Old Sarum - at Night

You may recall this monochrome Blip of the Ancient Monument Old Sarum, which was the settlement before 'New' Sarum, which then became Salisbury.

Tomorrow, to mark May Day, the Sarum Morris dancers (Blip, 'Good Air' of 21st April) mark this very important date in the English folklore calendar by strutting their stuff on the ramparts of Old Sarum at DAWN! So, I'm going to be there by 5.15 and catch them Morrissing (is that a real word? It should be!) against a vibrant red sky (hopefully).

Why would I want to do this, at such an ungodly hour, unpaid - and having to walk there!? Well, because I can and because it's something of a challenge (the getting there, early enough, rather than the taking of) and is not something I've done before. I shall enjoy doing as well as getting more shots of the place at an hour when not many people will be there. It's also unsocial enough, hour-wise, that the Salisbury Journal won't be sending anyone and I can let them have one of mine - sorted! The forecast is excellent, cold but clear.

And flipping cold it was when I went out to grab this. I had an idea of going to this high ground that is now a sort of common and I'd been there before, usually very early as there's lots natural fauna and a few distinctive trees. However, in the dark, nothing worked, I guess that much has become overgrown and spoiled the eye-line.

In the end, swapped wide zoom for the old Nikkor D 70-300mm that I use for tripod work (small, light, uncomplicated and has no unneeded VR). The contrast of the village below - Stratford-sub-Castle - with its streetlights against the outer ring of the monument - about a mile away - struck me as possibly working. The standout trees added the final touches and the original quite horrible rusty orange turned to black & white nicely. Some editing finished it off - in LARGE you can see cattle resting, sheep too, on the lower slopes - my old full-frame D700 having the depth of tones to enable a lot of detail in the shadows.

Those who like graphic, geometric cityscapes, take a quick look at the 'year ago', (thumbnail, below) - a backdated Blip, taken in Cardiff Bay.