Foto

At Gyeongbokgong Palace in central Seoul they have ceremonial guards in traditional costume. The palace is now a museum rather than anything as Korea no longer has an imperial dynasty and is very popular with visitors.

On this day, it was the last very hot day of the year and these guards were waiting for the Changing of the Guard ceremony and the chance to finish their shift. The one on the left took the chance to quickly rest his eyes...

I did originally shoot this in colour, but as a colour photograph it didn't work at all.. there is something I really like about the space and shape of the guards (uniforms and hats) that works so much better in black and white.