It's that time of year when I reflect on the American Revolution events I've attended and select my 5 favorite photos. That's the hard part. In 2024, I attended 12 events, 3 new ones, and posted over 1,000 photos, with more yet to come. Also, I started shooting B&W plus color film again at events and even using an old Polaroid camera on Christmas Day while my kids were opening presents. In future blogs, I'll describe further.

It's always challenging but fun to review my years best; I had many good photos to select, even leaving off one of my most impressive cannon shots because these were better, not necessarily by photography rules, but because they resonated with me more.

Here is my favorite photo of the year. Look closely at this one from the British Occupy Philadelphia Living History Demonstration. What do you see? Doesn't it look strange for a wooden bowl to be flying in the air? That's what is fun about photographing events like this. You never know what might happen and must be prepared for the unexpected. This British officer was inspecting captured American troops, and suddenly, a wooden bowl flew in the air. It was contraband from his shoulder bag. I missed the first toss, but luckily, there was a second one; I was ready for it. It was his last toss. A flying bowl, even has the shadow on the soldier's arm, makes for a unique photo, doesn't it?

One of the rules of photography is creating shapes and leading lines. That's what I did here with the pistols. This photo is of British officers at the Assault of Ft Mercer event and portrays a duel between two British officers. In blog # 78, I reviewed this photo and mentioned-

Dueling is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. The most famous American duel was when Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in 1804.

The duel's pretense was that one officer was involved with the other officer's wife. Ooh, la la. I hadn't seen one portrayed at any reenactment event before. This photo, zoomed in tight, thus forming a triangle, shows the duelists' seconds (helpers) exchanging loaded dueling pistols.

It's common to shoot around 200 to 300 shots during battle reenactments. You are in constant motion, trying to capture the moments. You only know how many good photos you attained after reviewing them later. Then, a few times, you realize you captured an outstanding one, the photo you stare at for a few minutes. That happened here from the Assault on Ft Mercer. In blog # 78, where I discussed it in more detail. Here is some of what I wrote-

When first reviewing this photo, I thought he resembled a historical statue. He seemed so heroic with his firm gaze and clutching his bayoneted musket, staring down the enemy with his dead and wounded fallen comrades around him. Even the light emanating through the trees spotlights him, shaded in darkness.

This photo was from my early December trip to VA. It was my first time attending the Great Bridge Reenactment event. At most American Revolution reenactments, there is either a museum or vintage structure/house where you learn more about colonial history and /or find unique photography opportunities. Here, the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Park Museum was a short bus ride to the reenactment site. It provided a detailed background of the battle with interactive exhibits.

Once in the museum, I spotted a table with plates and newspaper. I took a few minutes to imagine the best composition and immediately decided on the one I envisioned. And "worked the shot" to get my desired photo. 

A fantastic advantage of my Nikon D500 DSL camera is that I don't need a flash. The ISO (camera's sensitivity to light) on this camera is very high. If you remember the film days, the highest ISO was 1600. I shot this photo at 8000; my first guess was correct. I'll always need to check the camera's viewfinder to see if it's a good exposure. Most of the time, I'll get it right on either my first or second attempt. Later, in On1 software (post-processing), I created this image.

This photo, you can tell, is not from a reenactment. I took it when my family visited my in-laws during an extended vacation in South Korea. July and August are part of the rainy season there. Most days of our about four-week trip, it rained some every day. We were staying at a resort in the Eastern section of South Korea. On our first morning there, I woke up early and was moved by this magnificent sunrise over the Pacific Ocean (Sea of Japan/East Sea). Suddenly, I noticed a fishing boat leaving the dock. I knew there was a great photo opportunity presenting itself. I took a few shots with my portable Panasonic/Lumix Mirrorless DMC-GF6 with a 14-42 mm lens. The keeper shot was the boat directly on the sun reflection. Again, being at the right place and the perfect time makes a great photo.

Thanks to everyone for helping me achieve 100,000 visitors to my site. What an honor!

Some sad news: My good friend and photographer, Al Pochek, has passed away. I've known him for over 15 years, and we had some wonderful times together. In my next blog, I'll share my thoughts and stories about my friend. Here, he is standing next to me at a reenactment a few years ago.

Thank you for reading! Blog #80 will be posted on January 15, 2025. Be safe & well!

Ken Bohrer