Interview with Sandrine Lagasse

What is your relationship with the Cévennes?

I wasn't born in the Cévennes. Yet, the Cévennes are where I grew up. My grandparents came for weekends, in the autumn for chestnuts and mushrooms, in the summer for the cool air, or simply to escape the hectic pace of life in Montpellier. I took my first steps there, discovering the richness of the forest world thanks to them and my parents, and the importance of preserving these places. Going to the top of the Mont Aigoual weather station tower with my family was always a privilege, an adventure, and a timeless moment. For the past few years, I've taught myself photography and felt the need to return to the source of what shaped me, to reconnect with who I truly am.

So every weekend I went to the South Cévennes to breathe, simply breathe in these magical forests, to improve my skills, to simply marvel at familiar places and discover others without ever getting tired of them because that is what makes the Cévennes so special.

Why do you like the Southern Cévennes?

For its richness, for its beauty. I haven't visited everything because every kilometer traveled holds a surprise and I still have many projects underway to photograph species that are dear to my heart, such as the European otter and the capercaillie, for example.

I have hiked through forests in all kinds of weather: in the rain and fog of summer, in the icy winds of sunrises and sunsets, at night on the summits to observe the Milky Way, by frozen lakes, rivers and waterfalls, I even bivouacked in the snow at -12°C. For me, the Cévennes saw me grow up, photographing them nourishes me and remains an experience with each of my adventures.

What do you like to photograph the most and why?

While the sunsets are spectacular and the starry skies are renowned for their rare and pristine clarity, it's the wildlife of the Cévennes that I'm most passionate about. The Cévennes offer us the privilege of encountering numerous iconic species, some rarer than others, all within a magnificent setting. The presence of these species is a testament to tireless conservation efforts and an exceptional ecological balance.

Going in search of them is embarking on an adventure: you forget the absolute rules of presence and accept failure, you set out on the hunt, you research, you look for traces of their presence, you make yourself invisible, you even forget yourself to allow yourself to be surprised, to give the wild its full space. At that moment, the encounter takes place, without disturbance, and you observe it from a distance with the feeling of having traveled this whole path to become part of this whole.

This feeling that overwhelms me at every encounter remains the reason why I prefer to practice photography because the triggering of the shutter becomes the result of a more or less long process with many emotions and always the desire to communicate beauty in order to preserve it.

Your little corner of paradise in the Southern Cévennes?

The question is difficult. I particularly love the upper part of Mont Aigoual, with its diverse natural environments: polar in winter, raw, sometimes violent, and home to iconic animal species. You can go from a fantastical forest, where the rocks are covered in moss and conifers grow alongside deciduous trees, to dry alpine pastures swept by icy winds. I love this diversity and I'm very attached to it.