Brodsworth Hall at War!

[Bend The Light]

Brodsworth Hall is a stately home and gardens near where we live (Barnsley) and this week have a lot of activities based on when the war came to Brodsworth. Basically the Home Guard, and many others came and camped in the grounds, on the lawns and in the fields surrounding.
So this weekend they have had re-enactment groups and various exhibits to show what it might have been ,ike.

Here are a few photos, mostly edited in mono, as colour didn't seem right.


Spotter Corps on the Home Front by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr


The Home Guard by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr


Field Hospital by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr


Old Soldier - The Home Guard by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr


How many more - nein by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr


Washer woman 1940s by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr

And the last, my favourite of course, is TinyTogger sporting the latest in wartime fashion, the Tin Hat.


Don't Panic Mainwaring by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr

Hope you like them, and constructive critique is welcome as always.

 

[amolitor]

You've pushed the shadows down a trifle far for my taste.

This is an interesting mix of "authentic-ish", "playful", and "just plain tourist-attraction" fare, which I don't object to. It's just a thing.

The second one "The Home Guard" strikes me as extremely strong. I'm not sure why. The guy is looking "out of the frame" instead of "across" but it seems to work. There's something about his posture that really drives it home. He just feels serious, even if you have no idea what's going on.

"Field Hospital" doesn't come together for me at all. It's just a a collection of objects, jumbled together, to my eye.

The others of the various guys are pretty good to fair, there's a sense of the playacting, which is cute but I'm not sure it plays well with the old-style b&w processing. It's as if the processing is striving for authenticity, but the subjects are not fully co-operating.

The Washer Woman is something I am going to have to come back to.

Don't Panic Mainwaring is wonderfully sweet and excellent. It works because you've let those middle tones breathe, so it's not a "authentic war photograph" style, it's just a sweet picture of a kid playacting. There's enough seriousness in her face to let us imagine that she's playing seriously, and that she's maybe, just maybe, soaking in a little bit of how war's not such a hot thing after all. Or something -- there's a little depth to her expression, however we want to read it.

 

[Bend The Light]

You've pushed the shadows down a trifle far for my taste.

This is an interesting mix of "authentic-ish", "playful", and "just plain tourist-attraction" fare, which I don't object to. It's just a thing.

The second one "The Home Guard" strikes me as extremely strong. I'm not sure why. The guy is looking "out of the frame" instead of "across" but it seems to work. There's something about his posture that really drives it home. He just feels serious, even if you have no idea what's going on.

"Field Hospital" doesn't come together for me at all. It's just a a collection of objects, jumbled together, to my eye.

The others of the various guys are pretty good to fair, there's a sense of the playacting, which is cute but I'm not sure it plays well with the old-style b&w processing. It's as if the processing is striving for authenticity, but the subjects are not fully co-operating.

The Washer Woman is something I am going to have to come back to.

Don't Panic Mainwaring is wonderfully sweet and excellent. It works because you've let those middle tones breathe, so it's not a "authentic war photograph" style, it's just a sweet picture of a kid playacting. There's enough seriousness in her face to let us imagine that she's playing seriously, and that she's maybe, just maybe, soaking in a little bit of how war's not such a hot thing after all. Or something -- there's a little depth to her expression, however we want to read it.

Thanks for that. Yes, I am coming to realise the contrast was a bit much, I will process again at some point and address that. The guy with the guns on the table in number 2 is about to give the order to destroy a tank...he was quite serious. One of my favourites, that one.

The last is of course my daughter trying on the tin hat...she has a real interest in war, and so the seriousness is there, but at the same time, playing - as you suggest. She's good at posing.

Cheers