Michele Borgarelli, BPSA  

Aigues Mortes Salina by Michele Borgarelli, BPSA

August 2026 - Aigues Mortes Salina

About the Image(s)

This image may be just a snapshot, but it holds special significance for me. It was taken on the first day I picked up a camera after being diagnosed with cancer, making it part of a deeply personal return to photography.

Aigues-Mortes, in the Camargue region of southern France, is a remarkable historic site that once served as a strategic coastal defense point. Surrounded by vast marshlands and extensive saltworks, the area is particularly known for its striking pink salt lagoons.

Photographed from the roadside, the image was cropped to a 3:2 aspect ratio to emphasize the character of the landscape. I sought to convey the minimalist atmosphere of the location by using the expansive sky as negative space. Apart from the crop and a modest 7% increase in saturation, the photograph remains essentially unchanged from the original capture.

Fujifilm GFX 100Sii, with Fujinon GF 50 mm f/3.5. f/16, 1/125 sec, ISO 80

8 comments posted

John Zhu   John Zhu
This is a good photo of a minimalist style. It has a good color contrast and minimalist composition. Good to hear your back to pursuit what you loved. So much advancements in medicine, all will be fine.   Posted: 08/08/2026 17:11:15
Michele Borgarelli   Michele Borgarelli
thank you John for taking the time to look and comment on my image.

best wishes

Michele   Posted: 08/17/2026 07:39:35
Spring Zhang   Spring Zhang
It's a snapshot like you said, without your explanation I would not know what's in the photograph. I first thought the purple in the foreground is a field of lavender without my reading glasses; I thought it's a lavender farm with the white structure in the background being a green house. You said the lagoon is pink, but it appears purple in the photo. The blue in the sky also seems a bit unnatural to me. Maybe the color in the original photo is vivid enough already, no saturation is needed? It does sound like a very meaning photo to you, that's all it counts. Best wishes for your treatment and recovery.   Posted: 08/09/2026 19:22:18
Michele Borgarelli   Michele Borgarelli
Spring, I'm happy to see that you put on your reading glasses and took a second look at the image... ????
The lagoon is indeed reported to be pink, although the color of the algae can change throughout the day depending on the light conditions. In fact, the place is quite popular because of this phenomenon.
Regarding the color, as I mentioned before, I use the Velvia color setting from Fuji, and this is exactly the effect I am looking for. I recently discovered the contemporary photographer Harry Gruyaert, one of Magnum's most talented photographers (https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/harry-gruyaert/). He uses color in a very bold and expressive way and I refer to him for my color work.

All the best

Michele   Posted: 08/17/2026 09:57:27
Tom Buckard   Tom Buckard
Michele, we emailed a little about this image. DON'T STOP SHOOTING...   Posted: 08/16/2026 23:31:26
Michele Borgarelli   Michele Borgarelli
Hi Tom, yes we did. Thank you for your kind words!

best

Michele   Posted: 08/17/2026 09:57:54
Nigel Dalton   Nigel Dalton
An unusual subject but well seen taken. The minimalistic approach works well here. Velvia is too pronounced for my stuff, I almost always use Provia but I can see the attraction for sure. Stay Strong!
  Posted: 08/17/2026 15:00:16
Dennis Lee   Dennis Lee
Hi Michele, I was not expecting to see the vivid pink salt water, so much so that I had to look up Aigues-Mortes. It is definitely very visually interesting location. The violet-pink water works well against the deep cobalt sky and acid-green foreground. I love the minimalism in this landscape with a strong negative space and industrial elements. I'd think that a little more crop from the top would strengthen the relationship between the violet-pink water, the white salt piles, and the green foreground. I also want to wish you a speedy recovery! All the best!   Posted: 08/18/2026 19:32:20

 

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