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Long way from home



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Genuine British Army trooper.

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Genuine British Army trooper.

www.facebook.com-grahamhebroncreative
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cameraNIKON D3200

settings Aperture f/7.1 ISO 400 Shutter 1/50 

upload_dateSep, 2014

Views

2214

Likes

Awards

Featured
Featured
Contest Finalist in All Or Nothing Photo Contest
Prize Bundle
Contest Finalist in 300 Soldiers Photo Contest
  View more
Peer Award
diegoscaglione davidjprosser Tudorof billmartin_2615 ileanaandreagmezgavinoser djalmaarmelin NancyFlemingPhotography +43
Top Choice
Smasonnc Albert-Serra-Photography ghousecg aigar EmeraldStudioPhotography adenoverzan fsoshyant +27
Superb Composition
christieebusch edandaniphone greglinck kyleapilas anilpatelphotography Walrus62 silverblack +19
Absolute Masterpiece
mariaisabelfernandes christinavanvuuren sabineloewenberger charlene_d_edwards suea'hern SMXpressions hstaud20 +15
Outstanding Creativity
jinjeanninelewis stephenbraunginn ernestnlenoirjr StarDust1 NatashaT pikkiewolmarans SLSPhotography +6
All Star
Wizzard chuckrickman AlanJakarta janland
Superior Skill
SugarRush ricardocosta NIKONINJECTION
One Of A Kind
MawSheldon
Magnificent Capture
DeniseMarshall

Top Ranks

All Or Nothing Photo ContestTop 10 rank
All Or Nothing Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
All Or Nothing Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
View more
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
300 Soldiers Photo ContestTop 10 rank
300 Soldiers Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
300 Soldiers Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
300 Soldiers Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1

Categories

10 Comments |
Chrism
 
Chrism October 25, 2014
Oh, and congratulations on winning contest finalist .. well done :)
blueberrydragon
 
blueberrydragon October 27, 2014
Fantastic Picture Congrats on winning!
AlanJakarta
 
AlanJakarta October 27, 2014
Fabulous shot. Congratulations on being the People's Choice Winner.
hodsongolby
 
hodsongolby October 29, 2014
Great shot! And so proud to be British :D
BrokenDolly
 
BrokenDolly June 08, 2015
Congratulations! And I Just wanted to Tell You that I Really LOVE This Photo! It's Very Powerful.
MRKll
 
MRKll August 24, 2015
Awesome phototure. If I was the judge this phototure would have won hands down. Great job
NatashaT
 
NatashaT November 04, 2015
Great portrait!
Enchantem
 
Enchantem November 04, 2015
AMAZING!! I feel like I'm there and his eyes are telling us a story!
ellenellen PRO+
 
ellenellen November 04, 2015
wow. Stunning shot.
judithstopforth
 
judithstopforth November 05, 2015
Stunning capture. Very well done!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#army
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in a forest beside some lakes in my hometown of Knaresborough, England. The environment seemed totally appropriate for the shoot, especially since the soldier is wearing camouflage gear. I'm a self-taught photographer now studying a degree.

Time

Any photographer knows that two of the best times to take photos is during dawn and dusk because the lighting is simply beautiful. Midday shows present harsh contrast and sunsets provide a beautiful tungsten glow. I took this around 4pm as the light began to fade and as the clouds hid the sun, allowing me to get a smooth tone across the model's entire face.

Lighting

There was absolutely no artificial lighting in this shot. It was all down to the clouds allowing me to capture an even tone on the skin of the soldier. I love working with light such as painting with light and being creative in a studio, but the lack of man-made light here gave a more realistic, documentary feel to the photo which is what I originally planned.

Equipment

I used a Nikon D3200 DSLR camera at 24 mega-pixel and of course shot in RAW format, the highest quality possible. The lens was a Nikon 55-200mm at the full 200mm to allow for an evidently shallow depth of field. I used no flash and it was a handheld shot with a low ISO.

Inspiration

My inspiration came from my personal travels around Europe and living in Spain. I know what it's like to live alone in a foreign country when everything seems rather intimidating and I thought what better way to convey this emotion than with a genuine British Army soldier who is serving our country and deserves to be recognised. Hero.

Editing

I enhanced the contrast slightly and introduced a little bit of blue to the photo so that the image wasn't quite so flat.

In my camera bag

I always carry the camera, obviously. Second to that I carry both my standard Nikon 18-55mm lens and the 55-200mm. It's rare I take a flashgun because they generally produce fake, harsh lighting which looks completely artificial. Instead, I carry a battery-operated video camera light and stick it in the scene, out of frame to create more of an atmosphere. In this shot the light wasn't used, however. Tripod is generally another piece of equipment I carry, but not on this shoot.

Feedback

I took 20 shots of the soldier standing like this before I took this magical photo. He wasn't directed to do anything other than smoke. His expressions are natural and somewhat unaware of the camera. I advise for those wanting to capture something similar to allow the model to be themselves and not necessarily pose. Posing doesn't work for genuine shots like this one.

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