#ShootBack Day 2:August 18th was the first day of protest scheduled by community activists in Atlant
#ShootBack Day 2:August 18th was the first day of protest scheduled by community activists in Atlanta and began at the CNN Center. As I approached the steps of the large tourist destination and Atlanta landmark, I gasped at the mass of people that I saw. I estimated that a few hundreds of people came to the Trayvon Martin rally a couple of years before that I attended, but this….this was thousands. In fact this photo is a result of me realizing my inability to move in the crowd to take photos. You can see evidence of this in this photo and the previous one. As I fought my way through the crowd, I saw unexpected familiar faces- faces from old and young, educators, artists, athletes and so on. The girl at the microphone is a youth poet I met a while back in Atlanta while out viewing performances….but more on her later. As I saw plenty of strangers but even friends at the core of the crowd of thousands- I got more serious about taking photos of this occasion. I decided that even if there were “better professional” photographers out there taking photos- that I should at the very least capture my friends in such a grand moment. As weird as it might sound to some, as a photographer I sometimes choose to not take continuously photos of every great moment I experience. I allow myself to subject myself to the “real” world for a moment, unlike the perceptive artist photographer in me that keeps me on my toes constantly. I just wanted to observe at the beginning, but I felt the magnitude and saw that this was worthy of documenting even if someone else had better photos in the end. I was not going to lose this moment.Project #ShootBack is an informal photojournal account of my experience as a young person, photographer and activist leading up to my goal of traveling to Selma, Alabama in March to photograph the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” Thousands, including the president will be coming to town. I’m currently raising money for this trip and my activism efforts in general here:http://www.gofundme.com/ArtandActivism -- source link
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