Prehistory

I was going to call today's post "An exercise in patience". I have often said that one of the qualities any photographer needs to develop in patience and when you are trying to photograph sites like this, the neolithic stone circle at Castlerigg which attract a lot of visitors it is really hard to get the perfect uninterrupted shot.

When I arrived there was one other photographer there with his camera set up on a tripod and as I was setting up he commented that we could be there a while. Of course there will be lots of people enjoying the site and that is fine but with a bit of patience and careful timing it should be possible to get a decent shot as people walk behind the stones.  However on this particular day there was one  group of people who stood on the far side of the circle talking. They kept looking over at us as we patiently waited to take the shot and it really felt like they were deliberately testing us. They did eventually move off out of shot but only after the couple on the right of this image sat down on one of the stones and unpacked their picnic lunch. Now I thought that was inappropriate just because it didn't seem right in such an ancient site but it was also incredibly annoying as it spoils the shot to some degree.

I know that you will probably be thinking well that's just hard luck and that yes I need to be more patient and that is fine. You may even think that if I want the perfect photo without people getting in the way I should get there early. As it happens that is what I plan to do next time however I also met another photographer that day who had been up at the stone circle at 3.00 am to capture shots of the Milky Way and even then he says there were several people about and so even an early start won't guarantee my patience won't be tested. 

Anyway I am sorry, I have moaned for long enough and if you have stuck it this far thank you for your patience. Perhaps you should also take up photography I think you have something of what it takes...

As I said this is a shot of the Neolithic Stone Circle at Castlerigg near Keswick. The snow covered fells in the background are from left to right Clough head, The Dodds, High Rigg, Great How and Helvellyn. Even with the other visitors I really like this shot and I will definitely be going back in the hope of some even better shots.