Stonehenge and the milky way

keety

keety

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Anyone here managed to get any shots of Stonehenge at night? I'm fairly local (20 miles) and itching to get some pictures of it with the milky way above it.... of course, getting access is my main issue. So, has anyone managed it? I had a look last night but it was a bit too cloudy.. could'nt see any security around and had a walk round there earlier on today and again could'nt see any signs of where security would hide...

Jumping the fence looks fairly simple and I have my parking spot sorted out...

I'd ask for special access, but it's a but pointless as you'd never know when you're going to get a clear night!
 
Tried it last autumn, clear sky, sunset nice, camera charged, but big blinking torches that could light the way to France, being shon in your face and being surrounded by security wasn't a nice feeling.

Couldn't even get out of the car :-(

Oh and seeing the booking fee is £21 for 1 hour, I thought it was 'our' heritage, ergo owned by you and me?

Maybe 1 day
 
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Well I had a look today, and with the 14mm lens, CLOSE! There's plenty of areas to lie down and avoid being spotted, it just depends if there is indeed nightly patrols and how often they do them...

That photo looks like its been taken from the old road that's been removed.
 
Would be cool to do a long exposure at the stones! Couldn't see you getting in much trouble if was caught by the stones by anyone!! Gillie suit and night vision goggles your be ok lol
 
would love to just be able to shoot the milky way but light pollution around here is horrific.
the OH is heading down to somerset for the weekend. wonder if Glastonbury Tor would be a good spot for getting the millky way.. at least its far more accessible
 
dean messenger said:
would love to just be able to shoot the milky way but light pollution around here is horrific.
the OH is heading down to somerset for the weekend. wonder if Glastonbury Tor would be a good spot for getting the millky way.. at least its far more accessible
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In a word, yes! Still plenty of pollution but it's doable.
 
im on the surrey/kent border right by biggin hill.. light pollution map for the area shows it glows like a belisha beacon and as the OH is away and i dont drive im limited as to where i can go at night.
right royal pain as i have saturday and sunday all to myself and even the weather is looking pretty grotty
 
if i had a car id head to dungeness... gonna have to see what night buses run from here and if any go out in the sticks a bit! its that or go to one of the local gold courses around me, one of them is surrounded by trres and woodland so may give a fighting chance of some darkness
 
What you need is a diversion! One of you take my camera, and I'll don my hippy stuff run naked through the stones off into the distance that should put any security off!

Seriously though that sounds like good setup for a shot, they spoil access to these things now for sensible well meaning folk who just want to take a photo. You will probably do it ok, doubt they will want to know at 1am!

I think I would be inclined to park out of the way and come in across the fields from the South -South West. The security will be snuggled up by the main car park. They will probably do 'rounds' every now and again. You also need a back up plan! Yarnbury castle is a few miles down the A303 from there, won't have the same impact but you might come away with something if it all goes belly up.
 
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I'm local also and wouldn't mind joining. Not far from Jake, could car share :)
 
Blimey there's gonna be an army soon.:). Good luck can't wait to see the pictures
 
Clouds came in last night so didn't bother... Off to cornwall for a week so will have to try when I come back... I have a parking spot sorted.

Not heard of Yarnbury castle (and i'm local!) might chekc it out...

From what i've read, it seems Security are only really concerned about people trying to get to the actual stones, all I'm after is taking pictures of the stones, roughly from where you stand during the day.
 
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Sounds like 'talk photography' have got themselves a 'Flashmob";)

But don't use flashes, it will give your position away to the enemy. Lol
Good luck guys

Cheers
Dave
 
Carry on down on the A303 (West) through Winterbourne Stoke, about a couple of miles on the right nothing too spectacular just an Iron Age hill fort. Just trying to think of a plan 'B' for you....
Enjoy Cornwall!
 
Good luck folks, i'm also very local and wanted to do this, but lots of security patrols and light pollution!
 
69Bonni said:
Carry on down on the A303 (West) through Winterbourne Stoke, about a couple of miles on the right nothing too spectacular just an Iron Age hill fort. Just trying to think of a plan 'B' for you....
Enjoy Cornwall!
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I tried shooting the Perseid meteor shower from by Yarnbury castle a couple of years ago and I can confirm it's pretty dark, especially if you keep away from the A303.
There's a bridleway off the A303 where you can park, but to go far along it you'll need a 4x4 since it's really rough.
I've never worked out how to drive to the west side of the hill fort, although there are tracks there.
Looking at one of those light pollution maps shows that Salisbury Plain is one of the darkest areas of southern England.
Another place down that way that might be worth a try is Cadbury Castle, south of the A303 between Wincanton and Yeovil.
I've only been there in daylight but it struck me as being a possible site for star shooting.
 
