Where's the sun?

Can someone please advise us the best time of day to photograph the Abbaye during Lavender season. We're short on time there and would love a great photograph of the Abbaye. We'll be there in a week or so and wondered if it's an early morning photo stop or a late in the day photo.

While I can't address your question directly, I can tell you that I took my photos around 9AM, and they were very nice......Its difficult for me to tell whether later afternoon would be "better", but I did see many watercolor works which were "similar" in many respects to the photos I took at the Abbaye.....Best wishes for a great trip and Great photos!! Dave

Early morning of late afternoon will probably be best.

When we were visiting the Lavendar was not in bloom, but do remember when trying to take a photo about mid-day, the sun was practically on top of us and we were actually taking photo right into sun, so it took a bit of positioning to get the photo we wanted (sans lavendar).

However, when I mention late in the day, remember that late is rather late in France in the summer as the sun often doesn't set till 9pm or later. Keep that in mind when scheduling your photo-shoot.

Thanks for the replies. I guess what I really need to know is when the sun will be behind me when I'm taking a picture of the lavender field & church. Is that morning or afternoon?
Any idea?

I'm not sure about this, but I was there shortly after midday and my photos were fine. I think I was there after lunch, maybe 2 pm or so. I think the church and fields may not be the same direction, but I'm not sure I'm remembering right. I also think the lavender field runs E-W (again, not positive), so if you are facing it, you are facing south. So, the sun isn't really in front or behind you. I just don't remember any big problem with facing into the sun, even around 2-3 pm. It was very bright of course, as it was July and sunny when I was there but that wasn't a problem with my photos.