Last winter we had only
one day where there was enough frost to see it in a photograph, so with clear sky and frost forecast, we planned an early sunrise shoot. We headed with friend Martin and his faithful dog Scamp , to Avebury Circle, which meant getting up at 05.30.... not so good! We had been there in the summer so had a good idea of where to park etc, which saved precious time when we arrived. The national trust car park was locked.
We arrived with the thermometer reading -4, but with appropriate clothing and gloves, it wasn't so bad. It was still semi dark when we arrived, the sun glowing over the back of the mound behind the
stones.
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| 07.24 |
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A magical mist began to rise, but lasted no more than 10 mins. I opted to shoot low
in an attempt to exaggerate the mist |
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07.45 Switched to wide angle for a few minutes. A difficult site to include the whole circle.
Even at 14mm the left hand trees were cut off.
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| This time, all the trees, but not all the circle. |
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08.00 and the sun almost over the mound. Martin chose to shoot from the ridge at this point.
I waved my arms meaning to ask him to move! He thought I meant "right a bit", but his silhouette turned
out quite useful. |
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Moving outside of the circle further. I liked the bird sitting on the stone, and
one man and his dog on the ridge |
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08.23 Climbed up onto the ridge to see beyond, the sun now risen over the frosty fields beyond.
The inevitable lens flare.
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The tree which proved to be a huge asset with the morning sun, and the stones to the
west just starting to catch the suns rays |
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| Lovely light on the stones |
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| Looking south east over the ridge |
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| The little church alight with the suns rays. |
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| Hard frost |
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| 08.34 The large stone now almost half lit. The light was changing every second. |
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| 08.44 time for breakfast |
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| 9.09 and the large stones now fully lit |
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| More stones extend to a separate circle across the main road |
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| A few more photographers arrive |
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| 09.14 |
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| 09.20 The sun a little higher and fabulous shadows a from that very useful tree |
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| Across the road, and another circle |
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| Scamp cant believe we have not yet finished |
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| On this side of the road, a moat allows below ground level shots |
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| Loved the rim lighting here |
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09.51 and the light now further round lights the stones in this other field.
I also loved the tufts of frosty grass so back down again on my knees!
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| One man and his dog in the distance |
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10.16 Time to go. Bacon calling
A boring featureless sky, but I guess that comes with frost.
A wonderful venue with plenty of photographic opportunities. Important to revisit some of the stones
over the course of the visit, as the light kept changing, |
