The story behind this image

France Le mont saint Michel in the fog

Le Mont-Saint-Michel in the fog

I had visited Mont-Saint-Michel about 20 years ago and, at low tide, I was able to drive along the old road to the walls of the old town, where I easily found parking and proceeded to visit the village on foot.

Today things are much more complicated because there are about 3.5 million people coming from all over the world to visit this place. Huge parking lots have been created a few kilometers from the village and there are shuttle services that take you to visit the old town.

I am traveling with Nina (my 4-legged friend) in our van. I want to photograph the village from a distance, with the light of both sunset and dawn.

I arrive in the area in the late afternoon and, thanks to the application “Park4night” (which indicates places where you can stay for the night with camper vans), I find a place to stop where I think it will be possible to take the photographs I have in mind.

I take a few photos and have dinner with Mont-Saint-Michel framed in the window of the van.

The next morning I decide to wake up at dawn to try to get a little closer, before tourists begin filling up the place, but when the alarm rings and I look out, I find myself immersed in a thick fog.

I decide to move to change perspective and, as I approach the parking lots, I find a widening along the road where I pull over hoping that the fog will rise.

While I wait I see a flock of sheep arriving, accompanied by a “modern shepherd” with two dogs, all three on board of an ATV. After all the sheeps have crossed the road, the shepherd lets the dogs down from the ATV and they begin to lead the flock toward Mont-Saint-Michel, which to my surprise begins to become visible through the fog, allowing me to take this photograph.

48°36’58.284″ N 1°29’20.748″ W

 

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