Stonehenge at Sunset

New Journal 55 – Stonehenge

Initially built more than 4000 years ago, this mysterious monument has always held a mysterious allure for me, as it has for many. The idea of cloaked druids swarming around the stones at summer solstice fascinated me.

The stones have been guarded since their inception. For thousands of years a grave not far from the site held the remains of a bronze aged man, arrows protruding from his body, who got too close. The guardians of the stones ended his journey prematurely. Even now, guardians patrol the stones night and day, with torches rather than bows and arrows. The modern day guardians protect the ancient site from mindless vandalism.

Rachel and I visited Stonehenge at sunset. The doors close at 7pm, almost 2 hours too early. Instead, we walked along the side of a busy motorway, from where the stones are visible. Even from 100 metres away I was able to compose a shot. With literally nothing to use as a foreground element, it was essential that the sky was stunning.

We resolved to return for sunrise where I wanted to climb the fence keeping us away. At 4:00am we drove to a lay by on the motorway and found my spot again. Blackness and low lying fog surrounded us, while we could make out the circle in the distance. The atmosphere was eerie.

Almost instantly a powerful torch beamed upon us from the stones and a voice, traversing the distance with ease, warned us not to cross the fence.

We waited until sunrise, which was a flat affair. Sadly the fog never sat in front of us. I was hoping to capture the stones at blur hour with a touch of mist but it wasn’t to be.

More often than not the conditions don’t work in our favour, but that can’t inhibit us from remaining optimistic for the next shoot.

We returned to our tent and fell unconscious. Sunrise shots, especially in the summer, can be a real challenge.

Today’s Photo – Stonehenge

The sun was added into this image from a shot I took minutes before but from a different composition. The sun was here originally but I missed it, sadly. I had to shift the balance of light towards the sun using Nik Color Efex’s Darken/Lighten Center filter.

Strong colour corrections were need in order to restore some green into the grass and reduce the magenta in the stones. For some reason, my before and after slider is rendering the after colours terribly. I haven’t enhanced the colours in the sky – it really was a burning red/orange sky.

Before the Joys of Post-Processing – Apologies for the strange colouring in this before/after