PROTEST COVERAGE

EXTINCTION REBELLION

I was the lead photographer during an Extinction Rebellion Protest in Durham, where I spent the day capturing the group of young adults striking for global environmental movement with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse.

Here, I talked to many of the protesters and found many of them were deeply passionate about the climate crisis at hand and had left their relative Sixth Forms and Universities for the day in order to make a stand.

Many of them had openly faced criticism from some older members of the communities, one man stated ‘This is a waste of time; no change is going to come from this daft display of naivety’, so a young lass, photographed above, gently spoke to him explaining that no change would come from no action, which was the very reason they were protesting in the first place. He soon left, tutting and sighing and the young lady returned to her place at the front line of the group.

I had chosen to use my Nikon D3200 for this shoot, as I had with me both my 18-55mm lens and my 50-220mm lens, which meant I could really pinpoint the individuals within the group of protesters, as I felt it was important to emphasise how this massive group of people was formed through individuals choosing to take a stand.

I then proceeded to lightly edit them, and desaturate them, as I felt this emphasised the sense of unity among them, as they are all seen together, in the same way. This was such an amazing experience to have been part of, and I have been invited back for two more potential documenting of these protests across the North East in the upcoming months.