Photographing the Camargue Horses in the South of France

Camargue Horses running in the south of France.

The History of the Camargue Horse

Southern France is known to be the home of prehistoric horses, and the Camargue horse is thought to carry this lineage.  Archaeological finds from the Burgundy area of France reinforce this fact. This evidence makes the Camargue horse breed one of the oldest breeds in the world, having been around for thousands of years. 

Legend states that the Camargue was a present from the God, Neptune to be man's faithful companion. Then, in 1976 the French government set standards for the breed, eventually establishing a studbook in 1978.

The breed was originally bred from the Solutre Horse, the Camargue is the perfect blend of all the good qualities of the best horses in the world. When the Romans and Welsh invaded the Iberian Peninsula, Julius Caesar promoted the breeding of these horses and was in great admiration of their sturdiness for his legions.

Napoleon also made them part of his army, and it is said that paintings of Napolean show him on a Camargue Horse.

Camargue horses running at sunrise

My Experiences with the Camargue Horses

I first became aware of the breed in 2012. Photos of these beautiful animals running through marshes, and in the Medetranian Sea captivated me. I knew I wanted to see these horses for myself. 

What I wasn't prepared for was just how gorgeous these animals appeared to be by simply walking through the fields, How wonderful they appeared as they ran, and how easily they seemed to make friends with the group that I was with. 

Gardian on a Camargue Horse at sunrise

Another thing that I wasn’t ready for was the exhilaration of standing in the water and photographing a small herd of horses running right at me at breakneck speeds. The first time I was in this position, fear overtook my readiness to capture the action. your standing in knee-deep water in waders holding thousands of dollars in camera gear, it’s a foreign experience. But the thrill of witnessing this was one of the most exciting things I had photographed to that moment. 

After a few passes of the horses on your first visit, you will realize that the horses will run right past you. You will be wet from the action, the laughter will overcome you, and the ensuing image review in the back of your camera makes you so happy you made the trip to visit these horses.

Under the right guidance of an experienced photographer, you will dial in your settings of aperture and shutter speeds to capture the images you hoped to acquire during your time with the Camargue horses and bulls. It's not an easy event to photograph. There are many technical decisions to make with camera settings. There are also situational decisions to make in regards to your positioning, and you don’t know what horses to focus on. Do you want the Gardian in the image, or do you want just unbridled horses in your photo?

A Gardian runs with a group of Camargue Horses in a marsh

But that’s where repetition helps. I like to give my groups as many opportunities to revisit the horses as we can get. Multiple visits to horses in the marshes – multiple visits to the seaside – portrait opportunities – and of course, reviewing images between the photoshoots to help give people the opportunity to learn more each time they go back to spend time with the horses and bulls.

A Camargue Bull running at a ranch in the south of France

The Importance of The Camargue Bulls

The bull is, without a doubt, the king of the Camargue. The large herds are called "manades" and are bred solely for the "course camarguaise" (Camargue style of bull-fighting). The bulls are actually one of the main reasons the horse breed exists in the Camargue area. In my view, you cannot visit the area without seeing the bulls at one of the ranches.

Three Camargue Horses run in the water

This is a photographic opportunity that I always look forward to repeating. It's the perfect mix of a beautiful subject, fantastic weather, tasty food, and exhilaration that will get your heart beating. And every time I come home from a trip to the Camargue I am always satisfied with the images I have taken. 

We would love it if you would consider joining us in the south of France. To see our workshops at this location please visit our Workshops in France page. We have one trip that is about to be announced. That trip is in May of 2023… check back often as this trip will be announced by the end of July 2022.