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Hello there
After 4 months writing and photographingTravels with my Cake Tins, it has been a relief to get back to Retreat work once again, welcoming guests from Germany, the United States (and soon, Australia) for a group Retreat and Chez-nous ones.
Each year, spring and early summer seem to concertina ever more dramatically and now we’re seeing plants in bloom that, in the past, we wouldn’t expect to see in Scotland until July. One new addition to the soundscape around Les Saumais this year is a singing cirl bunting that, so far, has been reluctant to show itself. We are glad to welcome back Melboy - the melodious warbler - after an absence from our garden last year. Along with the nightingales, he’s someone else for the insecure blackcaps to shout their (perfectly competent) song at. Maybe these Salieris are just a little deaf.
We have both lesser and (standard) stag beetles in the garden but this is the first year a male stag beetle has shown himself, unnerving Bruno Griffon-Basset in the process. Unlike us, I don’t think he understands that it’s a privilege to share this place with so many fantastic beasts. It’s one we don’t take for granted.
With our best wishes
Charlotte and Niall
Spring 2026 Retreats in Burgundy
Our German colleague and friend, Dr Ferry Böhme, joined us recently with a group of his regular travellers for a “peak-of-spring” Retreat on our home territory in Burgundy, based in St Honoré les Bains.
As well as good humour, Ferry brings enormous technical knowledge to the table that is deployed - and shared - when photographing pretty much any subject in the natural world - and beyond.
This year, our normal canal-side location for photographing white storks at their nests was obscured by too many branches but fortunately, I had found two other locations with much clearer views, earlier in the season and we worked those instead. When you see storks leave their nest, you appreciate why they need to nest so high up: take off is less “flight” than “falling with style”.
One of the nice things about a group like this that is really interested in photography per se - rather than just, say, bird or landscape photography - is that there is a LOT we can do in this part of France. This ranges from birds to old chateaux, insect and flowers to vineyards as well as my “signature techniques” including Kaleidoscopes, Field Studio photography and Chocolate Bars. Ferry has taken up the Kaleidoscope baton now and is exploration its wider applications. It’s funny to reflect that it was another German friend, Willi Rolfes, who showed it to me in the first place, several years ago.
In our département, La Nièvre (58), we are spoilt for choice when it comes to buildings that exhibit neglect - from “in-need-of-a-lick-of-paint” to “enter at your own risk”. Somehow, these colourful, shuttered properties are more beguiling, more photogenic, than the sullen, cheap-skate box houses with suspiciously-stained harling and septic green oozing from blocked downpipes, that are a feature of many British towns these days. These are problems that even light and airy colour grading during processing can’t overcome - although it works a treat on buildings here.
St. Honoré-les-Bains, 58
St. Honoré-les-Bains, 58
Vitteaux, 21
Rémilly, 58
The Loire valley near Cronat, 71
Hard on the heels of our German group came Ann and Bill from Arizona. They did a Chez-nous with us last year, got engaged in our meadow and were now keen to see the area at the height of spring. This time, with more of a focus on the landscape, we travelled as far as Flavigny-sur-Ozerain (the setting for the 2000 movie, “Chocolat”) and famous vineyards around Beaune where, in spite of the region’s prosperity, “shabby-chic” seems to be worn by the villages almost as a badge of honour.
Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, 21
Pernand-Vergelesses, 21
When welcoming folks to this area I like to remind them that, over the centuries, cattle have kept the wolf from the door of the rural population, directly or indirectly. So, if we want to tell the story of this part of France, we’ve got to photograph cows.
White cattle have been known in our region for over 1000 years and the Charolais remains by far the most popular breed in La Nièvre. The agricultural landscape has, in many ways, been shaped for them. Small fields enclosed by dense hedgerows contain them; large solitary oaks provide shade in the heat of summer; and spring-fed ponds alive with frogs are left as watering holes for the cattle. There are statues of cows in some towns, a cow museum in Moulins Engilbert and (check the website if you don’t believe me) an annual street party in Saint-Saulge near Nevers marking the ascent of a white cow onto the church roof. Really; département 58 is cow-obsessed.
Altogether more elusive is the Aubrac, a tough breed raised for its meat, originating to the south on the Aubrac plateau in the Massif Central. But enough about cattle for now.
