I've attended many events at the Mt. Harmon plantation in MD, but recently, I was invited to participate as a photographer at the Redcoats and Rebels Grand Tactical. I've never been to a tactical event before. The difference is that this event is not open to the public, and no specific activities are planned for the weekend. They were playing war games.

I wasn't sure about attending because a tornado had hit the Florida coast a few days before, and rain was expected all day. However, I was optimistic when I left that Saturday morning. It was cloudy most of the day, and the sun came out in the afternoon.

When I arrived, I parked near the main house. Two British soldiers escorted me to the commander. He asked my purpose and approved my being around the camp. While waiting, I met with an older British officer, and somehow, our conversation got diverted to my other interest tennis and players from an earlier generation, such as Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe, and Borg. 

I was the only photographer at the event. I wore my photography attire at events with my photo vest and Ft Ticonderoga baseball cap. Later in the day, I met the Event Coordinator. He mentioned that some American ladies acted as spies and tried to access the British camp. He told me British soldiers were escorting them out, and it would have been great if I had captured a photo of that. Unbeknownst to me, later, when reviewing my photos, it was my first photo of the day, and it was of that scenario. Sometimes, when photographing, we get lucky and surprise ourselves!

This photo reminds me of what you would see when visiting Colonial Williamsburg. This couple, dressed in colonial attire, was trying to enter the British camp and was being questioned by the British sentry.

This is a simple picture of an interpreter preparing ingredients for his colonial kitchen demonstration. I wasn't using a flash, so I needed to prepare my camera settings to get a properly exposed shot. That was easy because my Nikon D500 has an ISO, sensitivity to light, of up to 60,000. Recently I took some indoors shots at 40,000! If you remember using film, the highest ISO was only 1600. With the open window behind him, letting in a lot of light, and experimenting with different options, I settled on my ISO of 4000. Ah, the flexibility that is available today with modern cameras.

At events now, my goal is to create simple images, always keeping my eyes peeled for that next great photo. When I spotted this Hessian soldier resting on this fence, I knew that this was what I wanted. We were both walking around this big field, him resting after being part of a skirmish and trying to get some up-close shots. Then I spotted him on the fence, bingo.

The British and American camps were far apart at this event; I'm guessing around 100 yards. Reaching the American camp was a long walk but worth it. I was situated on a higher ridge looking down. What a fantastic view with McGill Creek in the background.

Check out my photo gallery with over 80 photos from this event.

Thank you for reading! Blog #77 will be posted in December 2024. Be safe & well!

Ken Bohrer