standing stones

The Brecon Beacons has an ancient past.  It was settled by pre-historic peoples who farmed the area and hunted the wildlife on it.  They also constructed monuments on the mountainsides and in the valleys.

There are two prominent standing stones in the Southern Beacons quite near my home.  I don’t know what they are there for or represent, but they could mark out lay-lines, designate meeting places or provide a very early system of road mapping.  Whatever, all I know is that whenever I visit them, I feel kind of energised and connected to something.  Really strange, I know, but true.

To get used to my new camera, I took it on its first proper outing one early, cold Sunday morning earlier this month.  I headed for the furthest standing stone, Maen Llia, perched high above the village of Ystradfellte.  I managed to catch the pre-dawn light (always my favourite for atmospheric images) as the clouds that were threatening to ruin my morning parted just in time.  

I shot a long exposure, as (and this is where photography becomes art folks!) I wanted the image to convey the permanence of the stone against the ever-changing skies above it, so I used a six-stop filter to capture the clouds moving.

Fujifilm X-T2, Fujinon 10-24mm f4.0 at 10mm

20 seconds at f11.0, ISO 200

tripod, self-timed release

Pretentious?  Moi??