In spite of having surgery on her foot in recent months, Charlotte put in more than 2 consecutive weeks of 16 hour days keeping everyone fed (sometimes with Boeuf Bourguignon) and comfortable. She also washed guests’ clothes, did business accounting work, made chocolate and generally worked harder than was good for her foot. Or the rest of her. Time to find some help, I think.
“Old Masters” flower photographs
It’s a matter of some professional embarrassment that it has taken me so long to figure all this out: how to achieve that “Old Masters” look in still life photographs. Setting aside why we might want to do this, what characterises this look? Most obviously, the subject often appears to loom out of the darkness. Otherwise, the contrast is muted. I tried many ways to light my subjects with single and double diffused flash, strip boxes and square ones, but the very rapid fall-off of illumination I needed just wasn’t happening. (Incidentally, I wouldn’t recommend you try this with daylight - unless you can exclude all the light in the room except through one narrow gap. Best stick with flash: you’ll be able to use a fast sync. speed of 1/200 sec and a small aperture - f16. That means ambient light won’t be visible. Just make sure you disable Exposure Simulation Mode if you use a mirrorless camera or you won’t be able to see anything.)
Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. Still life of four tulips in a Wan-Li porcelain vase.
The answer, as it transpired, was to turn the strip box 90 degrees away from the side of the arrangement and position it slightly forward of it. The secondary diffuser, parallel to the side of the flowers, delivered the super-feathered light. The black background was provided by piece of black foam-core angled downwards at 45˚ so as not to reflect any light. One light, two diffusers, one background: how could it have been so hard?
Simple processing…
I was getting there but the image still lacked a certain “je ne sais quoi”, something that would have to be resolved in Lightroom. While I’d rather keep the specifics of the post-production as a treat for our guests, I can tell you that the out-of-favour Clarity slider in LR, with its ability to boost edge contrast, is an essential tool when you process these pictures.
…and with the special sauce added.
Do you prefer it without sauce…
…or with?
Trout, peas, broad beans & chorizo fricassée
Trout is a popular fish there in France and this fresh-tasting dish is full of flavour and colour. I like to serve some oven roasted vine tomatoes and some fresh bread on the side. It’s a good-looking main course without being very complicated to make and is lighter than a winter casserole. It’s perfect for a spring lunch.
I use fresh herbs wherever possible. They really are easy to grow, but if you can’t, don’t feel ashamed to substitute with dried herbs instead. So long as they haven’t been languishing in your store cupboard for years they will still be full of flavour.
Rainbow trout fillets, 2 with skin (roughly 150g each fillet)
Butter, 30g (1 oz)
One lemon (zest and juice)
Potatoes, 350g (12 oz) cut into small cubes. I recommend Amandine, Desiree or Charlottes for this recipe. They keep their shape well
Chorizo, 100g (3½ oz), chopped into small cubes
Petit pois, 100g (3½ oz)
Broad beans, 100g (3½ oz)
Stock, vegetable or chicken, 125ml (4½ fl oz)
Olive oil, 35ml (1¼ fl oz)
Smoked paprika 2¾g (1 tsp)
Sea salt
Ground pepper
Fresh thyme, 4-5 sprigs or dried thyme 5g (2 tsp)
And for the herby dressing:
Olive oil, 55ml (2 fl oz)
Sherry or red wine vinegar, 20ml (¾ fl oz)
One banana shallot or a small red onion
Capers, 15g (2 tbsp)
A blend of freshly chopped thyme, rosemary and tarragon 10g (½ oz)
A 20cm (8 in) soufflé dish or similar baking dish
This recipe really calls for mise-en-place so I weigh everything out first and prepare the numerous ingredients.
Make the dressing in a small pan first so that the flavours have time to infuse. You can re-heat it gently when you’re ready to serve.
Heat a tablespoon of the olive oil in the pan to a medium heat and add the shallot (or onion) and capers then sauté until they are soft.
Pour in the vinegar, let it reduce then add the herbs and remaining olive oil. Turn off the ring and leave for the flavours to infuse.
Next zest the lemon. In a small bowl, sprinkle sea salt, a grinding of fresh pepper and the lemon zest, and rub this all together. Take the fillets of fish and, using a very sharp knife, score through the skin. You can then season and put it on a separate plate ready to fry later.
Now on to the fricassée. Start by boiling the peas and beans then drain and set them aside.
