Yeoman Warder Photo

Photographer’s Note

Yeoman Warder, Tower of London, United Kingdom

Scene
One of the last stops of the free Tower of London tour is, as the warder explained, the village green which is the spot where the famous or infamous block was located. If I recall correctly, four queens and two kings met their fate here.

Background
My wife and I were with another couple who had never been to England before so we were doing all of the tourist stops. The two of us opted for the free tour, as we recalled from a previous visit, the Yeomen always provided a wonderful and sometimes humorous tour of Tower history. We were not disappointed as this Sargent provided a sarcastic look at English history and the Colonies.

Again, as I mentioned in early posts, this is a step out of my comfort zone (that is photographically). I was using my speed light and shooting burst exposures as we progressed through the tour always looking for a unique expression or gesture. It is something new, at least for me; maybe not unique, but I think a marvelous travel image anyway.

Photo65Net, Floydian, scobert, feather, romanaa, plimrn, maloutim, pboehringer has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Photo65Net (43096) 2007-12-25 9:05

John,
Great catch from this beautiufl London Tower guard clothes !
I tried to shoot them, and non of my pictures are on par with your, so beautifully exposed.
Nice job,
Regards,
JB.

Floydian (30970) 2007-12-26 1:00

Hi John,
Been a while since you posted something...
Although i hate those other people in the frame, i like how you captured this man in his beautiful clothings. Sharpness is excellent, high on detail with even detail in the black...good work.
Have a nice day, Henk

feather (50144) 2007-12-26 8:10

Excellent portrait of the Beefeater. Neither portarits nor fill-flash are my forte, so I can't say anything useful, apart from how I like the way you have captured the detail so well, and the guard's expression as he talks to you. The sharpness and clarity are first rate. Good to see another post from you. I'm waiting for more from Yorkshire. ;D
Kath

scobert (5333) 2007-12-26 8:12

Hello John,
Your latest photos of Britain are wonderful! I love the way that you composed this photo. The background is interesting without being cluttered and you caught the Beefeater at just the right moment and I like the fact that he is looking away from the camera. Excellent use of fill-flash also! I actually like the people in the frame. It gives this more of a PJ feel (personal preference).
Stan

romanaa (2551) 2007-12-26 9:19

Hello, nice portrait of the beefeater.
Thanks for sharing
Romana

vincz (19045) 2007-12-26 10:20

Excellent catch of this indredible man. The light is grorgeous, qulaity excellent, we can really see this fellow pop out of the picture. Tood bad for the other people behind, but very good anyway.

plimrn (19710) 2007-12-27 17:33

Hi John,
It is an excellent portrait. You caught him mid word with wonderful detail and color. The ambient light is lovely too, I can see why you wanted to keep the building and that great tree in the composition. HLJ, {at

Flavia (10202) 2008-01-26 1:36

Hi John,

The light is really well ballanced, sometimes it is a hard thing to get if the subject is with his face in the shadow. The result is nice, but his expression is something a little strange... it would had been nice to have him with his mouth closed, the eyes are very nice looking to the side like, as slightly curious about something.

Regards,

Flavia

pboehringer (770) 2008-01-26 7:50

John,
coming out of your comfort zone paid off nicely. It's good such things from time to time and pushes us over our own limits of creation openning new horizons.
The portrait of this beefeater came out very good. Personally I would have preferred it without the people in the background, but that is exaclty what makes it so difficult and challenging. A shot that shows the main character at ease, relaxed and natural despite a huge gun pointed to his face and a clean background. Nevertheless, you did a very good job and I like how the red and black stands out so well against the busy background.
Peter