home.

As we slowly immersed ourselves deeper into the village, the more we wanted to explore every nook and cranny of this beautiful place. Every intersection created curious excitement, and every turn did not disappoint.

As we were slowly walking through the village, we immediately noticed the doors and window sills, and the general decor of plants seemingly placed so perfectly.

I also really enjoy and appreciate places with historical importance. This place holds a lot of history starting back from the Middle Age-Renaissance period to the more recent WWII, when the Roman empire occupied this site and Gordes was used as a resistance village:

Here’s a quick snippet of history from Wikipedia:

“On 21 August 1944, almost a week after the beginning of the Operation Dragoon on the Provençal coast, a German patrol was attacked by the resistance. The day after, 22 August, the village was subject to violent reprisals. The Germans forced the inhabitants to enter their homes, shooting those who were late or that were not cooperating, and started to shoot from the rock on the other side with a canon and destroyed a dozen houses. On the other side of the village, the rest of the troops set fire to a chariot, pieces of wood and houses, blocking potential followers. More than twenty houses were destroyed. After the Liberation the resistance destroyed another part of the village, including the notarial house with all the archives. All this destruction brought the municipality the sad privilege to appear amongst three "stricken cities" of the Vaucluse department. By war's end, thirteen persons had been killed or executed in Gordes, twenty inhabitants had been shot by the enemy and five inhabitants were deported.”

Below is a local cemetery of past Gordiens. There is a special section in the cemetery to honor the graves of those that were martyred during the war.

We stopped for lunch at a small hole in the wall (literally) in the village and had one of the more delicious meals during our trip. It was a pasta dish with stew meat topped with some kind of mushroom sauce. I forgot to take a picture of it before it was devoured.

Just another storefront that caught our eye. It even lured adults like us in. I believe this was the only toy store in the village.

Here are a few more scenes of the village and my (pregnant) wife.

I often think about having a simpler life. Being part of a small community, with great food, coffee, art, and some pétanque, doesn’t sound bad one bit.

Residents still occupy this village! Here are a few stills of a few Gordiens playing pétanque.

Well, that’s all folks. Hope you enjoyed this quick journal entry about our trip to Gordes. I 100% recommend visiting if you’re able. Make the drive. Take your time and walk around as the sights, sounds and smells infuse your heart and soul with nostalgia even soon after you’ve left.

My wife and I are planning to write several more entries from our trip to France, and we’d love for you to subscribe below and follow along!

- jimmy

autumn in the sierras

november 2019: autumn / eastern sierras

Gordes: A village in Provence, France

Featured Posts