Take a large saucepan, heat the olive oil then add the chorizo and fry it until it becomes crispy. Next add the cubed potatoes and mix well so they are covered with the oil. Cook them for about 5-8 minutes. Once they have started to crispen along the edges, turn up the heat, pour in the stock and bubble it on a high heat for 8-10 minutes until the liquid has almost all evaporated. Add in the peas and beans and herb mix and stir well to combine everything evenly in the pan. Season with sea salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat the butter in the pan and when its sizzling, carefully place the trout fillets, skin-side down in the pan. Pan-fry these gently for about 6-8 minutes, until the skin is crispy up golden. Carefully turn the fillets and squeeze the juice of half the lemon over the fish and cook for a further one or two minutes. Once you are satisfied that the fish is fully cooked, turn off the heat.
Making sure everything has been kept warm for serving. Put a big spoonful of the fricassée mix onto a warmed dinner plate then place a fillet of trout on top, followed by a drizzle of dressing around the plate and over the fish.
-from Travels with my Cake Tins
Charlotte x
Retreat on Islay, 19 - 26 September 2026
We’re returning to Islay for a Retreat between 19 and 26 September and still have two spaces left, if you’d like to join us. Niall is a 42 year veteran of Islay and its neighbour, Jura and rates this as one of his most productive Scottish locations for a whole range of subjects. You can download the brochure by clicking the button below to see what awaits you.
“…48, 49, 50. Coming! Ready or not!” Hide and Sheep (thank you, Sam!)
Do have a look at our 2026 (and into 2027) Chez-nous brochures If you want to progress your photography - and be treated like kings and queens - there really is nothing else like it. Let’s have a Zoom call to see what we can do for you.
Apps. for us - and you
During their recent Chez-nous Retreat, Bill and Ann introduced us to two ‘phone apps. that, in their different ways, are highly relevant to us.
Light Pollution Map does just what it suggests: it tells you how dark the night sky is, anywhere in the world. The Bortle Scale, while imperfect, has been widely adopted in the astronomical community as an index of light pollution and an indicator of how much is visible in the night sky. We were pleased to learn that our little bit of the bocage has a Class 2 rating, only just behind the darkest, least occupied places on Earth. Practically that means:
“Class 2 — Typical Truly Dark Site
Excellent for astrophotography and deep-sky observing. The Milky Way is richly structured and dramatic. Light domes from distant towns may appear near the horizon. Many serious astrophotogra-phers aim for Bortle 2 skies because they are easier to access than true Class 1 sites.”
If you want to shoot the Milky Way, visit us in summer- our meadow is a great place to enjoy it from.
And next, an app. that’s in danger of becoming a bit of an obsession. Our business, after all, puts good food (and good photography) at the centre of its offer. So it’s sensible to have information about the ingredients we buy.
That’s where Yuka comes in. And it’s much better than it sounds.
Scan a product’s bar code and Yuka provides an assessment of its nutritional value. And a fairly objective score. Here are two extremes and one surprise (given it’s essentially snack-food).
To my massive disappointment, Maltesers - a divine chocolate treat that celebrates its 90th birthday this year - scored 0/100. It’s a consolation to know that Maltesers are a good source of protein, but there may be better ones. At the other end of the scale is something that is as good for you as broccoli; organic tomato concentrate with an eye-watering 100/100. You’ll need something to put that on though, so you could pair it with some Doritos (the non-flavoured ones) which scored an unexpectedly high 78/100.
Yuka is great fun, of course, but we would really like a way to discover just how healthy fresh produce is. According to this and numerous other studies, the nutritional content of many fresh fruits and vegetables has declined alarmingly during the last 50 years. Like many people, we would love to grow a lot more of our own produce, but finding the time is another matter. Maybe there’s an app. to help us find more of it.
Bonus footage: The sunflowers that spilled their sunshine
It was a strange sight Bill, Ann and I encountered south of Decize: an unharvested field of sunflowers that had withered and now gazed down, melancholically, at a dense under-storey of buttercups.
Why weren’t the sunfowers harvested last year? Perhaps the farmer died and there was no one else to take in the crop. Perhaps the crop was too poor to justify the cost of harvesting it. It’s possible that the field is being left uncultivated for a year under an EU Set-Aside scheme and that these sunflowers have grown from seeds dropped during the previous year’s harvest.
Whatever the truth, pictures that provoke questions engage the viewer for much longer than ones where everything is laid out for us - even if the answer is to be found nowhere in the frame.
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Our best wishes, Charlotte and Niall
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