Photos of Parc Oriental de Maulévrier
About Parc Oriental de Maulévrier
Parc Oriental de Maulévrier is a Japanese garden on the edge of a small town. It has been sitting tucked away behind the local Château since the start of the 1900s and is now the largest of its kind in Europe. A stream runs through the middle of gardens and opens into a wide, still lake, and everything you want to photograph is arranged around that water. There's a red bridge, a pagoda, a Khmer temple with a Buddha inside, stone lanterns along the paths, and hundreds of trees and shrubs clipped into rounded mounds that step down to the shore. At the far end an old stone railway viaduct crosses the valley and completes the view. Plus the lake is so still it gives you reflections of all of everything. Shooting the red bridge and the pagoda from the opposite bank with a longer lens lets you layer them against the clipped greens. There is lots of space to get down lower at the water's edge with a wide lens and let the mirror image fill your frame. Calm air helps create the peaceful lake shots, so early in the day is best before the wind picks up and the crowds arrive. Soft, overcast light suits this garden, since the tightly pruned shapes read as smooth curves without hard shadows breaking them up, and the red of the bridge really pops against grey. Spring brings cherry blossoms and fresh greenery, and November is ideal maple tree season when the whole lake shore goes orange and red. On summer evenings the park reopens after dark with the trees and buildings lit and lanterns handed out at the gate, which is a different picture all together. Entry is paid and the park closes over winter so make sure to check their schedule before heading out. (Maulévrier, Maine-et-Loire, France)
Where to find Parc Oriental de Maulévrier
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