First Protest of 2013

I've been putting off posting this blog until Politically Me posted their article because it ties in very nicely to my photos of a protest I accidentally found when in Birmingham on Saturday, 5th. I'm not going to say anymore about it, I'll let you read it from the link above.

However, one thing I will point out is that I was not protesting at this event, I followed it for a period of time in order to document it.

Outside Burtons.. just about.

Staff inside, manager with the radio calling for more security.

After the protest moved on from HSBC staff were still reluctant to open the doors while a customer tried to get in.

Two of the protesters.

A young child present at the protest.

Protesters made their way in to Armani Exchange before being forced back out again.

The Bullring shut all entrances/exits in order to keep shoppers safe.

Here security battled with a protester in order to be able to shut the door.

At the rally, balloons were released in which some of those gathered chose to jump on.

Large congregation of protesters.

Group shot.

Close up of a second group shot.

More young protesters present at the event.

These two men were debating whether or not the protest was good or bad.

The final shout out of the rally.

Unfortunately, post rally, shops such as Starbucks had to clean up bits of graffiti from their shop fronts. 

When I hit the city that day I only expected to test a few new filters I'd been given but it certainly turned out to be more eventful than I imagined. Many of those attending were armed with cameras - both for stills and video and I'm not sure whether that was to protect themselves as they recorded the event or to document it because they were proud of themselves being there. Who knows? I'm just glad I had mine on me. 

No Ifs, No Buts, No Education Cuts!

So yesterday, Wednesday 21.11.12, saw thousands of students from all over the country take to the streets and show the Government they won’t just sit back and take what’s being thrown at them.

It was a brilliant day, one I thoroughly enjoyed. The atmosphere was amazing, especially as you walked under the tunnels, though at those points hearing anything other than horns or '”whoooo” was very difficult. And the weather was not going to put anyone off, nor the early starts.
My favourite photos? Here:

(Not all of these are what some might call “photographically correct” however they do show how fast paced a lot of it was and I suppose the style of the event, it was a protest after all)

   
It made sense to start with a sign that matched my title.

   
Wooden spoons and metal bowls were used to make even more noise!

   
MidKent College Students Union were out in force with several officers and students carrying placards. 

   
A slightly underexposed photo of one of the many homemade signs were out and about throughout the march.

   
Again, more extra noise. This time so fast my camera caught the motion.

   
Many placards were left discarded as the march progressed, getting wet in the rain and trampled all over.

   
NUS were readily prepared with plenty of placards, a lovely photo opportunity for me.

   
Another placard sums up the discontent with the two-party system in the UK.

   
As you can see there were plenty of police present at the Demo, to be sure all was safe and well.

   
Throughout the march people with megaphones were encouraging a variety of chants.

   
At one point during the march a small group did try to break away from the route as you can see here, however they weren’t successful – thankfully.

   
Now this is my all time favourite photo from the Demo. I absolutely love this shot.

   
And sticking with favourites, this was my absolute favourite sign at the Demo.

   
Slightly underexposed sadly.

The Birmingham Guild of Students made sure they were seen with a HUGE banner. I love the depth of field in this shot, concentrating on the students marching.

 
It was parliament that caused a lot of debate around the Demo as we turned left when most wanted to go right.

   
A Student Officer en route.

   
Many of those marching were stopped and interviewed for different news sources throughout the March as the media covered the protest.

The rain wasn’t enough to put everyone off, and despite this being underexposed I love it.

   
PCSOs were in Kennington Park watching students in, here stood on the bottom of a statue (just like me taking the shot) to be able to see over.

   
Sadly towards the end some of the protestors decide to take over the stage pushing through and jumping the barriers. In my opinion they simply made a fool of themselves, they barely achieved anything. And by this point my camera was too cold and wet to focus fully but I don’t think it matters here. Wow, what a ‘caption’.

 
And this is the state we left the park in, lush.

On another non-protesty note, I’m a bit behind in Blogging due to lack of laptop at the moment, so I have plenty more photos coming up shortly!

Published!

So the Tory Conference party last week that I went along and photographed? I got one of my photos printed in the Birmingham University newspaper, Redbrick, from it this week. Sadly, it's not credited to me but I can assure you it's mine.

Which photo? This one..

The original

How it appears in the paper.

I'm not keen on how it's been edited but I suppose it's my first publication since I started at Gloucestershire Uni and hopefully it'll be corrected. But if you want to read the article that goes with it by James Phillips, click here and go to page 8.