my Canigou at sunset

As the sun sinks beyond the Pyrenees the whole horizon turns a pinky orange …

One of the fantastic things about this area of Southern France is the winter sunshine. Cold crisp days with glorious blue skies and chill chill air blowing off the nearby Pyrenees.

Then there are the sunrises and sunsets, though not so many sunrises for me recently! When the sky is cloud-less the whole horizon slowly turns a pinky orange, the full 360°. I never really understand how that happens but it makes for great photos.

Here I was just leaving St. Jean de Minervois, famous for Muscat (a sweet white wine), and I was searching for that right spot to stop and capture this view. Finally, just before the next village of Cazelles I found the perfect place.

I was so drawn by the mix of colours here that never cease to amaze me – that mixture of mauves and purples in the hillsides set against the gentle golden glow from the sunset.

This was taken using a polaroid filter, to cut through the haze and a ND grad filter to add some depth of color to the sky. It’s a 3 frame HDR.