Feeling the need to get out and do some photography today, I looked up the "Occupy" protests for MN and decided to head downtown to see what was going on and do some shooting. I've found the whole Occupy thing kind of annoying and pointless, and seeing what was going on downtown did nothing to change my mind. I've had a hard time figuring out what the purpose of the Occupy protests is, and that's because there's no central theme. In short, the Occupy protests are against everything that is status quo, be it the mortgage/foreclosure situation, foreign wars, gay marriage, etc. Occupy is pretty much a catch-all for every far left-wing issue that I can think of. Given that it's impossible to market everything to everyone, I suspect this movement will ultimately fail and go away quietly. It's hard to succeed when you can't articulate your objectives clearly and concisely, and when you actually offer few or no solutions to the problems you present. The one exception to this might be the topic of the particular protest I saw and followed around today, which was in favor of gay marriage and against an upcoming "straight marriage only" amendment that will be voted on in MN. This is pretty easy to understand, but I have to ask: what does it have to do with occupying Wall St.? This movement makes little sense to me.
All in all, it was interesting to at least see and I got some decent photos. It was also interesting to see how small the movement is here in MN. MN is a pretty liberal state, so I was expecting hundreds if not thousands of people. There were fewer than 100. Here's some video to start:
And the photos:
This dude seemed to be one of the ringleaders most of the time I was there:
The Mormon Church was getting some good press:
Plenty of mess around from people camping out:
This dude was walking around with his laptop, getting everything on webcam:
Although Target is known to support gay rights groups and offers benefits to its LGBT employees, it has gotten more press in the LGBT community for donating to the campaign of an anti-gay marriage candidate in MN's last gubernatorial election. This being the case, the stop in front of Target was not unforeseen.
I had dinner inside this building last week:
A common scene at protests these days: Guy Fawkes masks, inspired by "V for Vendetta":
I saw the photos you posted on Facebook, but it's good to have the context you're giving here. I've been meaning to head up to SLC to see if I can get anything up there. There's a whole group hanging out at Pioneer Park. While it's frustrating that there's no real purpose to these protests, I'm at least glad people are getting pissed off enough about what's going on to at least speak up.
Yeah, I didn't feel like posting a bunch of comments on Facebook because I don't want to debate anyone on the matter. Although I have my own opinion on what's going on, I really did go as an observer with an open mind and wanted the photos to reflect that.
I think a lot of the things on protesters minds are problems that do need to be addressed, and hopefully portions of the movement will galvanize to the point of being able to pressure the right people into addressing them. If what I saw is any indication, however, we are far, far away from that. I particularly don't think it helps that the same cast of characters is out there, because they typically represent the far left wing, and that turns a lot of people off. This includes socialists, anarchists and hardcore environmentalists.
I can understand not wanting a debate. You can imagine what the overall consensus is of the occupiers is here in Utah.
Yeah, it's been a long time since I've really gone out shooting. I just felt like I just ran out of things to shoot, which is why I jump at the chance to do portraits whenever the opportunity arises. Just something new.
Yeah, I know what you mean about not having stuff to shoot. That's been one of the best parts of my current job--traveling always provides new and interesting subjects, and all the time spent shooting has helped me to get a lot better at it. Makes me wish I could go back to places I went 2-3 years ago when I started really getting into it so I could do them over.
I'll be in UT next week and then again for Christmas. I'm going to be with family most of the time (particularly next week) but will try to give you a call. Maybe we can go out shooting or just go out to eat or something. Would be great to catch up.
I saw the photos you posted on Facebook, but it's good to have the context you're giving here. I've been meaning to head up to SLC to see if I can get anything up there. There's a whole group hanging out at Pioneer Park. While it's frustrating that there's no real purpose to these protests, I'm at least glad people are getting pissed off enough about what's going on to at least speak up.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I didn't feel like posting a bunch of comments on Facebook because I don't want to debate anyone on the matter. Although I have my own opinion on what's going on, I really did go as an observer with an open mind and wanted the photos to reflect that.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the things on protesters minds are problems that do need to be addressed, and hopefully portions of the movement will galvanize to the point of being able to pressure the right people into addressing them. If what I saw is any indication, however, we are far, far away from that. I particularly don't think it helps that the same cast of characters is out there, because they typically represent the far left wing, and that turns a lot of people off. This includes socialists, anarchists and hardcore environmentalists.
I can understand not wanting a debate. You can imagine what the overall consensus is of the occupiers is here in Utah.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's been a long time since I've really gone out shooting. I just felt like I just ran out of things to shoot, which is why I jump at the chance to do portraits whenever the opportunity arises. Just something new.
Yeah, I know what you mean about not having stuff to shoot. That's been one of the best parts of my current job--traveling always provides new and interesting subjects, and all the time spent shooting has helped me to get a lot better at it. Makes me wish I could go back to places I went 2-3 years ago when I started really getting into it so I could do them over.
ReplyDeleteI'll be in UT next week and then again for Christmas. I'm going to be with family most of the time (particularly next week) but will try to give you a call. Maybe we can go out shooting or just go out to eat or something. Would be great to catch up.