ShutterSpeed

Sometimes you don’t know what to expect when going to an assignment. Today, I headed to a tax day protest in front of the capitol expecting 10 or 20 people. As I drove up, I was amazed that more than 300 people had gathered to protest government spending and taxes. Protests offer photojournalists many opportunities to make great images. And I have to admit, I get excited over the prospect of covering a situation of potential conflict.

Today had little conflict. However, I made some nice images and thought readers might like to see a few. Photographing in crowds is difficult and easy at the same time. It’s hard to move around and get names of individuals. On the other hand, there is so much to shoot that you really cannot screw up. Although, on more than one occasion, I have screwed up.

So my strategy whenever I shoot an event like this is to try to get a good standard image that depicts the protest. Examples might be someone holding a sign or a shot of the entire group marching and so forth. After getting the ‘Cover Your Butt’ shot I try and get something more creative or different. I scan the crowd for good faces, interesting signs, screaming, crying and other opportunities that might yield a good picture. Listening to the crowd is extremely important — use it as an extra set of eyes.

I usually keep my F-Stop in the 5.6 to 11 range however will kick it up to 2.8 to compress space or isolate a subject. Hope you like the pix.