Camping Flash

Camping Flash offers a direct and uncompromising portrait of the world of camping in France. A true champion in this field, the country alone accounts for nearly a third of all camping spots in Europe — a record that reflects how deeply this mode of vacation is rooted in the national culture. Behind the half-open doors of caravans and motorhomes unfolds a way of life that is at once ordinary and fascinating, marked by joyful proximity, shared rituals, and a celebrated simplicity. Here, people live in T-shirts or swimsuits, sleep just a few meters from their neighbors, cook lunch facing them, and meet again in the evening at the washrooms — toothbrush in hand, flip-flops on their feet. Long regarded as a modest pastime, camping remains today one of the last spaces where a form of sociability is experienced in both its simplest and most intense form: closeness, life outdoors, daily rituals. And despite the evolution of facilities, in- creasing comfort, and the rise of permanent structures, the spirit of camping in France has ultimately changed very little. What endures is an atmosphere of humor, lightness, and small details that reveal a distinctly French summer culture. Since 2022, I have been traveling across France to photograph campers framed in the doorway of their caravans or motorhomes, while also capturing the ambiences and details that embo- dy this unique culture — one that takes me back to my own childhood holidays.