Wednesday 30 November 2011

N30 Protest

Today I am in London covering the planned public sector strike action. If the unions are to be believed, the expected turnout could be one of the largest public sector protests in recent years. This all comes after legnthy talks between union leaders and the government, which in the last few weeks have deteriorated into a somewhat petty PR battle.

From what I can tell, public opinion on these strikes is somewhat divided between those who either support the strike or support their right to strike, and those who believe that the unions are being selfish at a time when the country needs to pull together.
I'd personally like to add that whether you support the strikes or not, could you all please respect their right to strike as it is a valuable part of our democracy.

Follow me on twitter @RDG_Documentary for updates throughout the day.

Thursday 17 November 2011

Could it all be over for the Occupy movement?

As you may have heard, police forces in New York removed both protesters and their camp from the Occupy Wall Street movement. By the sound of it the British arm of their movement outside St. Paul's Cathedral may be facing something similar in the days to come. They've been issued eviction notices, and the government and local council are gaining confidence from the events across the pond.

So yesterday I went down to Nottingham's Old Market Square to see if they've been affected by this. They were still there, and bigger than when I last saw them. When asked if they were worried about being removed given the current state of their world wide counterparts, they seemed surprisingly optimistic. They told me that they had proof from the planning office that the ground they are on belongs to the citizens of Nottingham so they can't legally be removed. I guess this begs the question, what gives them the right to be there anymore than any other citizen of Nottingham?

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Text before Subtext in Photographs

The meaning of 9/11's most controversial photo

Follow the link for quite an interesting article about one of the most controversial photographs taken on 9/11. I find it amazing how much people read into it without much thought into other options. It just goes to show what can happen when you attempt to read subtext into everything you see without taking a step back and having a look at the bigger picture.

It made me think about how I see photos, and how other people may see my images. For instance the photograph below is one I took back in January at a protest in London. It was chosen by the BBC to go on their round up of the weeks news as the one photo to represent the large protests that took place in both London and Manchester. I think this may have been partially down to the fact that most peoples first impression of the image is that the policeman is being heavy handed and violent as he grabs this protester and pushes her back.