I went to a Tea Party after work today. What stood out to me was not the signs, but the faces. The people at the Tea Party were solid citizens. Tax paying citizens. Voters. Many were proud to have served
their our country in the military. All were productive people. All were concerned about their country falling apart. Of course, the local politicians were on hand for their sound bites and feigned support. Most people there saw right through the attempts to garner a few votes.
Among the signs were flags. The Gadsden flag and the first Navy Jack were proudly flown. One person had Old Glory unfurled upside down. I was glad to see the snakes flying, but I honestly think flying the stars and stripes inverted was pushing it. A maritime signal of distress, in my opinion, should be reserved for when it is warranted.
I found the protest to be a cornucopia of people willing to be photographed. World War II veterans. Working Joes. Housewives. Businessmen. Fathers. Mothers. Teenagers. Kids. I began by photographing the signs they were carrying, often from a distance with my 70-210 zoom lens.
Then, as I moved among the crowd with my 18-70mm zoom and my 85mm prime lens in my pockets, I began to ask people if I could photograph them with their signs. Most were happy to have their picture taken, after all, that was why they were there.
I kept my camera set to shoot 4 fps, and captured several shots of each subject, so I could chose the best one. The 70-210 zoom was great for getting candid shots, and the 18-70 was perfect for shooting among the crowd. It wasn't long before I had my 85mm lens locked on the front of the D-200 though. It wasn't the signs of protest that interested me so much as it was the people. Overcoming the reluctance of asking a person to take their photograph was my goal. I commented on their sign, or T-shirt, whatever they had brought to participate, and then simply asked for a photo. I was refused by only one fellow who wanted me to photograph his sign, but not his face.
Each opportunity lasted less than a minute, so the ability to shoot a burst of four or five photos gave me the option of picking the best one, eliminating the photo with a person walking in front of the camera or having their eyes closed. For better or worse, here are my cherry picked and cropped results.
I began to photograph the crowd again.........
In the crowd was a bright face that glowed like one of the Andrews sisters. I decided to find her when the speeches and music were over.
UPDATE: The response to these photos has been so strong and positive that I plan to continue to post a photograph of another Tea Party participant every couple of days until my supply is exhausted. These will be tagged "
Faces of a Revolution." Hopefully, by then, there will be another Tea Party. I feel a political tsunami is building.........
Labels: Faces of a Revolution, Photographs
My first set of photographs of Tea party participants is nearly exhausted. The message the people who gathered was clear and undiluted. There is a groundswell building. It will not go away unless the path our government has chosen changes to be for the People and by the People once again.
