Artists

I went to Sète on the train today, having noticed that there's a documentary photo festival going on. Apparently this is the 11th edition, but somehow I've remained completely unaware of it. 

OK, it's not exactly Arles. There are only a handful of venues, and I spent more time wandering round photogenic Sète than I did looking at exhibits.The long-term photo project  by Nina Berman and Miss Wish, a victim of child pornography and sex trafficking, was moving; it included video and letters from Miss Wish in her various hiding places. Yan Ming's photos of China were quite striking too. 

After lunch I wandered around the quartier des pêcheurs; there seems to be a street art project going on there, as this was the second lot of artists I saw. Extras: a typical canal scene, more street art, and my attempt to capture the scale of the massive tuna boats. They now spend most of their time moored up on the canal, as they are rarely allowed out to catch tuna.

Overall, I'm not sure the festival is really worth a special trip, but it's always a pleasure being in Sète. Even when the weather isn't brilliant. It was a mixture of sun and cloud, and when the seriously black storm clouds rolled in, I headed rapidly for the station. No journey with the SNCF is complete without a delayed or cancelled train; we got stuck in Béziers station for 20 minutes and I thought I was going to miss my connection in Narbonne, but just caught it thanks to the guard delaying it by five minutes.