The Creuse

There is a fierce sense of pride in France's regions, none more so than that affectionately known locally as 'La Creuse'. 

The Creuse department is in the Limousin region, in central France, currently on the northern tip of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is named after the River Creuse, which flows through the department.

The department and its uplands and ravines form the beginnings of the foothills of the Massif Central, further to the east. The area is mainly agricultural. The brown Limousin cattle, which populate the fields, are world-renowned for the quality of beef they produce.

As well as its spectacular beauty, the Creuse is sparsely populated and economically deprived, being one of the poorest regions in modern France.

As a family, we have had a small second home there since 2007 and visited several times a year. I have photographed there throughout this time and hope the work shown addresses some of the complexities of modern rural French life.

The images are generally static and avoid the dramatic.

There is no attempt to be romantic or nostalgic about the subject, but the hope is to create a cumulative sense of place.

This has formed the basis for much of my photography for the past couple of decades.

My first self-published photobook '23, La Creuse' (2016), was a whimsical but affectionate look at our favourite part of France.

After a brief sojourn in Paris for 'Searching for your Shadow', came my second photobook project based on the Creuse, 'Confluence'. Here I mined my archive of images made over the past 17 years. 

I'm pleased to note that both'Searching for your Shadow' and 'Confluence' were awarded a Bronze Medal in the Prix de la Photographie, Paris, in 2021 and 2025 respectively.

Please see the Photobooks tab for more info.