Processing…
I’m processing the protest. I’m processing the articles written about the protest. I’m processing comments people are leaving about the protest. I’m processing how prevalent racism still is, even in the progressive community. And I’m processing my photographs.
As I go through the hundreds of images I took during the presidential candidate town hall protest at Netroots Nation on Saturday I understand how my reaction to the protest unfolded. It was chaotic event, but the protesters were impressive. They stood strong, they were organized and they were persistent. The crowd was mostly uncomfortable and annoyed, and the candidates showed their true colors. I would argue that I learned more about Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders during that protest then I ever would have through stump speeches and scripted question and answer sessions.
We were asked by many to post the video of the event so people can “decide for themselves”. We were also accused of cherry picking the photos we used in our first article about the protest. So I went back and I looked closely at every single photo I took and what I saw was exactly what we showed in our first article.
For forty-five minutes I read the room. Good photojournalism sometimes requires turning away from the action to capture responses. Video rarely captures that part of the event. I photographed the protesters and I photographed people reacting to the protesters. I photographed the candidates when they were talking and when they were silent. I photographed the Netroots Nation staff letting the protesters have a voice and, in my opinion, handling the situation very well. I photographed those in the crowd watching and recording the event and I photographed those who just sat there.
My images tell the story.
NOTE: Other Eclectablog coverage of this event with additional photos can be found HERE and HERE.
