Stonehenge: Stone Light - 23 January 2003

Stonehenge: Stone Light
23 January 2003

Location	Stonehenge, Wiltshire. On my way back from Dorset, I stopped at Stonehenge to take some sunset pictures. I've been to Stonehenge before. My first, breathtaking visit was in August 2000. I visited again last summer. Seeing that I've already exhaustively documented the monument, this time I concentrated on atmospheric details.

Weather	Clear, windy and cold.

Click on the images to see larger versions.


	The classic overview picture of the henge from the west.

On the north side of the monument part of the outer ring of roofed stones is preserved. It catches the afternoon sun beautifully.

	Some crows were hanging out on the monument, cawing and flapping from one stone to another. What looks like miniature bushes on the rock surface is lichen - a sign of good air quality.

One of the three remaining trilithons.

	The grey stone looks perfectly at home in the landscape of subdued earth colours.

I took this picture because I like how the light shows off the little bluestone in front of the shaded sarsen.

	The trilithons cast their shadow on the sarsens behind.

Overview picture from the south. The preserved sarsens with lintels are easy to see.

	I love the light in this shot of the southernmost stone. The crows on top of the sarsen also add to the mystery of Stonehenge.

Seeing the same stone from the east.

	And again but a little closer. I really like the shape of it.

On the lintel on top of the trilithon, the gouge marks from the stone masons' tools can still be seen 3500 years later.

	Back on the western side of the monument the light strokes the stones, exaggerating every nook and cranny.

When the monument closed, I left the enclosure and stood by the road to take some sunset pictures from afar. But first I took a picture of this milestone. It spells out the distance to London and Avebury.

	At this time of year the sun sets early but in this picture the sky has only the faintest trace of pink.

I moved and waited for a while and got this shot.


	The way the sun paints the stone orange fascinated me so I took a closer look at it. That's what zoom is for.

I actually took this picture a little earlier but I wanted to end with something really dramatic. Here, the sun is hidden behind the bulk of the monument. I love the way it casts light between the stones and across the surrounding lawn.