Some colors draw your eyes to them…
Red is like that. Even if I hadn’t removed the colors from the rest of the image, your eye would be drawn to this British soldier at the Tower of London… not just because he is a serious-looking bloke with an automatic rifle… or because he is the only person in this photograph…
That red uniform demands your attention… that is one of the reasons the British army has used that color for their uniforms for so long…
Without any color at all, the guardsman still stands out, but I would be willing to bet that your eye begins to wander more quickly when you view that image. Red is a powerful color. It grabs your focus. That is also why stop lights, stop signs, emergency exit signs and fire engines are all red. And since this series of posts is all about getting us to think about colors, maybe we are learning stuff already.
What happened when you looked at that image? All the colors are there except the colors of the lone person in the picture. Does he stand out more or less than in the original full-color photo?
That picture is almost the same as the very first picture in this post, except in this one I selected the guard box as well as the soldier. I did both versions because I was just playing around with artistic options and decided the one I used at the top of the post was just a little better… but this illustrates the fun I… and the crack squirrels that live in my cranium… are having with this series of posts…
And I always have to let the crack squirrels have their fun… or they get fidgety. On a more serious note, if you are ever in London, and you see these guards… like this one guarding the crown jewels at the Tower of London, or the ones near Buckingham Palace or wherever… and you want to mess with them to get a reaction, go ahead. Just remember that they will ignore you only up to a certain point. They are always within shouting distance of dozens of other serious and seriously armed young guardsmen, and they always have the option of calling on their assistance… just sayin’…
(Did you notice that the shadows of the guards in the picture above are missing, all except the original one? This was pure laziness on my part. But it will let me know if you are really paying attention and not just skimming down to leave a quick comment… HA!)
Pouring My Art Out 
Superb.
I love those guards.
And I love Great Britain.
FAB!!!
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it.
The red uniform was used so the blood of the injured wasn’t so noticeable. First of all, you see blood, you freak out a little bit, second, if your leader is badly injured it isn’t good for morale, third if your enemy sees it, he gets a little boost of confidence, knowing you are injured and increases his desire to polish you off….
Red is my favorite color, or at least it was, when I had a favorite color…..
I knew all that… but thanks
Even that red is my favorite color???
I figured you did, but since it wasn’t mentioned…….
I know stuff
Love these! I’ve seen videos of people trying to get the guards to laugh but they never have any luck. I’ve never been to London but hope to go someday. I will catch up tomorrow because I think I missed a few of these new posts of yours. 🙂
okey dokey
The red does pop… as to messing with them, not me, some photos and I’m happy.
good plan
Two thoughts: Yes, I did notice the
yay…
wait… that was only one thought, wasn’t it???
Yes… Trigger happy phone!! Read on…
Ha… got it.
…shadow lack, and red as a uniform might have had a hand in losing the colonies to independence. Just sayin’…
they do make lousy camouflage…
And the white X across the uniform? Perfect for target shooting. Even with a musket. =-O
It made more sense in the Napoleonic wars… and before that… sort of… maybe
Bahaha! Yeah… Because aiming a cannon required little finesse, I guess. Boom. Pile of bodies. But even the French wore the X. And were rubbish at crossing bridges…
but the colors…
I like how the red pops out
me too, thanks.
The shadow knows: who really reads your stuff. I wish all of our cops in America wore red. Then I would be able to spot them from afar and adjust my behavior accordingly.
I used to be really good at spotting cops…