A Street Protest, C&C pls

[malayneum]

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[SrBiscuit]

i like the shots!
very real.

what was the protest about?

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Nice, I like most of those. What speed film are you using?

 

[malayneum]

i like the shots!
very real.

what was the protest about?

Thanks.

The protestors are planning to hand out a memorandum to the King to appeal for the government to abolish the ISA (Internal Security Act). Its a law akin to the US Patriot Act where any suspects can be detained and locked up by the police without trial for up to two years. Its a law passed on by the previous British colonial some 60 years ago to counter the Communist influence, and still being practiced here after the independence of Malaysia. The law are being criticized by many party because instead of countering terrorism and extremism its often misused by the ruling politicians to shut their opponents' voice instead.

 

[malayneum]

Nice, I like most of those. What speed film are you using?

To be very honest, they were all captured by a crappy Cybershot owned by my sister. a little PP took place for sure. But if i get to own a film camera (i hope i will soon), this is exactly how i will do my photos. This photos are my first time experience. I hope with more experience and skills gained overtime, i will be ready to own a proper DSLR or maybe a rangefinder perhaps.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Well, I was seeing grain and it was noise Since I am not very experienced with digital, I will not say anything else.

 

[SrBiscuit]

yeah im diggin the looks of these.

interesting story behind it too.
not sure what it would take for americans to protest.
that was a rhetorical statement and likely should not have been made. nothing further on the topic.

 

[ocular]

I like 3,4,5 great pics

 

[In2daBlue]

Not bad. But, if you want some helpful suggestions here is what I can offer. I have shot more street protests than I can count. Been pushed around by protesters and gassed by police many times. Through it all, here are the things I have found make or break street protest photography:

First, get right into the middle of the action. Put your long glass away for the protest and get your wide angle out. I shoot most street protests with my 28-70mm on one camera and my fixed 14mm on the back-up. The wider you are the more you will be forced to get right in the middle of the action.

Second, get low. Too often people shooting street protests forget the power composing the image from down low can offer. The excitement of the moment keeps people on walking and their shots tend to be mostly at eye level. Get down low, around people's knees and waist and then shoot up on them. It gives the photos the effect of being totally surrounded by the action (again use a wide lens).

Thirdly, and this was something my first photo editor taught me, "Faces, faces, faces!" Street protests usually offer an excellent opportunity to capture emotion in people's expressions. They are protesting for a reason and it rarely is because they are happy. Most of the time, they are angry. Therefore, they are yelling, screaming, spitting, etc. etc. etc. Get in close and really capture that emotion.

At the end of the day, it's the emotion of the protesters that makes street protests interesting, not the fact that there a bunch of people gathering in the street.

Fourth, following up on number three, have a couple of shots where you fill the entire frame with someone's face who is exhibiting a ton of emotion. Those shots (filled frame, face, emotion) are 100% of the time what photo editors choose to run on the front page the next day. The shots of a couple hundred people in the street are passed on.

Finally, when police arrive, put yourself in the position of being in the middle of the action when they clash with protesters. If a policeman is getting ready to hit a protester with a club you should be right there so you can grab a frame where the cop is one side and the protester on the other with nothing else in the foreground. Or in other words, anticipate the moment because during street protests they are bound to happen... it's always just a matter of time.

That is my two cents.

 

[musicaleCA]

Well, I was seeing grain and it was noise Since I am not very experienced with digital, I will not say anything else.

Heh. Don't worry about it. I was fooled myself into thinking that was film grain. You've gotta look really close, preferably at blacks, to know that it's actually luma noise. Luma noise is harder than film grain, because it's per-pixel, so you'll notice a certain squareness to it and the pattern. The transition between the bright, over-exposed area of the noise happens much faster than it does with grain. Though the noise on this camera is pretty good; quite even, and likely easily removed.

 

[malayneum]

Not bad. But, if you want some helpful suggestions here is what I can offer. I have shot more street protests than I can count. Been pushed around by protesters and gassed by police many times. Through it all, here are the things I have found make or break street protest photography:

First, get right into the middle of the action. Put your long glass away for the protest and get your wide angle out. I shoot most street protests with my 28-70mm on one camera and my fixed 14mm on the back-up. The wider you are the more you will be forced to get right in the middle of the action.

Second, get low. Too often people shooting street protests forget the power composing the image from down low can offer. The excitement of the moment keeps people on walking and their shots tend to be mostly at eye level. Get down low, around people's knees and waist and then shoot up on them. It gives the photos the effect of being totally surrounded by the action (again use a wide lens).

Thirdly, and this was something my first photo editor taught me, "Faces, faces, faces!" Street protests usually offer an excellent opportunity to capture emotion in people's expressions. They are protesting for a reason and it rarely is because they are happy. Most of the time, they are angry. Therefore, they are yelling, screaming, spitting, etc. etc. etc. Get in close and really capture that emotion.

At the end of the day, it's the emotion of the protesters that makes street protests interesting, not the fact that there a bunch of people gathering in the street.

Fourth, following up on number three, have a couple of shots where you fill the entire frame with someone's face who is exhibiting a ton of emotion. Those shots (filled frame, face, emotion) are 100% of the time what photo editors choose to run on the front page the next day. The shots of a couple hundred people in the street are passed on.

Finally, when police arrive, put yourself in the position of being in the middle of the action when they clash with protesters. If a policeman is getting ready to hit a protester with a club you should be right there so you can grab a frame where the cop is one side and the protester on the other with nothing else in the foreground. Or in other words, anticipate the moment because during street protests they are bound to happen... it's always just a matter of time.

That is my two cents.

yeah i always feel like there are something missing in my photos. now i know what they are. thanks for pointing out. thats a very good advice. i really appreciate that.

i guess i should be more prepared next time. since this is my first try, i believe there is much much more room for me to improve.