Those of you that have visited the Onsight studio might recognize these photos of Chateau Miraval that have graced the studio walls for the last 10 years. You may also recognize these scenes from the likes of Vanity Fair, People, Us and other magazines and newspapers this week because Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt just leased the place and the paparazzi are typically all over it. My wife’s aunt and uncle have owned Miraval for a couple decades and enjoy the rustic setting where they make organic wine and have been restoring the ancient structures and terraces. Miraval is also home to an exceptional recording studio in a medieval structure where the likes of AC/DC, The Cranberries, The Gypsy Kings and Pink Floyd (yep, thy recorded “The Wall” there) have come to get away, enjoy nature and record albums.
Miraval is magical, rustic and is in many ways is the same as it was centuries ago. It’s not extravagant or excessive in the ways that American estates typically are. Between Miraval and their place in Africa I think the JP’s should be commended for escaping the materialistic, hysterical, fast paced, LA/American lifestyle for something more down to earth. That’s not a bad thing when you’ve got a growing number of munchkins to keep up with.
When I went to Miraval in 1999 I went to my local camera store to buy a few bricks of medium format B&W film. On impulse I bought just 3 rolls of color negative film as well. I had always been a B&W photographer exclusively and those 3 rolls and these images represent my entry into color photography. The 33″ square prints at the studio (and the homes of the few that have bought some) were made during the late 90s on the venerable Iris 3047 printer before Epson came to dominate the archival large format printing market. They are “archival” but given the 20 centuries that Miraval has been around I wonder exactly how long they will make it and what other prints may have come and gone on those walls.