A NIGHT AT THE EDINBURGH TATTOO
Louise Anderbjörk
On the 12th of August 2022, I got to attend the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo as a student photojournalist, and it was one of the most surreal experiences I have ever had. To begin with, I certainly thought that the Tattoo would not be able to accept a student application for a press accreditation, and so when they got back to me saying that my press pass was ready for collection, I could not believe it. The Tattoo was something that I had wanted to go to for so many years, and now all of a sudden, I had a ticket and, as it would turn out, for some of the best views in the house too.
The theme of the 2022 Tattoo was “voices'' and it included drills and music numbers from the Swiss Top Secret Drum Corps, the United States Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team and the Massed UK Military Bands. Going into the evening, I was not sure what to expect, and was stunned by the amazing ground level view I got from the press pit, with the drill platoons marching up to just a meter away from me as they entered and exited Edinburgh Castle. In the middle of that immersive experience, I was also invited to join the other photographers as they climbed to the roof of the bleachers for the firework finale.
Standing up there, feeling the wind from 30 meters above ground and looking out over a misty Edinburgh night and the hundreds of performers below, all I could do was smile and think “how did I manage to get here?”. It was a fantastic taste of the exciting variety of experiences that comes with photography, and I cannot wait to hopefully go back next year again.
This article first appeared in PRISMA, Issue 1.