Albersdorf ’21: Our Stone Age gathering through a new lens

Back in June, I invested most of my savings in a new camera and two new lenses to go with it. I’d done mountains of research to figure out which camera would fit my needs and become my new baby. I chose a Sony A7R III and it was instant love. It’s a small package of mirrorless, full-frame, high performance and high resolution magic with a 42MP image sensor! It has everything I ever dreamed of in a camera and more. To go with it, I bought two great Tamron lenses, a 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 zoom lens and a 24mm F/2.8 wide-angle lens.

As a contrast of dimensions, I decided to bring my new baby and the zoom lens along to the annual European Stone Age Gathering, held at the Steinzeitpark Dithmarschen in Albersdorf just like last year. And like last year, it was supposed to take place at the Hunebedcentrum in the Netherlands, but they had to cancel due to Covid-19. And also much like last year, our gathering was small as many of our friends weren’t able to make it due to Covid restrictions. Small, but still full of educational and fun events.

This week was all about reconnecting with nature. Enjoying a slower pace of life. Learning ancient skills. Trying to imagine life as it was. Sharing it with a community made up of the kindest, most open-minded humans on this planet.

Some did body painting. Some made food over the fire. Some spent their time tanning leather. Others worked with bones. I spent most of my time making scrunchies, mending my clothes and making jewellery with amber, shells and wooden beads. But I also spent lots of time wandering through the woods surrounding the park, visiting thrift stores in the hopes of finding more natural materials to work with – and of course, capturing the scenes that were playing out right in front of me.

Much of my time was also spent planning the event of the year – our third annual fashion show. For the first time, I wasn’t hosting. Instead, Frank took over as our fabulous host (just look at those swan wings!!), while I joined the judges in finding our exceptional winner, runner-up and 2nd runner-up.

Although much smaller than the two previous years, our third annual fashion show was a great success. We had six wonderful acts and a band that played everything from the La Marseillaise to Ebony and Ivory. Everything went to plan, and our evening was a blast.

Every year during the summer, this is my life for a week. Some do it for much longer than me, some come for a few days, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the time we spend in deep connection with nature. The time spent reflecting on whatever fills our minds when we disconnect with the outside world. The time we spend together with people that share a common passion for the Stone Age.

I, for one, cannot imagine life without these days. And I’m glad I brought my baby along to capture all these precious moments.