ironstone wrote:
I need some guidance. Yesterday I went to Coldrum and on arrival found someone sitting cross-legged eyes closed, headphones on, right next to the stones, his trail bike lying on the ground equally close. Like many of us I wanted not just to appreciate the beauty of the site and its setting etc, I also wanted to take some pictures but not ones that included this person and his bike. Okay, I thought, give him some space and time, don't be impatient, but after about 20 minutes he hadn't budged and clouds were gathering threatening to shut out the sun altogether. Should I gently suggest he might consider moving out of shot? Would it be seriously uncool of me to interrupt his meditation? Whenever I visit a circle and there are others there wanting to take pictures I'm always careful to stay out of the way and wait my turn. In the end I managed to take pictures from oblique angles omitting his presence without disturbing him but I left feeling slightly irritated and wondering if I was being selfish. What do others feel?
Speaking as someone who would have been highly irritated in your position, I think you were being unreasonable to be highly irritated. These places are to share, and sharing involves accepting that photography isn't necessarily a right, and that sitting in a stone circle isn't really doing something particularly obnoxious, disruptive, or unreasonable. That being said, if it feels appropriate, I don't think it's a problem asking someone nicely if they wouldn't mind moving while you take a couple of shots. I've done that on occasion, and people have generally been obliging. Other times, I've waited patiently for people to move (not so patient on the inside, but hey), but most times I've just been extremely adept at Photoshop (handy hint - if people are moving around, and not just static, take multiple shots from the same angle, and you can then clone between shots to make one completely people-free shot). 