UBAC's hollydays
Flying back and forth for a few days adds enormously to your carbon footprint. That's why, at UBAC, we try as much as possible to choose shooting locations in France, in order to remain sustainable. Today, we'd like to introduce you to our latest shooting locations, which might inspire you to go on a more eco-friendly holiday in France, and one that's just as much of a change of scenery!
For our first two destinations, we're heading to the Hérault region of Occitanie. Situated in the south of France, this region is centred around the city of Montpellier and is packed with breathtaking sights.
Cirque de Mourèze
This incredible place requires a bit of a climb, but it's well worth the diversions. Just a fifteen-minute walk and you'll find yourself in a magical place, very reminiscent of the Dolomites in Italy.
That's why we chose it: the rocky environment is the perfect backdrop for our VOLKAN trainer, which is designed to take on this kind of ground while remaining comfortable and lightweight.
For this shoot, we had to take all our photo and video equipment to the middle of the rocks. The path is, as we said, a bit steep, and it was no mean feat, especially with two pregnant women in our team at the time. But the result lives up to our expectations, and we don't regret the trips to the truck or the cold and wind!
We also chose the Mourèze circus because of its proximity to our second shooting location, which is completely different. This meant we could cram the two sessions into two days, which again meant we didn't have to go back and forth.
Le lac du Salagou
After the Dolomites, the planet Mars, otherwise known as the Lac du Salagou. Just a few kilometres apart, these two places have nothing in common. It's this diversity that makes the Hérault a holiday paradise in France!
We'd spotted some 'beaches' on the internet that matched our vision perfectly. But when we got there, it was a different kettle of fish. The lake is very big, and it takes a long time to get around it, even by car. We'd like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the manager of the water sports centre for helping us find out which part of the lake it was.
Once we'd found the place that matched our inspiration photos, we were able to create an atmosphere between ochre and water that was perfect for our AXOLO LIN trainers collection.
At the end of our shoot, on the way home and just before the sun went down, we came across a beautiful cactus-filled spot by the side of the road. We stopped there spontaneously to create some more beautiful images that looked like they had come from the Red Planet. Sometimes you have to leave room for improvisation!
Change of department, but not of region. For our third destination, we're staying in Occitanie, but in the Lot, which inspired us to shoot our Mesclat collection.
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie
The mesclat capsule is made from a fabric of 50% wool and 50% hemp. All the textile production stages are located in the Occitanie region. That's why we chose Mathieu and Camille, who we'll introduce to you in a later article, as the models for this shoot.
Mathieu welcomed us in the afternoon on the banks of the Lot. We were able to swim and share our artistic vision. The aim was to showcase the natural beige colour of hemp and wool in an authentic setting.
He invited us to create the images just behind his house, in a small clearing full of lichen and tall grass, and little butterflies that were a little intrusive. The outfits worn by Camille and Mathieu during the shoot were loaned to us by Atelier Tuffery, who we'd like to thank for their support. A shoot that's 100% Occitan!
We hope we've given you some ideas for holidays in France.
In any case, we're very proud of the images we were able to produce with the help of our models and Kraaps, the best photographer! Soon, we'll be revealing some very different images, all taken in France.