The Mende Nature Photo Festival is being held at the Mende events space until Sunday, September 15, 2024.
Until Sunday, September 15, 2024 in the late afternoon, the Mende Nature Photo Festival is held at the events space, on the Place du Foirail in Mende. This is its fourth edition, a second life for a photo festival previously set up in the Cévennes. It finds a beautiful setting there, according to both the visitors and the exhibitors of this major event dedicated to nature photography.
Upstairs, where visitors enter this year, are exhibited the photos of the eighteen competing photographers, those whose work walkers have been able to admire an excerpt from along the Lot since the beginning of the summer, or at the Halle au Blé. On the ground floor, you can discover other photographs, workshops, exhibitions, information stands run by nature preservation partners, organizations, associations, and craftsmen. There are so many things to see and learn, and even insects to observe under a microscope!
MIDI LIBRE – STEPHANIE BOULOIR
This edition benefits from the presence of three sponsors, three renowned photographers. And they too are won over by this festival.It is starting to register among the big shows in the country. And I have done some!“, confides Laurent Echenoz, a photo of whom adorns the festival poster. Denis Palanque confirms, emphasizing the work of the volunteers: “They are very attentive. What emerges from this festival is a real emulation. It is a very high level festival..” “We have a beautiful setting, the photos are well highlighted“, appreciates Nicolas Orillard-Demaire.
The Braided Rivers of Marie Levillain
Photographer Marie Levillain discovers the Mende photo festival. Originally from Perpignan, she settled in Lozère two years ago. A sommelier by trade, she boarded a cruise ship four years ago and set sail for the Seychelles. She decided to buy a drone to take some photos for her loved ones. Covid arrived, the crew disembarked. Marie Levillain only thinks about taking pictures. Now her father’s passion, which she had long wanted to ignore, catches up with her! With a drone or a camera, she is fully invested in it. At the festival, she exhibits a series of photographs of braided rivers taken by drone, in Iceland and New Zealand. She explains her work to visitors attracted by these photos that seem like paintings, explains the phenomenon of braided rivers that weave these incredible landscapes. And here comes a young visitor, who follows Marie Levillain on Instagram (roamwithmarie) and who seizes the opportunity to come and talk about her work with the photographer.
And all three, like the other exhibitors, are delighted with the exchanges they can have with weekend visitors or with the schoolchildren who came on Friday.”We are not the only spokespeople for this beautiful nature, estimates Laurent Echenoz. Nature belongs to everyone. We are here to share it.” “It is important. We are also here to raise awareness about the environment.”insists Nicolas Orillard-Demaire. A leitmotif that unites all the participants in this festival, a true ambition that goes beyond all clichés.
