English Civil War re-enactment at Nantwich. Historical action tutorial

English Civil War re-enactment at Nantwich, originally uploaded by foto-art.

Sealed Knot at Nantwich, Cheshire.

This re-enactment of an English Civil War battle takes place every January in Nantwich, Cheshire. members of the sealed Knot and other similar organisations dress up in Roundhead and Royalist clothing and act out the battle that took place in the 1640's. I am usually working on a Saturday, but this year, I happened to have the day off so I went to see what pictures I could get. If you have one of those cameras that takes multiple shots, you know, it automatically takes a few shots per second, then that mode is ideal for this kind of subject, because it is impossible to anticipate facial expressions and precise positions of people. There is a moderately strong element of chance and luck with regard to that, so this kind of shoot needs high volume or quantity, and you expect lots of rejects and failures. The other thing with this kind of historical re-enactment, is that you must really be aware of the background. A lampost, telegraph pole or car in the background tends to ruin the effect, so you have to choose your vantage point well and get in close using a telephoto lens, cropping out as much incongruent background as you can. being january in England, the light was poor, though we were lucky in that it was not raining and overly dull. Lucky also that the sun was not shining, because that would have restricted vantage points from which to take photos in a number of ways. The overcast day meant loss of colour brightness but softer shadows.