Honfleur in January: the quays nearly empty, low winter light grazing the facades — and a couple soon to be married. One of Normandy's most photographed harbours, handed back to the people walking through it.
This engagement session in Honfleur took place on a winter morning, a few months before the wedding. It is the session I recommend to every couple: an hour or two of photographed strolling, with nothing at stake, so that on the wedding day the camera is already an old acquaintance.
And January is a well-kept secret. Honfleur overflows with visitors in summer — in winter, the Vieux Bassin, the old harbour painted by Monet and Boudin, gets its calm back. What remains: the masts, the slate fronts, the cobblestones, and a low sun that does all the work.
The old harbour, walking
We started along the quays: walking, talking, holding hands — while I framed with whatever the town offered. The moored boats, the tall narrow houses of the Sainte-Catherine quay, the restaurant awnings adding colour even in the middle of winter. Nothing is posed: it is simply the two of them, in a town lent to them for the morning.
The lanes, and what they offer
Old Honfleur is a maze of lanes, archways and shopfronts. I like photographing through things: a railing, a reflection, a window — images that layer the town and the couple together instead of keeping them apart. That black shopfront lit by red paper lanterns was a gift: all they had to do was stand in front of it.
Winter light, last act
We finished as the sun dropped for good: the cobblestones started to shine, the facades caught fire — and the last image of the session was made right there, in the middle of an empty square, in a golden backlight no summer month offers at that hour.
If you are planning a trip to Normandy, this is exactly what a pre-wedding or engagement session can look like — in Honfleur, at Mont-Saint-Michel, or anywhere along the coast. Everything is arranged in English, from the first call to the delivered gallery.
Thank you to this couple for their trust — we met again for their wedding, on familiar ground this time.
