Originally from England, Jon Ingall, a talented photographer, now lives and works in Corsica. He recently photographed some new properties for Corsican Places and intrigued about how Jon came to be living in Corisca, we probed a little deeper and discovered a fascinating story.
Lac de Codole, Reginu valley in Corsica © Jon Ingall
What inspired you to move to Corsica?
I first passed through Corsica on a motorbike trip around Europe with my girlfriend, Lucy, in 2007. Unfortunately we were on a tight schedule and had to cover both Sardinia and Corsica in just one day which was not ideal! However, we saw enough of Corsica to know that we wanted to come back and we did, several times over the next few years. At the time I was running my own advertising business in London and when I sold the business in 2010 we used the proceeds to buy a half renovated and converted olive mill in a small village in the Balagne region of Corsica.
When we first saw the mill it was a warm May afternoon, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, the stream was gurgling past the mill and we fell in love with it. But when we first arrived here having bought the place, it was a bitterly cold December evening in 2010 and we sat huddled around a log fire (the only form of heating) wrapped up in scarves and blankets as the wind whistled through the gaping holes in the window frames and doors and rain water dripped through the ceiling. To be honest, we had no idea what we’d really bought, the extent of the work required or how we were going to do it!
We spent that first year (and most of the second) travelling backwards and forwards between the UK and Corsica whilst renovating the rest of the property from the ground up; Re-wiring, new floors, heating, windows, doors, kitchen, in fact pretty much everything that needed doing to turn it into a habitable home.
Our plan initially was to then use it as a holiday home and rent it out the rest of the time. However, by then we’d fallen in love with Corsica and the mill and decided to move here permanently in 2012.
When did you start working in photography and how did you get into this line of work?
Photography has always been a hobby of mine and I’ve been taking photos for as long as I can remember. It’s only since we’ve been in Corsica though that I’ve had the time to do anything more serious with it and only in the last year have I started doing it in any way professionally. It really started after I made some calendars for family and friends one Christmas using some of my photos of Corsica and they all really liked them. That got me thinking that maybe I could do more. I then started selling my images through photo libraries as well as selling prints of some of the shots that I’d taken and was then asked to do some commercial work as well. It’s really just grown from there.
What do you love about living in Corsica?
There is a certain wild ruggedness and simplicity about all aspects of Corsican life that I love – the environment, the people, the food, the wine, the culture, the architecture, the way of life. It all seems to have an indelible Corsican stamp on it that makes it totally unique. After 28 years in the cut and thrust of the London advertising world, moving to Corsica couldn’t have been more different and was like stepping back 50 years.
Within 20 minutes from our house we can be swimming in the crystal clear Mediterranean Sea in one direction or at the top of a mountain higher than Snowdon in the other. There aren’t too many places in the world that you can do that. We are literally surrounded by nature (thankfully none of it is too dangerous!) and we feel very lucky to live in such a beautiful place.
What do you love to photograph most in Corsica?
I love landscape photography and the challenge of trying to capture the unique scenery that Corsica offers round every corner. Whether it’s a beautiful deserted beach, an incredible sunset, snow-capped mountains, sleepy little villages or the wild torrent of a mountain stream; there is always something new to try and capture.
© Jon Ingall
Have you found any challenges about living in Corsica and how do you overcome them?
Where do I start?!
The first and biggest problem was language. My (mostly forgotten) ‘O’ Level French didn’t really help much and it wasn’t until we moved here that we discovered that virtually no-one in Corsica speaks English. This makes the very simplest of tasks extremely difficult, never mind the complexities of trying to register a car here, join the health system or deal with Corsican builders! Thankfully my French is improving and we now have lots of friends here that help us out when we have a problem.
Living here felt like going back in time 50 years, which may sound wildly romantic and wonderful in some ways but in other ways it can be rather frustrating. Things we took for granted in the UK simply aren’t available here or don’t work or take ten times longer to do. For example, all of the terrestrial UK TV channels moved to a new satellite recently making it impossible for us to get the BBC or ITV anymore other than via the internet. This would be fine if only we had a half decent broadband connection but sadly access to the internet is reliant on a 10 mile long, thin copper cable, mostly held together by rubber bands and sticky tape. I dream of fibre optic broadband but I’m afraid that it is likely to remain a dream for a long time!
Thankfully, good food and wine is plentiful and shopping online provides most of the other things we need. Well, that’s assuming the delivery man can be bothered to drive up into the mountains to get to our village and deliver them. Otherwise he drops things off at a garage in Ile Rousse and we pick them up from there.
Need I go on?
Do you have any tips for people visiting Corsica about how to improve their photographs of the island?
Corsica is a photographers dream. When people say nice things about my photos I usually tell them it’s because Corsica is a very easy place to photograph and it’s true. Blue skies, lush green vegetation, golden beaches, turquoise seas, hidden coves, snow-capped mountains, pretty mountain villages, ancient Genoese towers and bridges, cascading waterfalls, you name it, Corsica pretty much has the lot.
A snow covered Monte Cinto at dawn taken from the Col de San Colombano in northern Corsica at sunrise © Jon Ingall
So, just get out there and enjoy it. Try going off the beaten track a little. Most people coming here on holiday don’t tend to stray much from the nearest beach or tow, busy with other holiday makers in the summer. But only a short drive away you’ll find some beautiful and quiet spots to photograph. And if you’re serious about your photography I would recommend that you come out of season. Spring or autumn are the best times when you’ll almost certainly find that hidden gem and most likely have it all to yourself.
Jon recently set up a wonderful new website, Ingall.co.uk, where you can see more of his stunning photographs from Corsica and elsewhere, as well as read his blog and buy framed prints.
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