Espelette's pepper facades

Espelette is one long street of white houses with ox-blood timbers and shutters, and for two months a year the fronts disappear behind strings of red peppers hung out to dry. It is a working crop with its own protected name, not a display: the strings go up as the harvest comes in from late August and come down after the pepper festival at the end of October. Outside that window the village is still handsome, but the walls are bare.

The best walls are around the church of Saint-Étienne and along the main street either side of it. Shoot from across the road so the whole facade fits and the peppers read as pattern rather than clutter; then move in close, put your subject against the white lime render with one panel of red beside them, and let the colour do the work. Wardrobe matters here more than usual — anything red or orange vanishes into the background.

The street is narrow and takes traffic, so mornings are the only calm hours. Before ten there is almost nobody; by midday the coaches are parked and the shops selling pepper in every form have their own queues. Overcast suits the village: strong sun blows out the white walls and leaves the peppers muddy in shadow.

There is no fee and no permit for the street, but these are people's houses. Frame from the public pavement, do not lean on doorways or move a string, and if a shutter is open give it a wide berth.