The Story Behind The Shot - The Calm Before The Storm
Some photographs go beyond the norms of a moment frozen in time. They have a certain magic that makes it feel as though the image is almost moving with the teeming life that lives inside the simple frame.
Today’s Story Behind the Shot is one such photograph.
From the snow and ice that rests on the floor and sends a shiver down the spine of all who view it, to the faces of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards enjoying a taste of the everyday and a moment of calm ahead of deployment to Afghanistan later that same month. This day was about smiles before the serious weight of all of their tomorrows blew in on the winds of war.
The occasion being marked on this icy cold day in Pirbright, Surrey, 2018, was the completion of the troops' final training exercise.
Two weeks on the untamed hills and valleys of Caerwent, Wales, where these soldiers were challenged to perform under realistic conflict scenarios, was the culmination of six months of rigorous training designed to equip the troops with all the necessary tools to carry out their jobs once on the ground in Afghanistan.
We can only guess at the days that followed for this band of brothers, and presume they were a distant cry from the relative normality of this chilly one in leafy Surrey.
Tempest Photography has enjoyed a long-standing, proud relationship with the military and uniformed services that remains strong today.
From parades to Royal visits, and conventions to overseas exercises, our cameras have been capturing every challenge, celebration, and adventure in glorious detail for over two decades. Sometimes producing personal, character-rich portraits, and at others capturing a whole battalion preparing to land in the heart of one of the world’s most dangerous places, it is a connection we celebrate and remain permanently humbled by.