Context

There was an interesting discussion about setting/context on Kendall's journal the other day. I've been taught, "Keep it tight and bright!" -- that is, fill the frame with your subject and exclude anything irrelevant, while exposing correctly for the subject. But sometimes empty space works too, and rules are made to be broken. I liked the sky here, and the mazet (a hut used for storage of tools and shelter from the elements), with its fig tree for shade and sustenance, is shown in its context of vines. Hard to get away from that context here.

This morning was the ceremony of 8 May (Victory in Europe, 1945), which is commemorated in every commune in France. A friend commented that while she wasn't in favour of celebrations of militarism, she considered it her civic duty to be there because it's part of the life of the village. Sylvain, an elderly neighbour, was moved to a few furtive tears when the mayor recounted the story of Sylvain's father, who had been captured by the Nazis, but unknown to his family had escaped and joined the resistance. Not knowing if he was alive or dead, they kept a barrel of rosé in the barn, ready to open when he returned -- and return he did, in 1945, so the barrel was duly opened and drunk.

After the ceremony we of course emulated this by repairing to the mairie for an aperitif in the sunshine. I noted that a) there were fewer people than in previous years and b) I knew almost everyone, because the inhabitants of the new houses on the edge of the village don't come to any village events. Sad.