People's Climate March in NYC

This past weekend I went to the People's Climate March in NYC. There was over a quarter million people in attendance at the march and it was a great celebration as well as a call to action on climate justice. I spent much of the day taking photographs while also being a participant in the march.

I greatly enjoyed taking these photographs and am also fairly pleased with how they came out. I took these photos with a Canon Rebel Xti and 28-55mm lens which I borrowed from the photo department.

In this photograph I was trying to capture the number of people in the length of the march. I liked the variety in different kinds of people and different things going on. I liked how the "One way" sign points in the direction that the marchers are going suggesting that there is only one option to tackle climate change. The woman on the left side of the photograph was a challenge for me. I first attempted to crop her out of the photograph but there was no easy way to do it without crowding the street signs or cropping out the photographer man next to her. In the end I decided to leave her as a part of the photo because I felt she added to the different people, actions and moods of everyone in the photograph. I spent quite some time burning, dodging and desaturating certain parts of the image to emphasize and highlight particular parts.

 I liked this photograph because of the red, white and blue elements. During the march I was considering the idea of democracy and patriotism. For example isn't it patriotic to take part in democracy through peaceful demonstrations. I think that was why this woman really stuck out in the crowd for me because of her red and white striped shirt and blue and white sign. I also like the man in the foreground wearing his People's Climate March Peacekeeper's shirt although I wished I had snapped the photo just a moment earlier so that he would have been a bit further to the right.

 While looking through my photos I first didn't think much of this particular one but in the end decided to put a bit of time into it. I like the times when people's voices are heard and people join their voices together in chants. I was a bit rushed when editing this photo and didn't spend a lot of time with it but I think it captures a moment in the march.