Should you’ve ever camped in France, you may know the sensation. The half-open caravan doorways. The scent of pasta effervescent on transportable stoves. The mushy hum of close by conversations. And the random greetings out of your fellow campers. Tenting is intimate and barely bizarre at instances, but splendidly human. And in Tenting Flash, French photographer François Prost captures all of it, precisely as it’s.
Since 2022, Prost has been travelling throughout France’s pleasant campsites, digital camera in hand, making a vivid sequence of flash-lit portraits of campers, alongside quietly telling particulars and scenes that reveal a tradition many know instinctively, however few have ever actually stopped to look at. The result’s a physique of labor that’s each a deeply private doc of his adventures.
France, in any case, is the champion of tenting. Mainland France alone accounts for almost one-third of all tenting pitches in Europe, highlighting how deeply rooted this vacation custom is in nationwide life. Whereas amenities might have advanced (in most locations) and luxury ranges have risen, the spirit of tenting hasn’t modified a lot in any respect.
Behind caravan doorways and motorhomes, Prost finds a lifestyle that’s “directly atypical and engaging”. Folks reside in T-shirts or swimsuits, sleep metres from their neighbours, cook dinner meals dealing with each other, and stumble upon strangers every night on the communal washrooms, toothbrush in hand. It is shut. Communal. And it is one of many final locations the place a easy however intense type of sociability nonetheless exists.
For Prost, this world can also be deeply acquainted. “I used to go tenting as a child with my mother and father in the course of the holidays, then later with my mates as a youngster, and now I typically go along with my children as a mother or father. I do not spend all my holidays tenting, however I wish to spend just a few nights beneath a tent yearly. I benefit from the simplicity of it — sleeping in a tent, cooking fundamental meals like spaghetti with sardines and tomato sauce occasionally.”
That lived expertise reveals. His pictures do not poke enjoyable or romanticise. As a substitute, they observe with heat and honesty, discovering humour within the on a regular basis moments that campers themselves barely discover anymore. And there is loads of humour to be discovered. “Tenting is filled with humorous moments… virtually daily you may inform a comic story. However it’s typically extra about individuals’s attitudes – the way in which they discuss to you, or the unusual conditions that come from dwelling so near strangers.”
It is that closeness that defines campsite life. The rituals are common, and sometimes baffling to outsiders. “In all probability brushing your tooth in flip-flops within the communal bogs subsequent to somebody you have by no means met. Or assembly individuals – typically older {couples} – strolling round of their bathrobes on the way in which to the showers within the morning. Folks get up of their caravans and go straight to the shared amenities of their ‘gown de chambre’.”
Over time, Prost started accumulating not simply photographs, however tales. Campsites, he discovered, are filled with them.
“That is what makes tenting so attention-grabbing: the variety of individuals. More often than not, individuals are on trip, so that they’re relaxed and open to dialog.”
One apéro led to a different. “I keep in mind two {couples} of bikers I met whereas they had been having an apéro. They had been a bit sceptical at first once I requested to {photograph} them, however they ended up being actually pleasant. They advised me about their lives, their jobs, and their travels — and I even needed to insist on leaving as a result of I wanted to maintain taking pictures.”
One other encounter unfolded into one thing surprising. “I additionally keep in mind an Italian divorced father travelling together with his two daughters. He started speaking about his life, and subsequent to him had been a few painters—nomadic employees. The girl was a painter who labored within the south of France, then drove again to England to promote her work via a gallery. Throughout our dialog, she advised me she was one of many most important painters on the animated movie Loving Vincent – the one about Van Gogh’s work that was nominated for an Oscar in 2018. Her identify was Sarah Wimperis.”
Not each story is gentle, although. “Then there was a lonely man, divorced, dwelling in a caravan for work — he was an engineer on a highway building website. He talked about feeling lonely, removed from his children… You actually meet all types of individuals, with very totally different lives and tales.”
And typically, tenting delivers pure theatre. “Lately, whereas taking pictures, I met an enormous fan of Coluche, the well-known French comic from the eighties. He spent the complete photograph session doing Coluche impressions and even requested the campsite administration if he may placed on somewhat present for everybody. However it was low season, and the tenting wasn’t very full, so that they refused his proposal.”
All of this now comes collectively in Tenting Flash, a fantastically crafted ebook that includes 150 photographs throughout 174 pages, which is coming to life because of a profitable Kickstarter marketing campaign. Produced beneath Prost’s personal imprint, Flashlight Version, the hardcover publication will function a leatherette binding and hot-foil stamping, with an preliminary print run of 1,000 copies. Distribution might be dealt with by Interart in France and Antenne E-book worldwide.
Should you love the unusual but great tradition of tenting, Prost’s ebook and sequence provide a heat reminder of slower holidays, shared areas, and people fleeting connections with strangers who, for just a few days or even weeks, turn out to be a part of your life. As many people sit up for lighter nights, it is France in summer season… up shut and unfiltered… And assured to lift a smile.
