“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.” ~ Oscar Wilde
Stonehenge, located in southern England, continues to be a mystery as to how and why. Yes, there are many theories and some make perfect sense, but will we ever truly know how they built it and why…
I shot this image in Dec 1998. I have had many comments that this photo is just to “perfect”, but the truth is, the day that I visited was an unbelievably gorgeous English day (image was shot on film and scanned – NO editing at all). But what the photo does not show is just how freaking cold it was!
Here is section from my trip journal…
December 5, 1998 Salisbury Plains, England
We awoke early to eat breakfast and get a head start to see Stonehenge. We walked a block to the bus station. The bus (direct line) was not leaving for another hour, but a really nice bus driver talked to another driver and told us to hop on his bus and he would take us to a change station then put us on the bus to Stonehenge. [just one of many nice acts by our wonderful British neighbors.] Lots of people on the bus and the temperature outside what just below freezing with crisp blue skies and white puffy clouds. The countryside of the Salisbury Plains was amazing, with rolling hills and green pastures holding sheep and cows. We made our connection in Amesbury, then on to Stonehenge. The night before we had dinner at a Tapas pub where so many folks laughed at us for making this trip, but we did not care.
The bus made its way through the rolling countryside. When I finally got a glimpse of the stones, I was rather surprised because I did not expect them to be so close to the road. The stones are in a green pasture and if you stand beside them and then turn in a full circle you can view the open countryside of the Salisbury Plains, sheep and all. Upon closer inspection of the horizon you can see mounds, believed to be burial plots. The stones in the cold, clear English morning were beauty in silence. We were one of the first ones there, so we could walk around the stones without the mobs. We stayed longer than planned, due to misreading the bus schedule. The wind was extremely cold so we made several trips to the gift shop (situated in the side of the road so as not to obstruct the view of stones).
So yes the view was a little to “perfect” but it represents a perfect day where I stood near something made thousands of years ago and for reasons still unknown. 🙂
A Southern Girl's View with Sandy Adams 
I totally get you. I have had some stunning photos film like this from this beautiful country when the weather is unbelievably clement. My favourite weather is when it is crisp, cold but dry. Anything but wet lol! I recognise the light in this photo, it is perfectly believable to me that it has not been edited. In fact, many now over edit their photos to make the green and the blue pop too much etc. It’s a nice effect, but I don’t think yours has been. Beautiful!