Ben Jenkins Photography

Projects · Occitanie · September 2026

France

L'Hexagone

France's south is a patchwork of vineyards, olive groves, and wild scrubland, dotted with hilltop villages built from the same pale stone as the hills beneath them. This collection begins in one of them: Vézénobres, in the Gard, photographed over a single September evening as the sun went down across the valley.

Photographs
33
Places
1
Shot
September 2026
Sections
Vézénobres

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Vézénobres

The Medieval Village

Vézénobres is built on a steep hill above the Gard countryside, and has been lived in continuously since the Middle Ages. Its main street winds from the western gate down toward the valley, and the alleys, stairways, and arched passages that branch off it lead to quiet residences, overgrown terraces, and old ruins.

The Western central gate of Vézénobres looking towards l'Grand Rue (Main Street) going West.
The opened window of a residence above the Western Gate.
L'Grand Rue flowing East through the town center.
The motto of France displayed on a shield above the entrance to a building used by the government.
Green shutters opened to the gentle wind of the early evening.
The sides of different buildings on l'Grand Rue. Note the different styles of construction in stonework, window arches, and window panes. These have changed over centuries of existence and repair.
Two ends of a building on l'Grand Rue being warmed by the evening sun.
A thin alleyway ('impasse' in French) leading to a quiet residence.
The side of a disused building slowly being reclaimed by nature.
L'Grand Rue weaving eastward - down the large slope Vézénobres is built upon - towards the countryside.
A young woman reading a book on stairs going down toward the valley.
A tall corridor leading to a verdant alleyway.
The old and overgrown arched roof outside the corridor, and a series of plants growing in and around the roof.
Thick vines, tall branches, and many other green wonders bursting into life along a residential terrace above the old arch.
The countryside surrounding Vézénobres beneath a blue sky.
The countryside surrounding Vézénobres through an exposed window.
An alleyway leading west toward Vézénobres' western gate. Though the village is normally quiet, virtually all of the rooms behind the closed, wooden shutters are inhabited.
A curious cat watching passersby.
A storied façade with many windows bathed in the evening's light.
An old residential door weathered by many knocks and bruises.
A winding road leading up to l'Grand Rue's Western boundary.
The side of a building painted by the gentle rays of the setting sun. It is common to walk by buildings with open shutters like these and hear the clinking of glasses, the laughter of couples, and the conversation of families at the dinner table.
The window of a residential building on l'Grand Rue peeking out from a blooming growth covering its ancient wall.
The sunset peeking around the corner of a side street branching off of l'Grand Rue.
An old stairway leading up toward the top of Vézénobres' hill. Many of these alleyways and passages don't lead to connected passages, but to steep hillsides and overgrown areas.
A view of l'Grand Rue looking Westward.
The side of the village's Temple. Southern France is the primary remaining area where Protestant Christianity is disproportionately practiced. These Protestants call their houses of worship 'Temples,' not 'Churches,' and thus take after their Huguenot forefathers.
An informational board telling the history of Vézénobres and the surrounding region.
A view of the sunset over the countryside.
Residential houses merging with a large ruined building.
Pink clouds and blue skies behind the ruined building.
Another view of the sunset over the valley.
A residential door partly covered by vines.