Theme 82.
When I made the list, I was thinking of a photo I took last year, in London. I was in Westminster, and saw this protest outside. So I thought it'd be good to put on the list, as I wanted to go to London again and I was bound to see some form of political protest. Between Westminster and Hyde Park, there had to be something, right?
I went into Exeter with my parents today, and as I was waiting for them so we could go home, I saw two guys go past with rolled up posters and placards, with something about Palestine on. After a bit, still no sign of my parents, and the guys seemed to have been joined by others - so I wandered over, thinking to get some photos for this theme. I got a few shots, but the very overcast lighting seemed to really mess me about today.
I tried different settings, gave up, then tried a few from the side - again, not much improvement. Resigned, I started over towards the meeting place I'd agreed with my parents, and saw them waiting. But then I ducked back to the protest, thinking one of the shots might be useable, in which case I should pick up a leaflet so I'd know what to out in this post as a subject! They'd now lifted their placards and I got a few more shots - this one above was my favourite, but so you can see the colours of their placards, I've included a colour shot below.
I used to understand the Arab-Israeli conflict, when we studied it in GCSE History. But as with many current affairs, if you look away for a bit, when you come back, you're lost. And so it was with this, for me. I won't take a stand on either side of this conflict, without knowing both sides' stories, but because I photographed this protest, here is what they were handing out information on: www.palestinecampaign.org (I'm not supporting this or being against it, I'm simply showing what they represented).
4 comments:
Those are really excellent shots. I'm glad you gave us both the color and the black and white - I think each presentation evokes different emotions...
Really cool, Helen. That sign on the right really pops out. I think it's good that you post a link to a site that explains their cause because, generally speaking and in the US, we don't get educated on either side too much. I think kids in school nowadays might but we didn't learn about it, that I recall. When we do, it seems to disregard the Palestinian side of things because the US government supports Israel so much.
And the linked picture of the Iraq protest is great too.
Great shots, for the Free Palestine and the War Protest. I like the colour one for Palestine because of the importance of the flag. Thanks for the link, the writer Ahdaf Soueif is a patron for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign http://ahdafsoueif.com/about.htm
Excellent pictures! I think the b/w one is even more intense than the colored one...
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