Relive and Reveal- Fort King George

In this Relive and Reveal, segment I am sharing a shoot I did in Tobago.

Various parts of the Dutch soldier’s uniforms were spread all over the furniture of a family friends living room to air out. We were in Tobago for a shoot for the Citizens for Conservation calendar and we were lucky to have access to these costumes that were used previously for a documentary about Tobago.

The Lighthouse on the grounds of Fort King George

The shoot had been organized weeks in advance and our helpful liaison K had everything set for us when we arrived. After another shoot for the calendar in the morning, we were to arrive at Fort King George in the afternoon to meet four young school children and four members from the Tobago Cadets who were going to wear the Dutch soldiers outfits. The theme for the calendar was to promote our natural and built heritage sites and each shoot included people utilizing the spaces to highlight the fact that these spaces can be sustainably managed and serve as reminders of our history and spaces for our learning and enjoyment. The Dutch were one of the many people to rule Tobago and the concept for this particular shoot was that the children would be visiting the fort as it is in the present day and as they learn about the history they visualize soldiers, as they would have been in the location in the past. Everything was set and I was excited to shoot.

When we arrived we met the children who were all very energetic and ready to participate. The Cadets weren’t there so we started walking around to entertain the kids and kill time as we waited. As time went along the children began to fade. Almost an hour had passed and they were understandably tired after being at school all day. We had to come up with a plan B…and quickly. When we first realized we could not get in contact with the Cadets, K offered his services and said he would wear one of the costumes if need be. That need became a reality and I was prepared to rethink the concept to incorporate just one soldier. Luckily for me my assistant M and the guard on duty at the fort were very persistent and as I started to set up to shoot they persuaded our family friend, who had accompanied us to the shoot, to wear another one of the uniforms. Terrific! (He had on open-toed sandals but I knew I could make it work). Two Dutch soldiers would more than suffice in this situation! M and the guard did not stop there! They captured a young man who was visiting Tobago for the first time and happened to be exploring the fort with his girlfriend that afternoon. I laughed when they told me the news! Three Dutch soldiers and we were good to go. The guard, who was present when they did the documentary some months before using the same costumes, said she knew where all the small bits of the costume belonged and was busy helping dress my newly appointed soldiers. With the gunpowder pouch in its correct position we began the shoot just before the sun went down.

The school kids ready to start the shoot! 

My wonderful stand ins who did a great job!

The model change on this shoot makes me laugh whenever I retell this story and even though they weren’t as trained as the Cadet’s would have been (they weren’t the best at marching) and they were not prepared for their unexpected gig (everyone’s shoes were wrong), I am happy they were game to be in the shoot. Big thanks to everyone who was involved!

The Shoot begins at Fort King George

My Soldiers doing their thing with open toe sandals and all

Fort King George Shoot

The chosen photo that appeared in the CFC 2014 Calendar

Dutch soldiers at their finest!

Dutch soldiers at their finest!

Thanks to the entire crew, M and the guard included!

Glad my tourist friend came walking through the fort at that time! Thanks to you both!

These children were really great models!

Fort King George- We were able to finish the shoot before the sunset