MATT DUTILE

Wrote and photographed “Close to the Land,”

Appreciating languid explorations in France’s Dordogne Valley came with little effort for Dutile. “There’s something intangibly sublime about the Périgord way of life,” says the New York–based photographer. “You meander without a care or reference for time, passing between monuments to the ages of humanity. There on the right: a 12thcentury chateau. To the left: rudimentary shelters carved into the limestone bluffs some 13 millennia ago. Ahead: a Michelinstarred restaurant that’s practically a temple of contemporary gastronomy.” Dutile’s culinary road trip took him from Bordeaux along the western banks of the Dordogne to fairytale Rocamadour high in the east. “I could easily see my wife and I settling in a town like Marquay. That feeling of home was enveloping. And to spend a life sampling the intricate variety of truffles, foie gras, and silky walnut oils—few things could be sweeter.”