NikonGear'23

Images => People, Portraits, Street, PJ & Cityscapes => Topic started by: Tristin on November 10, 2016, 09:29:27

Title: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Tristin on November 10, 2016, 09:29:27
It was unexpectedly low energy.  There was a bit of tear gas and riot cops cleared the streets to deal with fires, but no melees or rubber rounds being fired.  I was quite interested in the fact that people were more spectators than participants.

All with Nikkor 105mm f/1.8 Ai-s at aperatures 1.8, 1.8, 2, 2.8, 4 and 4 respectively
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: golunvolo on November 10, 2016, 09:35:04
Right after the election... Interesting that people take seriously and even more, the majority seems to be recording indeed and that´s what really scares me. Fitting dark mood with fire
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: stenrasmussen on November 10, 2016, 09:39:17
Excellent...both the protest and the documentation thereof.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Tristin on November 10, 2016, 09:40:13
Right after the election... Interesting that people take seriously and even more, the majority seems to be recording indeed and that´s what really scares me. Fitting dark mood with fire

Considering how intense protests can be in Oakland, this one was quite underwhelming .  I was expecting much higher levels of public aggression.  I think it was more a public expression of shameful, powerless anger than the sincere "fuck the system" typically on display in Oakland.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: David H. Hartman on November 10, 2016, 09:57:36
I came. I saw. ~
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: golunvolo on November 10, 2016, 10:03:27
I came. I saw. ~

 ... I lose  :o
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: John Geerts on November 10, 2016, 10:20:45
Greatly documented, especially the first two.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: elsa hoffmann on November 10, 2016, 12:18:46
great captures  - I felt quite at home :) (we also have protests )
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: armando_m on November 10, 2016, 15:18:38
Well documented, thanks for sharing the images
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: RBSinTo on November 10, 2016, 16:23:49
Tristan,
Excellent photojournalism.
Well done.
Robert
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Frank Fremerey on November 10, 2016, 17:08:07
I like the pictures.

I do not understand why people want democracy on the one hand but do not accept results of a democratic vote on the other hand.
If I want other results I have to convince a majority, like the people who convinced a majority of "legalize it in CA"...
"If your trumped smoke a J*"

I recommend Michael Moore's film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0sUZxwJHNQ
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Tristin on November 10, 2016, 17:52:29
Frank, I agree.  The east bay area is a hotbed of angry and sociopolitically charged people.  Street protests are to be expected here in resonse to a wide variety of events.  Being more expressive/reactionary, they tend to have no real aim.  Which sucks because they just cost the community a lot of money in overtime for the police (whom they loathe, but ironically stuff their stockings) and property damage.

This election is shining a light on a serious problem with the left in US politics that none of the lefts want to own up to yet.  The left here, both supporters and the Democratic party, have disdain for the actual democratic process when it doesn't serve them.   A large portion of lefts I "know" on social media are openly proclaiming that they are erasing all Trump supporters (family explicitly included) from their lives and will not talk  to them.  They are protesting the election results and talk of it as America is seriously over.  All of course because they didn't win in the voting booths, not that it wasn't a fair election between  Trump and Clinton.  They do not want democracy.  They want their ideals to be in power.

Then we have the Democratic party which, as it's own internal communications make clear, approach democracy like a parent in a parent/child relationship.  They believe they should be making the real choices for US citizens as they know better, and simply appear democratic while they push their agenda.  Again, more interested in their ideology being in power, not democracy.

As a person on the left myself, and certainly no supporter of Trump, it is strange to watch an election cycle where the Republicans have been the ones playing fair.  I may detest the individual they propped up but at least their party did not exclude Trump nor did they engage in extensive collusion to push their choice.  Thankfully one side still upholds democracy, even if I can't stand Trump or any of their candidates in decades.

Looking forward to 2020, hopefully the Democratic party brings it's inflated head back to earth after such a humiliating and utter defeat.
Title: Well put, Tristin
Post by: Steven Paulsen on November 10, 2016, 18:39:47
Personally, I prefer to remain in the gray, due to reasons concerning "Big Brother," oversights & the like. As I read your statement on foreword to the year 2020, my self, is only honestly concerned about survival in the following, 6 months.

Mainstream Social Media is merely the equivalent of a well monitored:

"Cake & Circus."
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Frank Fremerey on November 10, 2016, 19:26:13
Thank you Tristin. Back to photos.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Thomas G on November 10, 2016, 19:52:03
Thanks Tristin for actual eye witness pictures. A quite jounalistic style of work.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: pluton on November 11, 2016, 02:18:04
Good shots.  Thanks for showing them. 
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: MFloyd on November 11, 2016, 19:25:39
For me, not close enough to the action. Remember what Robert Capa said. 😉
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Tristin on November 11, 2016, 22:33:58
There wasn't any action to be had.  It was basically people standing around taking pictures of bonfires in the streets, which is what made it a strange protest.  People here are used to tear gas and riot cops so things were pretty low key, as strange as that may sound
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: David H. Hartman on November 12, 2016, 04:06:19
Tristin,

May I suggest that next time you stand in one of the bonfires, then surely you will be close enough.

