Mont St Michele photo restrictions?

[Robert Langham]

Anyone taken a LF camera to Mont St Michele, France lately? We are going to Normandy and going to be in the area. Any Problems with camera or tripod on the island?

Thanks!

[Sevo]

I never tried - there is not that much to photograph ON the island, unless you are into depicting well-developed tourism. But I would not be surprised if there were the usual regulations for museums in place. As far as photographing the island from the bay goes, obey the warning signs and make double sure that you have understood the tide tables, in your own interest! The tides there are among the highest world-wide, with up to 14m difference between high and low - just a few hundred yards out on the mud and you won't escape the sea once the tide turns!

[Robert Langham]

How is the mud off the island? Firm or boggy? I see photos of folks walking pretty far out.

[Lachlan 717]

I shot it from a grassed area off to the left (facing it). There is a very wide sward there that is above the tidal zone.

One problem, though, is the line of vehicles parked on the road leading up to the Mont. Intrusive in some shots.

Another is car lights on the same road if you're shooting late.

[anglophone1]

There are some marked paths out on to the sand , better yet get a guide from the syndicat d'initiative ( tourist board) for early morning/ late evening depending on the tide.

[Sevo]

There are some marked paths out on to the sand , better yet get a guide from the syndicat d'initiative ( tourist board) for early morning/ late evening depending on the tide.

Right, get a guide. During the daytime and in season it is a perfectly patrolled place, where you cannot stray for more than a few minutes before a life guard will tell you to get back to a safe path, but if you want to catch the sight in better light and without traffic and tourists, you will be on your own.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Any Problems with camera or tripod on the island?

Hello from France
I've never been inside Mont Saint Michel island, but this raises some interesting question regarding image rights.
Inside museums or casles or historical buidlings managed either by the government or by some private owners, restrictions regarding professional photography usually apply, and restriction to photography-on tripod may apply, regulations are specific to each monument.
Now the question is : is Mont Saint Michel island as a whole considered as a museum/monument where restrictions apply everywhere ? Probably no.

Regarding regulations and various cases argued in courts, the French legislation started some time ago to be very restrictive, for example with the case of Café Gondrée, the first building supposed to have been liberated in Normandy by allied troops in June 1944. So at first, French courts ruled in favor of the owner of Café Gondrée who was legally entitled to get money from all pictures taken of his property.
Then, French courts have been overflooded with people bringing new cases to courts in order to get money for almost every picture that anybody could take of their private proprety, a small fishing boat along a river, of a small hut inside a private garden, photographed from the public domain, etc.. and eventually the court's rulings have changed to the opposite.
Now, owners who want to bring a case to courts regarding their image rights have to prove that pictures taken of their private property cause harm to them. However beware that taking pictures of people without their consent is stricly prohibited, except if the image shows a crowd with hundreds of people.

In this sense, for privated buildings, it is almost impossible that any owner of a house inside Mont Saint Michel island could claim some money since zillions of tourists take pictures inside the island every year.
The issue regarding restrictions to photography on tripod mostly apply inside Paris, downtown, for example inside the Louvre gardens which are regulated specially; or inside historical monuments considered as museums with the same regulations as museums usually enforce = no photography allowed, or no tripod and no flash.
Anywhere else in France, including most Paris streets, the Louvre gardens being an exception, basically you won't be annoyed by anybody if you are taking pictures on a tripod provided that you set-up your tripod on public land or public domain and do not obstruct street traffic or pedestrian traffic.

Hence I would myslef be very confident at Mont Saint Michel that I can take as many pictures on tripod that I want, at least close to Mont Saint Michel or in the streets and not inside buildings, although I cannot provide here any written text to support this opinion.

What is absolutely granted is that any picture of Mont Saint Michel as an ensemble can be taken freely. For example the Eiffel Tower photographed during the day is no longer covered by any rights. In France, architect's image rights on buidings are managed like copyrigth issues, i.e. the they last for about 70 years after the author's death. Hence the image of the Eiffel Tower, built in the 1880's, is no longer covered by any image rights. But at night, the lighting of the Eiffel Tower is the private propertiy of somebody!! Hence no free picture of the Eiffel tower at night when the lights are "on"... I hope that nothing similar exists at Mont Saint Michel!

As a summary, you'll be mostly annoyed by cars and tourists intruding into your images than by guards or by the police enforcing image rights regarding the Mont Saint Michel itself.

But be very cautious with tides.
At school we learn that the amplitude of tides at Mont Saint Michel is one of the highest in the world, only Fundy's Bay on the East coast of Canada has a higher amplitude of tides. This is a resonance effect, the tide is much stronger at Mont Saint Michel than anywhere else in Brittany or Normandy.
As the saying goes : at Mont Saint Michel, the rising tide is rolling over you as fast as a galloping horse ...

[Robert Langham]

No problems on the trip. Took 5X7 and tripod and pretty much wandered anywhere I chose in the tourist areas. Easy island to walk around in a few minutes. Tough climbing in the brushy backside. Everyone helpful. Nobody sees cameras on tripods much anymore. They open the abby tours too late and close them too early, but that's mostly a function of operating a tourist enterprise. Only there four days and three of them had the abby closed due to blizzard. Our hotel staff evacuated! Just back and still recuperating from jet lag. Will post some videos soon. Quite a place. like anywhere, you need four or five days there to really get into the groove.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Great news, Robert ! I hope that you enjoyed your travel to Normandy.
In this discussion, we had thought of many things, including complex issues about French laws on image rights, dangers of quick sands and high tides, but certainly we did not anticipate what to do at Mont Saint Michel in case of a a snow storm !

It is true that weather conditions this winter have been really unusual in Cotentin and Normandy with 10" of snow and roads blocked near Cherbourg, a situation totally unusual in a place where it hardly freezes in winter.

I'm really happy that LF photographers and their gear including the tripod are welcome at Mont Saint Michel, because if this is OK in the busiest touristic place of all Normandy, then you can go everywhere else in Normandy and freely take all pictures you like with a LF camera +Tripod.
It should be pointed out that, even without those harsh & unusual weather conditions, the period of the year you chose was more of less off-season, hence quieter for the LF photographer.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us !

[Robert Langham]

Still processing film and getting back into the swing of things. Was supposed to be home Monday but took a voluntary bump, (plus 800.00 credit each), to fly Tuesday, that plane had a bad cargo door and we ended up coming back Wednesday. Long days. Here's a short video from a little piece of iphone vid that my wife shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrzxKlhnVQs