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Stonehendge and London

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Adam Kmiec

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First let me say much thanks to those responding to my Norway post. Your time, effort, and pictures were appreciated. It sounds like we've locked down London for the next trip. For me it's all about photographing Stonehenge and visiting the Beatles Recording studios. I've been to London twice on business, mostly in the Chelsea area, so I've never had the chance to visit socially. If you have any photo experience in London, recommendations on where to shoot, and experience specifically about Stonehenge I'd appreciate hearing about it. Thanks
--
Patiently awaiting the first Nikon FF DSLR, while enjoying my current gear.
http://www.kmiecphotography.com
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Adam Kmiec said:
First let me say much thanks to those responding to my Norway post.
Your time, effort, and pictures were appreciated. It sounds like
we've locked down London for the next trip. For me it's all about
photographing Stonehenge and visiting the Beatles Recording
studios. I've been to London twice on business, mostly in the
Chelsea area, so I've never had the chance to visit socially. If
you have any photo experience in London, recommendations on where
to shoot, and experience specifically about Stonehenge I'd
appreciate hearing about it. Thanks
Click to expand...
Stonehenge is possibly the worst place that I've been to to photograph. You can't get near the stones, you have to pay to get in, it's surrounded by high fences, the roads around are always jammed up, it's too busy, you can't get in when the light's at it's best, there's a dingy visitor centre and underpass under a road to be able to get to the circle.... Just to name a few!

Having said that, it is possible to arrange out-of-hours visiting. Take a look at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.878 - you have to fill in an application form and know when you are going to be there. This is the only way you'll be able to photograph the circle how you want to.

The one thing that will surprise you is how small the henge is - it certainly surprised me the first time I saw it! If you are visiting out-of-hours, then make a day of it if you can. Visit the nearby cathedral city of Salisbury or there's another stone circle a little to the north at Avebury (with better access!).

Hope this helps!

Jonathan
 
wow, that's either a bummer or a good thing depending;

I went to Stonehenge many years ago when you could just walk around and touch anything pretty much any time of day - I guess that was good for me as a tourist but maybe it's better now with the controls so that the place might hold up better for future generations
Jonathan Stott said:
Adam Kmiec said:
First let me say much thanks to those responding to my Norway post.
Your time, effort, and pictures were appreciated. It sounds like
we've locked down London for the next trip. For me it's all about
photographing Stonehenge and visiting the Beatles Recording
studios. I've been to London twice on business, mostly in the
Chelsea area, so I've never had the chance to visit socially. If
you have any photo experience in London, recommendations on where
to shoot, and experience specifically about Stonehenge I'd
appreciate hearing about it. Thanks
Click to expand...
Stonehenge is possibly the worst place that I've been to to
photograph. You can't get near the stones, you have to pay to get
in, it's surrounded by high fences, the roads around are always
jammed up, it's too busy, you can't get in when the light's at it's
best, there's a dingy visitor centre and underpass under a road to
be able to get to the circle.... Just to name a few!

Having said that, it is possible to arrange out-of-hours visiting.
Take a look at
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.878 - you have
to fill in an application form and know when you are going to be
there. This is the only way you'll be able to photograph the circle
how you want to.

The one thing that will surprise you is how small the henge is - it
certainly surprised me the first time I saw it! If you are visiting
out-of-hours, then make a day of it if you can. Visit the nearby
cathedral city of Salisbury or there's another stone circle a
little to the north at Avebury (with better access!).

Hope this helps!

Jonathan
Click to expand...
 
My parents live near StoneHenge, and I am afraid that I fail to see why people get so excited about it. Having said that It does yield interesting photos :).

I have never felt inclined to pay to get access but provided you are fairly tall you can get decent photos from outside the fence:-





Salisbury (about 10 miles away) is a far mor interesting place to photograph IMHO. Here is a pic of the Cathedral



Jonathan
 
Other London locations:

The London Eye (take a dusk flight if you can)

Tate Modern Art Gallery (formerly a brutalist '30s power station) and the Millenium Bridge across to St Pauls Cathedral. If you're into people photography (and excellent food) then Borough Market south of the river is good too.

Stonehenge is a 2-hour drive...

If you can, get there at dawn - you can usually get clear shots from the road. The road is fast and busy so be careful though. If you go during the day you can only get to within 20 yards of the stones

As others have said, Salisbury Cathedral (10 miles from the 'henge) is a fabulous place to shoot, just down the road for me. Winchester Cathedral is also a good subject (see a friend's site at http://www.esses.co.uk/winchester0206/ ). Both are classic English market towns, good places to stay with plenty of good restaurants.

As much as it pains me to say it, Portsmouth is a good place for a day shooting - plenty of naval history plus a modern (and architecturally interesting) mall with the Spinnaker Tower (tallest structure in England)
 
Thanks :).

The pictures I posted were all from outside the fence and hand held. Some sections of fence are lower than others, so depending on when you go you may be able to use a tripod from outside, you may not.

The site is in a triangle of roads:-

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=51.1771&lon=-1.8203&scale=10000&icon=x

You can view an aerial photo of the site on the above link. The fence on the north side is higher than the fence on the south or west sides. However there is no sidewalk/pavement beside the A303 itself so you need to walk along the verge.

Jonathan
 
Train from Waterloo station in London to Salisbury. It takes about 90 mins.

They get a bus or Taxi from Salisbury station. However if you want to take photos in the evening you might be better off hiring a car in Salisbury, I am not sure what time the buses stop running, and it would give you a lot more flexability.

Jonathan
 
Adam Kmiec said:
Can I take from your comments that it is possible to photograph
stonehenge with out getting inner circle access? I'm actually not
looking for an up close photo. I'm thinking something wide and
classic at sun rise or set.
Click to expand...
Yes it is possible, but the henge isn't open at sunrise or sunset. If you want wide angle shots at dawn or dusk you need to find a spot without fences in the way - the fences are upwards of 6 feet high, but they do vary in height as other people have said. The benefit of the arranged access is that you can get the circle and its environment to yourself at dawn or dusk.

One of the worst things is the inability to park a car at Stonehenge when it is closed as the car park is closed and all the roads have no parking restrictions.

You can get an idea of the fences from



; (but beware - that's a 3000x2000 D70 image!). That photo was taken at dusk, hence the need to use f/2.8 on my 17-55 to get a reasonable exposure (the guy had never seen Stonehenge before and wanted an "I've been there" photo!).

Driving from London isn't too bad - it should take no more than 2 hours just head towards the M3 and then take the A303. If there's no traffic (say you are leaving at dawn) then you might even be able to do it in 90 minutes. Alternatively, take the train from Waterloo station to Salisbury (again, about 90 minutes) and then either hop on the bus or get a taxi.

Jonathan
 
About 40 mins from Stonehenge is Avebury where although no where near as old as Stonehege it is more accessible, the whole village is built within a series of stone rings. I often find visitors are more impressed with this .I try to take people to both on the same day as you can see the "real thing" and the "easier " not so protected site. It s nicer to walk around ,you can get near the stones and for "real' historical content you can visit the ancient buriel mound nearby.

In London walk along the Southbank from opposite the houses of parliment past the London eye , keep going East until you get to Towerbridge , you ve got a great view across to St Pauls and pubs over 800 years old to provide refreshment , Shakespears Globe ,Tate modern ....You wont get bored.
Enjoy
 
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