Hi Folks,
I'm just starting to recover from a photo adventure I had this weekend. The
G20/IMF/World Bank Summit was held here this past weekend. Officials were
prepared for the anarchist hooligans that had caused so much trouble and
damage while protesting at similar events this year. Fortunately, there was
only minor physical damage inflicted on the city, no major injuries, and few
arrests. Most of the protestors were peaceful and law abiding. There were
several small skirmishes with police, and I somehow found myself in the
middle of one.
I went downtown early Saturday afternoon in the hopes of getting some
interesting shots. I went to a location that had be designated as the
location for peaceful protest, only to find it deserted save for the police
forces. I took some shots of some of the businesses in the area that had
been closed and boarded up for the weekend. Chatting with one of the police
officers, I found out that all the protestors had gathered at the other side
of the Conference Centre. He pointed out to me the most direct route to get
there (which was not easy as most of the roads had been closed, even to
pedestrians). After about a 20-30 minute hike, I came up behind the
protestors. There were maybe 2000 there. Most were quietly chatting amongst
themselves and waiving signs or flags. The more vocal ones were up front
near the barricades. I took some good pics there, and after feeling
confident that I could safely get closer, I ventured up to the barricades. I
got some more winners and then wandered through the crowd capturing
anything/anyone who caught my interest. Although some of the protestors were
obviously not happy to be captured on film, most were very accommodating.
After awhile I felt that I needed a break, so I hiked back to my original
location where I knew that a coffee shop was open in a mall.
After I warmed up over a coffee, I left the mall to have a cigarette.
Security Guards were stationed at all mall entrances, and as one let me out
onto the street, I heard him lock the door behind me. It didn't take long to
discover why he did. To my left were the barricades and riot police, and to
my right were a group of a couple of hundred of the more vocal protestors.
The first people to reach me were actually several members of the media.
They were wearing helmets and gas masks. They passed me and ran up to the
barricades, but off to the side. I figured "What the hell.." and joined
them. The protestors had now started running at the barricades and as they
arrived the police let go with pepper spray. Although it was directed at the
centre of the street, the wind blew it towards me. After a few minutes, they
brought out the big guns and fired the first round of tear gas. At this
point, most of the media folks took off. I kept firing as fast as I could
with my OM-4/winder 2 combo. At one point, I felt someone grab my arm. I
turned to find a protestor, with his face masked, trying to grab my camera.
I smashed him over the head with it and he ran away. At first I thought that
I must have at least broken the winder, but no, it kept working and I kept
shooting. (At home, I noticed that there is a small crack in the plastic
battery holder, but I look upon it as a badge of honour....try that with a
plastic wonderbrick...:-). Shortly thereafter, the police opened up with
more tear gas and the crowd started to disperse.
I wanted to stick around a bit longer to see if any other trouble brewed
(apparently, it didn't). However, the light was now gone and after being
sprayed and gassed, I had had enough. I felt quite sick Saturday night and
yesterday, but I'm back to normal today. I'm going to take the film in for
processing this evening (I shot 5 rolls of Reala, Max 800, and Ilford XP-2).
I'll post some of the results later this week.
OM content: my lightweight kit consisted of the OM-4/winder 2, 24mm 2.8,
35-70mm 3.6, and 135mm 2.8. Quick question to the list: those of you who
enjoy street photography/photojournalism, what lenses to you usually reach
for?
Take care,
Bruce
Bruce Hamm
Ottawa, Canada
bhamm@xxxxxxxx
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|