Meander star
- 📍 Location : Côte de Jor, Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère, Dordogne, France
- 📅 Date : November 2025, sunrise
From the Côte de Jor, high above the Dordogne valley, the river below traces one of its slow, looping meanders through a patchwork of pasture and freshly ploughed fields, autumn colour still holding in the hedgerows and treelines. I was there for sunrise on November 13, 2025, and timed the shot for the exact moment the sun cleared the far ridge, letting it collapse into the tight, six-pointed flare you get from a small aperture right as a point of light breaks the horizon.
That flare is really the second subject of the photograph: the river gives the composition its curve, but the sunstar is what gives it its name. A few degrees earlier or later and the whole effect disappears.
From the viewpoint the river makes a complete loop below, and that morning the mist had settled into the loop and left the ridges above it clear. The sun came up on the far side and I stopped the lens down to hold it as a star on the skyline.
I framed with the meander running across the lower two thirds so the shape of the bend is unmistakable, and gave the sun the upper third with little around it. The valley supplies the drawing; the sun only has to mark where the day starts.
Awards & Recognition
- European Photography Awards, 2026: Silver Winner, Fine Art Photography – Landscape
- European Photography Awards, 2026: Silver Winner, Fine Art Photography – Panorama
Limited-edition fine-art print from the Skywaven Studios collection, available in several sizes, papers and framing options.
