Editorial - June 1, 2026

I feel like these past few weeks have been a little unusual.

The body reminding me it exists

For a while now, I have been dragging around some neck pain. Nothing serious, do not worry, but annoying enough to make me think twice before heading into the mountains. The problem with this kind of pain is that it can arrive without warning. So when you are considering a slightly committed outing, or simply a somewhat isolated summit, you always wonder if today is the day your neck decides to lock up.

It is not something I have talked about much, but it has clearly slowed down some of my desire to go out recently.

Fortunately, things are moving in the right direction. I go regularly to the physio in Arudy and it is doing me a lot of good. The pain is less present and I am gradually regaining confidence to return to my activities normally.

At one point, I also went for a massage with Amelie (her website). It was both very pleasant and especially effective. I came out of it relaxed in a way I rarely am. That same evening, I slept straight through with a strange feeling: I felt like I was no longer sleeping “on my muscles” but rather “on my skeleton.” I do not know if that makes sense, but that is exactly the feeling I had. In any case, it did me a huge amount of good.

First time on horseback

Alongside that, I discovered something completely new for me: horse riding.

I had the chance to join an outing with Chevauchee Pyreneenne, near the horses of the Benou. I went without really knowing what to expect, and I loved the experience.

Against all expectations, I felt comfortable on horseback very quickly. There is something especially pleasant about moving through landscapes at that pace. You move slowly, you take the time to observe, to talk, to look at the mountains differently.

I also took the opportunity to make a few photographs to help them showcase their activity. It was a very beautiful encounter and an experience I sincerely recommend to anyone who has never tried it. A horseback ride in our mountains is truly something to experience at least once.

The 70-200, I think it is over

On the photography side, a small gear change has also happened.

I decided to part with my Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II.

It is probably one of the best lenses I have owned. Fast, sharp, reliable, versatile… but I realized I did not actually like it that much.

Not because it is bad, quite the opposite, but because it feels too isolating for the way I photograph. With a 70-200mm, you can make very beautiful images, very clean and very effective, but I sometimes feel too far away from what is happening. A distance settles in. You frame, you separate, you compress, but you lose a little of the feeling of being in the middle of the story.

And that is exactly what interests me more and more: telling stories.

Today, I want to focus almost entirely on photo and video reportage. Being close to people, gestures, places and atmospheres. Bringing back images that do not only try to be pretty, but that truly tell something.

So, naturally, I keep coming back to prime lenses.

Today, my bag mostly revolves around a 28mm, 35mm and 55mm trio. A much lighter, simpler setup, and above all closer to the way I photograph.

I have a real soft spot for the 35mm. It is an old Leica lens with a character of its own. I adapted it to my Sony and I get a lot of pleasure from using it. It is not perfect, and it does not try to be, but it produces images with a personality I really like.

I also used it to illustrate the article about cleaning boulders and climbing at Miegebat. A good part of the images from that day were made with it and I love the rendering it brings.

Following the X-Pyr

In the coming weeks, I will also be following the X-Pyr.

For those who do not know it, it is an extraordinary adventure across the Pyrenees combining free flight, endurance and strategy.

I will be following all of that closely and will probably talk about it more on Instagram throughout the adventure.

The hidden prints are coming back

And to finish, a small project that motivates me a lot.

I will soon receive a small camera intended to film some of my mountain outings.

The idea is not to become a videographer overnight, but rather to share more behind the scenes from my outings and bring back a series many of you enjoyed: photo prints hidden in the valley.

I still love the idea of leaving a photograph somewhere in the Pyrenees for someone to discover by chance along a trail or in a village.

This time, you may be able to follow the story from beginning to end.

See you soon on the trails, behind a camera, on horseback, or simply somewhere in the Ossau Valley.