Village on the Rhone

Taken next to the Tour de Châteauvieux in Viviers, France. Google Map link

My wife and I spent 16 days in France in June 2023 and part of the trip involved a river cruise up the Rhone River from Arles to Chalon-sur-Saone. Although a vacation, I was of course carrying my special equipment needed to create ultra-high-resolution images in case an opportunity presented itself.

One of the early stops on our river adventure was the small village of Viviers. Viviers dates to the 5th century, has the oldest cathedral in France that is still in use, and had a medieval population of 30,000. Today, there are fewer than 4,000 residents. The village is the very epitome of a small quintessential French village. Small and narrow cobblestone streets seem to go in every direction with stone staircases leading up and down between buildings. Colorful wooden shutters are everywhere.

In the part of town from the Middle Ages is a house of the Renaissance. The Maison des Chevaliers, the House of the Knights is a four-story house with a beautiful façade. Its exact age is unknown but is it known that the façade was installed in 1546 by one Noël Albert. This building and its façade can be seen in great detail in this photo.

As our ship would arrive before sunrise in Viviers, I had plans to photograph the town at sunrise, but I was uncertain where to be. After doing a little research, I decided to photograph it from the hill above at the Statue de Joannade (a point visible in this photo high above to the left). After hiking to the top of the hill and photographing the town at sunrise, I returned to our ship to have breakfast with my wife, after which we set out together to explore and enjoy the town.

It was during that delightful walkabout that we came across the elevated Tour de Châteauvieux. The view of the village from there was wonderful and I knew then that my day in Viviers would involve the capturing of two ultra-high-resolution photos. I returned to the ship, collected my gear, and set out again for the Tour de Châteauvieux viewpoint to capture all the images needed to create this VAST photo. In the end, this lovely photo of such a beautiful little French village turned out to be one of the highest-resolution photographs I have produced to date. When I’m shooting the thousands of photos required to assemble such a work, I can’t always take the time to examine what is in each and every frame as I work repeatedly across the scene. As such, there are always wonderful surprises to discover once the final image is assembled. The tattooed Frenchman enjoying the view is one such discovery when zooming in and exploring the image at 100%. If you get a chance to visit Viviers, I would highly recommend it. Until then, you can still explore the village through this ultra-high-resolution photo.

Photo Information: A very high-resolution photograph taken at the Tour de Châteauvieux in Viviers, France, a historic, elevated lookout point offering panoramic views of the medieval town, the Rhône valley, and in the distance, Mont Ventoux. Located in the Ardèche department, this site features restored 1600s-style architecture.

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