Stop The War

Stop The War protests, London – 24th Feb 2007

According to the BBC organisers, 60,000 people turned up in London for the anti-war demos:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6393261.stm

I have to say, the turnout was surprising. It wasn’t publicised much, but I suppose any protest organised by the Stop The War Coalition is bound to be a big one.

It was a colourful protest – shame about the heavy rain though. It was the first time since I was stuck in a monsoon in India that I’d shot in rain. Not a particularly nice experience, especially when it’s cold and muddy. Still, I love protests, so that wasn’t too much of a problem.

I used 3 (!) lenses – 18-55, 50 and 100mm. Two is usually hard enough for me to swap between, so you can only imagine how confused I was having three at my disposal. On a side note, changing a lens in the rain smoothly is a hard, hard skill.

Judging by these placards still untouched, I wasn’t expecting a big crowd

The following shots were taken as people segregated at Hyde Park, before the march

Clearly a Prince Harry supporter:

She’s got to be off deviantArt right?

This one definitely is!

There are always a lot of people trying to sell newspapers or hand out leaflets

A policeman and his rather big toy

Music is always a good thing at protests

The Hare Krishna lot turned up with lots of music and food

That actually says ‘Trident’

This next shot also has the word ‘Trident’ cut off

This guy’s hat was cut off – I wasn’t tall enough to get it all in the shot. Ah well, it was still cool in reality, even if it looks shite here

Some drummers entertained the crowds. The lens got rain on it which explains the blurriness on the left

I want these earmuffs

Some people gave out positive messages

I thought this was a cool image – definitely one of the more imaginative ones

The third one was in the back

This woman was adorable!

Mr. Blair was kind enough to make an appearance

So was Bin Laden

Too bad about the focus, but to be fair, this guy was moving around so fast. I asked if I could get a shot of him and he took off his mask, and said in a cockney accent ‘What paper are you from?’. Me – ‘I’m not’. Him – ‘Oh, ok’. He put his mask back on, looked towards me for a couple of seconds, and started walking again.

Someone always has to ruin the shot

Muslims praying in Hyde Park

Hm.

We decided to go to Trafalgar Sqaure where the protest was headed

On the way, the police had blocked the road to the US Embassy

At the Square, the protest had a while to arrive, so it was pretty empty

This couple were snogging for ages. They stood in the centre of the square for a long, long time.

Whoops, she caught me spying. Or perving. Erm

The protest arrives.

Spot the Deviant!

The Stop The War protests always seem to really be a chance for people to demonstrate about whatever they want – Palestine, Climate Change, Nuclear Weapons, and in this case, the BBC

It’s good to see both the young and old out there!

It was a good protest, although I couldn’t stay for all of it. Oh, and remember this guy on the left? At a pro-Palestine event last year he proposed to me (yes, a random stranger), asking me if I would convert to Islam and inviting me over to his house. In fact, it was the old man in the shot (his father) who invited me to their home, and started to tell me how rubbish Hindiusm is, and how Islam is the way to go. (I won’t get into a rant or delve into this further here but let’s say these kind of proposals are not rare by such people. Think whatever you will). Anyway, I saw them at the protest again I was sure to give them a dirty look before walking away.

I haven’t converted any shots to b&w – I decided to keep them all in colour and have edited as little as possible (mainly because it’s late, I’m tired, and I’m too lazy. Oh, and converting to b&w seems so..fake).

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Today I went to the Chinese New Year celebrations in London – it was brilliant. There was such a vibrant and colourful atmosphere. The Chinese definitely know how to hold a festival!

First up was a parade.

This girl didn’t seem too amused.

It’s the year of the pig, in case you don’t know : )

I thought that was a pretty scary looking pig.

The parade got incredibly crowded and we found ourselves stuck in a mass of people, so we moved onto China Town.

This boy was talking on the phone and when he saw me aiming my camera at him he stopped and smiled sarcastically – bless.

This is some kind of Chinese dessert. I have no idea what it is but they were calling it Chinese Beard. I suppose it does look a bit like that!

Pretty piggies..

..and paper dragons

There were many stalls selling various food such as fish balls..

..and spring rolls mmm

and Chinese coffee (I forget the name)..

..and snails. Hm.

We celebrated Chinese New Year by eating in a Japanese restaurant

This was pad Thai noodles with shrimp and chicken. I think. Oh, and I can finally use chopsticks properly. Go me!

We passed these two guys who looked like they were on a break, and I took a shot of them.

They started giggling and looked all embarrassed :D

There were lots of these kind of dragons that danced to the sound of drums and cymbals

This little boy was one of the performers – he looked like a little rocker haha

The dragons went around China Town dancing into shops which had lettuce hanging in the doorway.

The dragon would ‘eat’ the lettuce..

and then throw it back into the shop.

Yes, I know – the focus is on the dragon instead of the people in the shop ¬__¬ Argh!

Apparently lettuce symbolises money, and the ritual takes place for good luck. Correct me if I’m wrong though!

Happy snappers

This boy seemed far from happy though

Some shopkeepers hung the lettuce from their window

It was fun watching this woman – she seemed petrified of the dragon

Lots of happy snappers!

So many people turned up this year, that all the entrances to China Town were blocked for a while.

It was definitely a great day out Someone was clearly bored though.

Next year is the year of the Rat – that’s me!

_{All shots taken using the 350D, most with the 35mm lens}