Excellent Wesley, getting a press pass is well worth the effort, or a stage pass, or anything that lets a person get "inside". Fantastic images and a really great prompt for the rest of us!
very nice... I did a few concerts like this at the Winnetka Music Festival (in Chicago) and it was a wonderful experience being onstage with various bands. Proximity = the great shots you got. I've been itching to go to Eagle Pass, Texas, one of the hot beds of the influx of, now, millions of illegal migrants into America... but every time I get close to going, I get a job... Thanks for sharing... and for the reminders! ;)
Rallies and protests are great places to make photos of people. Good work on this rally. The opportunities are boundless, and you caught some insightful images. I am not comfortable with these sorts of shoots, so it is nice to read how someone who covers them feels when working. Thanks for the insight.
Thanks for the kind words Don. I think I ended up realizing that while I am uncomfortable in large groups, that goes away when I have a camera and can go into observation mode.
Random political events are among my favorite subjects to jump into. In fact, some of my favorite shots of the year were from a protest I ended up covering in L.A. on New Year's Eve. I also love the idea of setting projects for oneself.
Nice work! I'm curious. I'm not asking about your politics. But about your decision to let the campaign license your work. (I assume you granted them license?)
I don't have a statement to make, but as I've covered a few dozen political events, it's been a challenge with how I identify myself in relation to the events. Does licensing your journalism work to a political cause or candidate compromise your ability to cover other events? Or... differently put: does being identified with a cause or candidate through the licensing affect your other work? Curious of your thoughts concerning the licensing.
Hi Mark, interesting question. I think, as always, it depends. I am not sure where he's at in 2024, but at the time Yang was a mainstream Democrat with left leaning philosophies on labor, nothing offensive or complex. He ran a unifying campaign that wasn't about excluding anyone and reached across the isle frequently. He was also very much an outside candidate with zero shot at winning. Licensing an image to his campaign imo is quite different from licensing an image to a populist running an offensive campaign, let alone one that also had a shot at winning.
I suppose a mainstream politician and populist movement are different. I got thrown into the Black Lives Matter protests in my city in 2020 as a freelance photographer for a street advocacy paper. I largely allied to the movements goals, and over the course of covering some 15 marches/protests that summer, I maintained that spiritual alliance. Early on i offered some folks wher who were involved some of the photos. But at a certain point, factions formed and more radical elements stepped up under the BLM banner. I was assaulted and threatened; i saw a local news film crew hassled and assaulted. I realized i had to make a choice, either go in full as an advocate photographer, or i needed to step back to take on an objective focus. I still believed in most of the movements goals, but i couldn't align my photography to it if I wanted to remain true to everythingI witnessed, both good and bad. It definitely changed how I covered social and political events thereafter. I don't do much straight Journalism now, but would jump back in if another large scale movement took hold. It's fascinating work at times.
Excellent Wesley, getting a press pass is well worth the effort, or a stage pass, or anything that lets a person get "inside". Fantastic images and a really great prompt for the rest of us!
Thank you Donn!
very nice... I did a few concerts like this at the Winnetka Music Festival (in Chicago) and it was a wonderful experience being onstage with various bands. Proximity = the great shots you got. I've been itching to go to Eagle Pass, Texas, one of the hot beds of the influx of, now, millions of illegal migrants into America... but every time I get close to going, I get a job... Thanks for sharing... and for the reminders! ;)
Rallies and protests are great places to make photos of people. Good work on this rally. The opportunities are boundless, and you caught some insightful images. I am not comfortable with these sorts of shoots, so it is nice to read how someone who covers them feels when working. Thanks for the insight.
Thanks for the kind words Don. I think I ended up realizing that while I am uncomfortable in large groups, that goes away when I have a camera and can go into observation mode.
Random political events are among my favorite subjects to jump into. In fact, some of my favorite shots of the year were from a protest I ended up covering in L.A. on New Year's Eve. I also love the idea of setting projects for oneself.
It's a must :)
Nice work! I'm curious. I'm not asking about your politics. But about your decision to let the campaign license your work. (I assume you granted them license?)
I don't have a statement to make, but as I've covered a few dozen political events, it's been a challenge with how I identify myself in relation to the events. Does licensing your journalism work to a political cause or candidate compromise your ability to cover other events? Or... differently put: does being identified with a cause or candidate through the licensing affect your other work? Curious of your thoughts concerning the licensing.
Hi Mark, interesting question. I think, as always, it depends. I am not sure where he's at in 2024, but at the time Yang was a mainstream Democrat with left leaning philosophies on labor, nothing offensive or complex. He ran a unifying campaign that wasn't about excluding anyone and reached across the isle frequently. He was also very much an outside candidate with zero shot at winning. Licensing an image to his campaign imo is quite different from licensing an image to a populist running an offensive campaign, let alone one that also had a shot at winning.
I suppose a mainstream politician and populist movement are different. I got thrown into the Black Lives Matter protests in my city in 2020 as a freelance photographer for a street advocacy paper. I largely allied to the movements goals, and over the course of covering some 15 marches/protests that summer, I maintained that spiritual alliance. Early on i offered some folks wher who were involved some of the photos. But at a certain point, factions formed and more radical elements stepped up under the BLM banner. I was assaulted and threatened; i saw a local news film crew hassled and assaulted. I realized i had to make a choice, either go in full as an advocate photographer, or i needed to step back to take on an objective focus. I still believed in most of the movements goals, but i couldn't align my photography to it if I wanted to remain true to everythingI witnessed, both good and bad. It definitely changed how I covered social and political events thereafter. I don't do much straight Journalism now, but would jump back in if another large scale movement took hold. It's fascinating work at times.
thanks for sharing mark, and so sorry to hear about those bad experiences. no one deserves that.
Very interesting read and great images, Wesley 👍
thanks mark!
Love a 24-70mm lens (16-55mm on my fujifilm camera).
power tool!
Great story and great images! Well done.
Thanks Benjamin!
Great Read !I was curious how did you do this contact sheet ?
Thanks Adil. It's a custom template I use.