There's going to be a riot!!!

RockDawg · Apr 28, 2008

SrBiscuit said:
color me intrigued...
i echo miss banana's question...lol...how does one scedule a spontaneous violent gathering

And more importantly why? What is the significance of May 1st? Is it national riot day or something?

Harmony · Apr 28, 2008

Yeah, I know, I'm sitting here thinking, "I'm either innocent or ignorant, and I don't know which is worse. What the heck does May 1st have to do with anything?" Anyone care you explain?

plentygood · Apr 28, 2008

May 1st, or "May Day" is a labor holiday in many countries and there are often labor and political protests and riots. Canada and the US don't celebrate the international holiday. (I'm not an expert, but I think all I've said is correct).

Harmony · Apr 28, 2008

Ahhhhhhhhhh. Yes, I see now. You are right in stating that we don't celebrate May Day. In fact, there actually aren't that many riots in BC... or in Canada, really. (Unless you count the riot in Montreal over the Habs winning. They managed to turn a celebration into a see-who-can-dent-the-police-car-fastest contest. Canadians are a little high-strung when it comes to hockey...)

Slaphead · Apr 29, 2008

Thanks for all the replies. If Thursday runs true to form then I don't think I need to be too concerned about personal safety - yeah naturally I'll watch my ass etc, but in the location it tends to take place there's plenty of room to get out the way, and having been there last year I have a fair idea of how it'll play out

The Zürich riot tends to be more like a fast moving game of chess between the rioters and the Police. It's like it's a yearly sporting event that's watched by the locals. There never seems to be too much in the way of violence towards people (the Police come in for a bit of stick, but then the rioters come in for a bit of stick from the Police). Mostly its about damaging property as fast as possible (usual stuff - Luxury cars, windows of banks and global companies, Police vehicles etc) Possibly the most irritating thing is being near a tear gas canister when it goes off, but it's not as bad a people seem to think. Rubber bullets sting a bit as well - the guns spread the rubber shot like shotguns, so they're pretty indiscriminate.

I won't be in the dead center of the action - that would be asking for it - from both sides, but it's possible to follow very close and predict which way it's going to go by the positon of the Police blocks.

There is however something that may well wreck this little project. Rain is predicted for Thursday. The Zürich rioters appear to be a fair weather lot and if it rains there might be 10 rioters and 500 police. If this happens then the whole thing might be over before anybody's noticed it's begun.

I'll post the photos when I have them but be warned, I'm a beginner with a camera and framing is not my strong point - not that I'll have to much time to worry about that anyway - so the photos may be nothing to write home about. Constructive criticism will be galdly appreciated.

Cheers

Mr Tripod · Apr 29, 2008

Rogan said:
taking a heavy metal tripod XD

[FONT=&quot]Works for me every time. :mrgreen:

I believe you'll be pretty much ok with this riot, rioters will be more focused on the police if any around? then on a photographer. Just try to stay clear from main trouble spots if any should arise. Please do share the photos with us.
[/FONT]

Slaphead · May 2, 2008

Ok, Photos taken, I'm still alive(just - I'll explain when I post photos), not in jail (just - and I'll explain this later as well), and the camera and lens is intact. Unfotunately I've only had time to review the shots on the camera so far.

Needless to say I found shooting in this environment very difficult especially with the adrenaline coursing through my veins making my hands somewhat unsteady - thank god for VR - and the fact that the whole thing this year was pretty much locked into one street, making position difficult to achieve for those who still enjoy life.

The photos are certainly not as good as what I've seen in the press this morning (I didn't expect them to be - I'm a noob in this game) but there are, IMHO, some passable shots. I'm at work at the moment so I'll not be posting the photos until the weekend - Sorry.

By the way Nikons seemed to outnumber Canons by about 3 to 1 amongst what I believed to be the professionals. Seems like nobody wanted their Canons damaged ;-)

Cheers

Alex_B · May 2, 2008

I hope lots of rioters were arrested.

Slaphead · May 2, 2008

Alex_B said:
I hope lots of rioters were arrested.

Oh yes. I quote from one of this mornings papers "Bilanz am Abend: 284 Verhaftete, 12 Verletzte." - Rough translation "Balance at the end of the day: 284 arrested, 12 injured."

I have a couple of photos of arrests by undercover police as well.