Stonehenge photography with ePHOTOzine members

On the 13th September 2003, a meeting of ePHOTOzine members was organised at Stonehenge, providing private access to the stones and giving us the chance to get up close and personal without the public in the way of our shots.

 

The group comprised from left Paul Edwards (edz2001), Helen Polson (rugbylass) Brian Price (Big Bri), Collin French (collinf), Dave Chapman (longdave) and his dad (Also Dave Chapman) and Alan Benson (alben). We all met at a local pub in Amesbury, which is a common starting point for most member's meetings and then it was onward to the stones themselves!

It was closing time when we arrived at the stones, and the last of the public were leaving. We were then allowed to enter the grounds and start setting ourselves up. Luckily we had excellent weather with fairly clear skies and a good sunset on the way, so things were looking promising and cameras were clicking all around.

Then came the unexpected surprise as we heard the banging of a drum; sounding the arrival of the druids! It seems they were having a ceremony at the stones that evening and were in their full ceremonial robes. They kept to the centre of the stones and by using some careful positioning, we were able to keep them out of most of our shots.

The sun began to set about half an hour into our session and provided some wonderfully rich colours and strong silhouettes that can be seen in many of the pictures.

The day was considered a success and it seems everyone has come away with some good shots to talk about, many of which can be seen in the members' gallery.

Anyone wishing to book a private session at Stonehenge should contact the English Heritage on 01980 626267 or an application form along with more information can be downloaded from the English Heritage web site.

If you want to arrange a meeting anywhere in the world please post your ideas in the Members meetings forum where all the meetings are planned.