The next batch of images come from my time documenting the G20 protests in Toronto. I try to separate my political views from my photography, which means that while I was there I considered myself a documenter busy at work and not a protester, but I imagine its impossible to divorce values from such work since photography is a form of expression and expression depends on values. It is, after all, always a conscious choice of the photographer to select the subject and to determine when to take the shot. I feel that even if I only wanted to empathize with the protesters when I started to photograph, that my photography became my method of protest as the day went on.

I went on the first day, a Saturday, and it was relatively peaceful for the most part, but the police were on edge, probably due to expecting the worst and probably because most of them weren’t even from Toronto and annoyed with being transferred. There was an energy in the air, the current coursing through the crowd as police forces exerted their authority. Police held back the crowd, rushing, skirmishing and maintaining their perimeter. Protesters protested louder, but remained relatively peaceful. Individuals who were peacefully protesting were detained in a couple of instances after a police rush, resulting in protesters and journalists alike fleeing. It was around this time that the black bloc anarchists were preparing for their vandalism as a diversionary tactic to draw police away from the security fence. The rest of the day was a period of smashed windows, flaming police cruisers and a chaotic downtown Toronto. The black bloc had their fun, not proving a point to anybody but making all peaceful protesters appear to the average Canadian as a violent mob of trouble makers. I have photos of the vandalism, but I don’t consider it interesting photography and I imagine most people saw their share on the news during and after the G20, so there’s no reason to post those images here. Bravo, anarchists, you really did something of value and were in no way just a bunch of thugs breaking things.

Sunday was a bit different than Saturday and I’ll admit I’m glad that I wasn’t there. The police presence was increased and it resulted in the single largest mass arrest in Canadian history. Journalists were injured, detained and camera equipment was broken. I suppose I got lucky. I almost didn’t go on Saturday, but my friend Alex insisted that I drag myself out of bed. I’m glad he encouraged me to attend and if it weren’t for him I would’ve probably went on Sunday. I do consider the event to have been an unforgettable experience and a great learning opportunity. I had to work under very chaotic conditions, but I think the photos are very interesting.

I’ll only be posting what I consider to be my favourite photos on this website since I figure quality over quantity is a good standard to have and it compliments any sort of bandwidth cap I’ll need to worry about. The photos I choose will be categorized by theme and posted in batches of 10 to 15, with this post including the first batch. I plan to type up some exposition as well, explaining the back story and maybe methodology, thought processes or purpose of certain elements.

Today’s theme is street photography, something that I did in 2008. It typically means photographing strangers with a camera in public and making spiffy black and white conversions. I usually listen to music whenever I am out alone with my camera and this is great for street photography because I am completely unaware of how noisy the shutter on my camera actually sounds. At least this was true until I tried shooting without music blaring into my ears and could hear the sound of the shutter and auto focus for myself. Any illusion I once had that I was stealth photographing people went out the window after that.

Maybe I’ll force myself to get back into street photography in the near future. I was never confronted about it, even if I remember a couple people giving my dirty looks afterwards. At any rate, I doubt I’ll do it in Hamilton again, because you can only walk up and down King or James street so many times before you can’t take it any more.