I’ve several times photographed the ceremonies of the Druid Order at both Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, and I think my work has produced a good record of what they do, and a few images of particular interest.
The processions they make before and after with a long line of Druids in their white cloaks are striking, and on Primrose Hill in particular the stand out against the grass of the hill or in front of the view of London.
I thought I had set out in plenty of time to photograph at Primrose Hill on September 22nd, but had reckoned without the difficulties of travel on a Sunday. Of course I’d looked up the journey on the Transport for London journey planner, which had told me that my train to Waterloo would be going by a roundabout route, and that the tube line to the closest station, Chalk Farm was closed for essential maintenance, and allowed the extra time needed. What the journey planner didn’t know was that my train would suffer from signalling problems, stopping somewhere on the outskirts of London for around 20 minutes before limping slowly towards Vauxhall, adding over half an hour to the journey.
I ran down to the tube, rushed through Green Park to change to the Jubilee Line, then hurried up the escalator and steps at Swiss Cottage to jump on a bus, finally walking and running up to the top of Primrose Hill to see as I was getting there the line of white-clad figures just breasting the top of the hill. I think there was a good picture there, but I was just to puffed to capture it, and it was really another 20 seconds or so before I was really working coherently.
As with all events, and particularly those of a religious nature, a suitable degree of respect is necessary, and in this case it means standing outside the circle and certainly not getting the the way or distracting those taking part.
The first ten minutes or so of the event has various actions to record which largely take place within the circle of druids. To photograph them means moving around the outside and taking pictures with a longish lens. So most of the time at this event I was working not with my favourite 16-35mm but with the 70-300mm on the D700, along in this first period with the 18-105mm on the D800E. For most pictures the 18-105 was long enough – as in the example above, taken at 66mm (99mm equiv.)
2009
After these initial activities, the ceremony becomes more static, with readings and a sermon, and there is little action to photograph. In previous years both here and at Tower Hill in the Spring I’ve made some images I like of the circle of white-clad figures, particularly using the 10.5mm fisheye. But holding the camera up at arm’s length above my head didn’t really get quite enough height.
So today I brought along a monopod and fixed the camera on top of this, with a cable release plugged in. At first I’d thought of using a remote release, but the lead on the cable release turned out to be exactly long enough. I lifted up the camera and took a picture, then brought it down to check the result, finding I needed to move back a foot or two to get everyone in. The tricky part was getting the camera exactly level and pointing in the right direction when I was unable to see through the viewfinder. Live view wouldn’t really have helped greatly as the rear screen was too far away and reflecting the sky nicely, so I just had to take quite a few exposures trying to get it right, then bring the camera down to look at them.
This was the best – as usual with a little help from the Fisheye-Hemi plugin. There were a few others taken with the aid of the monopod that I liked too. The extra height would be useful at some protests – and there are photographers who use a similar rig, but I’ve never got around to doing so. The problem for me is simply that the monopod is yet another thing to carry, and my bag is too heavy already even if it wasn’t too long to fit.
I’ve never managed to find a monopod that I really warm too, though I can see that they can be useful. But I think they could be much lighter and telescope to a smaller size and still be useful.
The ceremony on the hill top over, the Druids then process down the hill, giving a further opportunity for pictures (including one where I missed seeing the cranes in the background growing out of the Druids’ heads – a real beginner’s mistake.) You can see more from the whole event at Druids Celebrate Autumn Equinox.
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My London Diary : Buildings of London : River Lea/Lee Valley : London’s Industrial Heritage
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