Golden hour and ancient stones: my 5 tips for capturing Britain’s prehistoric monuments

Standing stones at Stonehenge in sunlight with blue sky

(Image credit: Future)

Around 4000 BC the landscape of Britain was a wild, forested place, where tribes of hunter gathers roamed freely. However, the British Isles were still attached to mainland Europe and over this landbridge came settlers with ideas of agriculture, community and religious rituals. The age of Neolithic Britain had begun and was to transform the landscape over the next 1,500 years, clearing the woodlands and building impressive stone structures that were to last through until the modern day.

The most famous Neolithic site in Britain is, of course, Stonehenge, though it’s not the best, so that’s where I headed, followed by a visit to Avebury, which is much more interesting. The thing about Stonehenge is that you don’t want to visit at mid-day, which is when the light is right overhead, especially in summer. Winter is a good time, because with sunset around 4pm, you can catch the late afternoon sun (if there is any) before the site shuts.

Late afternoon sunshine at Stonehenge (Image credit: Future)

1 Catch the sun

Just before sunset the light changes colour to a more golden hue — Just before sunset the light changes color to a more golden hue (Image credit: Future)

Just before sunset the light changes color to a more golden hue, which particularly suits things like standing stones. Compose the shot so that you can see the spread of stones, like here at Avebury, and that they are facing into the sunlight. Focus on the nearest stone with f/8 aperture.

2 Wait for sunset

Sunset at Avebury stone circle — Now sit and wait for sunset and see what light you get in the sky. (Image credit: Future)

Now sit and wait for sunset and see what light you get in the sky. Change the composition so you are facing towards where the sun went down. Either bracket the shot for combining later, or meter from the sky and bring the light up on the foreground later when editing the RAW file.

3 Hillside carvings

Carving of a white horse on hillside with tractor in foreground in Wiltshire (Image credit: Future)

Technically speaking, hillside carvings of horses, giants and the like started to appear around the time of the Bronze Age, but hey, if you’re out looking for ancient elements in the landscape, then why not. Try to show the carving in the context of the landscape itself. You may need a telephoto lens for this.

4 Discover entire villages

Skara Brae on the Orkney Islands in later afternoon sunshine (Image credit: Future)

One of the most spectacular Neolithic villages in the world, and the best preserved settlement in Western Europe, Skara Brae on the Orkney Islands is older than Stonehenge. Use a wide angle lens to show as much as possible, with an aperture of f/5.6 and focussing on the nearest stonework.

5 Going underground

Neolithic burial chamber — Don't bring out your dead, create a ghastly burial chamber for them. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

The final item of Neolithic life to look for is how they preserved the dead, with burial chambers. Either go inside, open up the aperture and use a torch to light up details and rooms, or shoot from the outside showing the overall construction. For the interiors a tripod would also help avoid having to use high ISOs.

Essential kit

Filters, short telephoto lens and polariser (Image credit: Future)

You’ll need a wide angle lens for some locations, but also a short telephoto if you’re cordoned off from getting too close, like a Stonehenge. The main image used a 24mm focal length. It’s worth using a circular polariser to enhance clouds and overall contrast, and an ND filter for controlling the exposure when shooting towards a sunset.

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Grab yourself a wide-angle lens to take Neolithic photos, some ND Grad filters and carry it all around in a decent camera bag.

Wendy was the Editor of Digital Photo User for nearly five years, charting the rise of digital cameras and photography from expensive fad to mass market technology. She is a member of the Royal Photographic Society (LRPS) and while originally a Canon film user in the '80s and '90s, went over to the dark side and Nikon with the digital revolution. A second stint in the photography market was at ePHOTOzine, the online photography magazine, and now she's back again as Technique Editor of Digital Camera magazine, the UK's best-selling photography title. She is the author of 13 photography/CGI/Photoshop books, across a range of genres.

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