Yesterday i drove past Stonehenge at about 7.30-8am i was suprised to see one security guard on the South Western edge of the stones, and people (i presume visitors) were walking among the stones. I thought they had stopped visitors close up to the stones apart from at the summer solstice?
I see opening times are 0930 till 1900.... I looked at the "Plan Your Visit" part on the web site and couldnt see anything under night raids;)

There is also a Trigpoint that you have to make sure you dont get in your shot, could be mistaken for a standing stone if your lucky!
After that and Cadbury is Glastonbury Tor bit of a slog down though... especially in one night.
 
Well, finally got around to having a go last night :)

There is security, but it doesn't seem to involve much more than a bloke, leaving his hut every 10 mins or so and shining his torch around at the stones and then buggering off...
 
Lol, sorry, forgot!



Stonehenge under the universe by keety uk, on Flickr

Working on some other edits, trying to tidy it up a bit... The glow is from Larkhill Camp and the mist was coming in...as you can see on this one..



Stonehege - A sea of mist as the Universe watches by keety uk, on Flickr


I didn't go too close to the stones... I'll probably head back at some point to get some shots with the milky way in, I've worked out what Security do/don't do and where they tend to be. They only seem to be concerned with people actually going up to the stones/within the central Roped off area as they don't appear to bother looking anywhere else.
 
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Only viewing on ipad but these look great. The distance works in my opinion. Their small scale within the wider picture conveys the insignificance of the stones against the backdrop of the stars.
 
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Wow!
Impressed!

Still a surprising amount of Light pollution but it sort of adds to the effect.

Do I read the details correctly, that the first one is a blend of 140 x 30 second exposures?
 
I've not yet tried star trail photography (I live on the edge of London) but I do intend to give it a try sometime.
My first step has been buying an intervalometer for my camera, and I know the stacking software is available free.

One question I have is, how do you point the camera in the right direction?
I can find my way around the sky OK, and have no problem identifying the pole star, but when I look through the viewfinder, especially with a wide angle lens, I have a great deal of difficulty even seeing stars, let alone identifying them.
Is there a secret?
 
Point it at the pole star. Usually the brightest in the sky. You don't need to be an astronomer.
 
shreds said:
Point it at the pole star. Usually the brightest in the sky. You don't need to be an astronomer.
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Actually the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere is Sirius.

As I said, I have no trouble identifying the stars, my problem is actually SEEING them when I look through the viewfinder, especially with a wide-angle lens.
 
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Take some test shots, highest iso you can... should be about 1 second exposure to see the stars... should be able to see it on the viewfinder then...
 
keety said:
Well, finally got around to having a go last night :)

There is security, but it doesn't seem to involve much more than a bloke, leaving his hut every 10 mins or so and shining his torch around at the stones and then buggering off...
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A bit late to this thread but a veteran visitor to Stonehenge at night- I shoot over the fence 3-4 times a year and have enjoyed the special access several times, too.

In terms of security, there's a minimum of three guards on shift 24/7/365. Of them, at least two will always be out near the stones; depending on weather, the third/ others will be in the security building on a swift-turnover rota basis. The monument is of key interest for protection so that's where they spend most time- remember if they're looking outwards they don't need torches as your silhouette will stand out against light from the traffic on the A303. Traffic aside, the guards prefer their vision to be dark adjusted, hence infrequent torch use. I've heard stories of them observing "intruders" from afar and allowing them to belly crawl for 30-40 minutes to within scoring distance, only to then encircle the visitor with million-candle power torches and march them back out again. If you jumped the fence for your shots above well done for getting away with it- you might not always be so lucky.

For special access I've always found the office pretty flexible. Sure, it has to be arranged in advance but if the booked session looks like poor weather, they've been able to accommodate changes at short notice. I'd have thought you will need to go to those lengths to pursue a shot of the MW because of the orientation of the site and its alignment with the stars. Subject to weather, a few nights either side of the new moons from July to September (possibly even October) should see you ok for dark enough skies and a decent position.
 
Brian G said:
I've not yet tried star trail photography (I live on the edge of London) but I do intend to give it a try sometime.
My first step has been buying an intervalometer for my camera, and I know the stacking software is available free.

One question I have is, how do you point the camera in the right direction?
I can find my way around the sky OK, and have no problem identifying the pole star, but when I look through the viewfinder, especially with a wide angle lens, I have a great deal of difficulty even seeing stars, let alone identifying them.
Is there a secret?
Click to expand...

There's some guesswork involved in composition if you're looking for alignment with a particular star or constellation. It's possible to shoot startrails even in central London but the challenge of setting up is made easier by removing yourself as far as possible from light pollution and the city's glow.

One technique that works for me in certain scenarios is to work out how the star - let's say Polaris - is positioned in the frame relative to the foreground. What feature is it directly above; what else is the same height above the horizon etc. Expect it to take time just on account of it being dark, but if that doesn't help you and you're feeling brave, a laser pointer is an accurate way of pinpointing a feature in the sky- but you might also find it attracts the wrong kind of attention.
 
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