The Callanish Standing Stones: a First?

[OlDoinyo]

The Callanish Standing Stones are an otherworldly set of ancient stone monuments which stand on one of the northwestern islands of Scotland. They have attracted photographers for more than 100 years, first with plate cameras, then with roll film; and the tradition continues in the digital age. Quite a few photographers have documented them in infrared, as well, but I could find little evidence of any attempt to image the site in the ultraviolet....until this past July, when I spent a couple of days in the area. As I had a tripod, my SD14 travel camera, and my trusty Baader U2 along, I decided to take a whack at it myself. The almost perpetual daylight at 58 degrees north latitude was helpful, as one could wait for less-crowded times to work. I am not really sure if I was the first to try UV here, but I do not think many could have gone before.

 

The stones are made of 3-billion-year-old Lewisian gneiss, which itself has fascinating grainlike patterns, and speckled with mossy growth in places. Whereas infrared emphasizes the grain of the stone and fades the moss to white, ultraviolet seems to do the reverse, softening the stone patterns and causing the moss to stand out as dramatic dark patches. The effect is somewhat limestone-like. I was able to avail myself of the enhanced aerial perspective of the medium several times.

 

The angle must be chosen carefully, as manmade background clutter is all too visible if the stones are shot from some directions. Of what I got, the following are among the best. Some of the tonality may be a bit muddied by noise reduction. Wind blurred the gound vegetation in some of the photos. I could no doubt have achieved more professional-looking images with my medium-format film camera, but taking such kit on an overseas journey was out of the question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To view all of my images of the stones, including color and infrared, you may visit https://www.flickr.c...57645708143016/

 

To learn more about the stones themselves, see http://www.callanish...ex.php/features

[colinbm]

Thanks for sharing Clark

Col

[Andrea B.]

I am ever fascinated by stone circles. It is very interesting to see these in UV. Thanks for posting!!

 

Do you happen to have any close-ups of the gneiss? The shorter UV wavelengths typically bring out surface texture.

 

I like the last foto - the stones appear to be having a conversation. They must have tales to tell for sure. :D

[OlDoinyo]

No real closeups; and as I stated earlier, the UV actually seems to de-emphasize the pattern. This color shot actually does give a better idea of the patterning. You will spot this stone from the reverse side in the second UV shot.

 

 

I agree that these stones have a real sense of presence with their gnarled, twisted old shapes. Although often crowded, the site is best experienced in solitude. One's brain starts to assign identities, even personalities, to the stones--I thought of the tall, rectangular one in the center as "Big Dave."

[nfoto]

No too many stone circles in my country, but neighbouring Sweden has them in the plenty along the south western coastline. I have mainly done them in visible or IR, sometimes in multispectral composites. Never in UV admittedly so have to add that to my memory bank of future projects.

 

I was incidentally puzzled by the following statement "The angle must be chosen carefully, as manmade background clutter is all too visible if the stones are shot from some directions". Why is that? Surely contrasting Neolithic structures with present-day man impact to the landscape could be an interesting project on its own. I have done a lot of these contrasts using ancient rock carvings for the foreground subject.

[Shane]

Always nice to see the Callanish stones as it has been on my bucket list for a long while. Almost made it there a couple of years ago while visiting the Isle of Skye but ran out of time. Out of interest did you stay locally and if so can you recommend somewhere?

 

Surely contrasting Neolithic structures with present-day man impact to the landscape could be an interesting project on its own. I have done a lot of these contrasts using ancient rock carvings for the foreground subject.

 

While that may be true and work for some, it doesn't work for me. In 1978, on my way back from college, I remember pulling over at the side of the road, walking up to Stonehenge and being the only person there. That was back in the days of no fences, no guards, no visitors center, no tourists, just you and the stones. That was a unique experience that cannot be "felt" anymore. Now Stonehenge can experience up to 7000 visitors a day and the background is tainted with modern structures. Although for me, much of this can be "taken care of" in post processing, it just doesn't provide that same experience anymore.

[OlDoinyo]

I am not totally averse to including modern man-made elements in my pictures, but they have to harmonize compositionally; otherwise, the end result ends up looking as if I don't know how to use a camera, an impression I would rather not give. Random clutter in the background is a beginner mistake in photography, one of the first things one reads about in all the how-to books. Also, if you are going for the wild, majestic look when photographing the stones, having some miscellaneous car or garage or light pole or whatever in the background rather spoils the effect. If you look north from the site, this is what you see:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/51950223@N03/5125721506 (not my picture.)

 

I also agree with Shane about how the atmosphere of a place can get spoiled, though happily, Callanish has not reached this stage yet. I remember Stonehenge dimly from 1976, so I understand a little (though hippie encampments were a visual issue in those days.) I have put the answers to the other question in a personal message.

[Shane]

If you look north from the site, this is what you see

 

I had seen this clutter on the map when I was anticipating a trip there in winter for night/aurora photography but it is helpful to actually see an image of it.

 

Thanks for the email on accommodation info.

[OlDoinyo]

Postscript: Callanish III