Dave Hartman

...but please don't get burned!
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Mongo on November 12, 2016, 08:38:05
Mongo likes the photo journal you have made of the protest event. Nice work and glad you were not injured in the process.

Mongo is much like Frank in this. He too does not understand the point of the protest in this instance. Most protest take place BEFORE the happening of something with the intention of influencing the outcome. In this case, it just makes no sense - it is not as if the election result would be changed by the protest. It seems to Mongo to be what we call "bloody mindedness" and mindless destruction. Mongo has read and appreciates your earlier reply  to Frank by way of trying to explain the reason behind it.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Akira on November 12, 2016, 12:16:07
Tristin, your images convey the atmosphere of the demonstration and the feelings of the people really nicely.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Jakov Minić on November 12, 2016, 13:13:28
If you take the images out of context, I am not sure whether I would characterize them as a protest, but a celebration, spectacle, concert, alternative art display, or similar.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Erik Lund on November 12, 2016, 20:58:02
That is also how I see the images.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Ron Scubadiver on November 12, 2016, 21:27:47
Great PJ, although I find this kind of lawlessness to be unacceptable.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Lowell on November 12, 2016, 22:10:30
Tristin,  Great bunch of images, especially how so many are recording with still of video photography.  I really like the fellow climbing high to get a shot of the action some distance away.  Also like that you show that they are basically burning the trash bins.  I see no police presence, nor was anyone attempting to put out the fires.

By the way, interesting bokeh in image #3 showing the distant street lamps through the smoke. 

Great images. 

Lowell 
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: charlie on November 13, 2016, 00:20:14
Mongo likes the photo journal you have made of the protest event. Nice work and glad you were not injured in the process.

Mongo is much like Frank in this. He too does not understand the point of the protest in this instance. Most protest take place BEFORE the happening of something with the intention of influencing the outcome. In this case, it just makes no sense - it is not as if the election result would be changed by the protest. It seems to Mongo to be what we call "bloody mindedness" and mindless destruction. Mongo has read and appreciates your earlier reply  to Frank by way of trying to explain the reason behind it.

I think it is important to separate rioters form protesters.

Rioters I would have to agree, mindless & unacceptable. It seems the vast majority of people protesting however are peaceful and are not protesting the election results, rather the message of hatred and disrespect towards people and our planet which Donald Trump spread through out his campaign. Protesting in hopes to prevent sexism, racism, & bigotry from becoming [more] normalized in society. It is not just people in the streets, government officials are also coming out to state that they will not back down on issues such as climate change, immigration, equal rights, etc. Focusing on only the rioters is in my opinion missing the bigger picture.   

Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Andrea B. on November 13, 2016, 01:22:12
Thank you Charlie, that was well explained.

I will add a small comment:  Peaceful protest is a cherished freedom and tradition in the US. We have the constitutional right to gather together and present our views. Reference:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_assembly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_assembly)
There will be many more such protests for a while. 10,000 are marching tonight in New York City. But eventually everyone will settle into the next four years.
Remember, people like Ghandi and Martin Luther King have altered the laws of nations by means of such peaceful protests. I only hope that things remain peaceful with the current protesters.

Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Ashlandish on November 13, 2016, 02:30:30
America playing with fire, in many ways, and fine photographs. Agree with Charlie and Andrea, they are wise.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Mongo on November 13, 2016, 05:01:47
thanks Charlie and Andrea B for your perspective on these actions. Mongo would like to think that they may have been against the various notions of sexism, racism etc rather than the election result itself. However, if that were the case, one would have to ask where were these protest/rioters when these sort of comments were originally made ??? and why would they injure innocent people and property ??? Mongo knows this may seem a cynical view (and may well be) so please take the questions as rhetorical only. They whys and wherefores of these sorts of actions may never really be understood or motivated by the same reason(s).

It is also straying away from the photos themselves, so, apologies to Tristin.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Tristin on November 13, 2016, 05:16:06
I do not mind the conversation, it isn't very practical to separate the image from the context sometimes.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Andrea B. on November 13, 2016, 06:50:05
Mongo, much of the protest *is* against the election because we are having one of those horrible elections in which one candidate got the most votes (Clinton) but the other candidate won the election (Trump). Clinton received something like 600000 more votes than Trump.

This happened because when we vote here in the US we are actually voting for state electors who in turn meet (later) to vote for the presidental candidates. In other words, it is our 50 states which actually determine who becomes president. And each state may have different rules about how votes from their state are apportioned to each presidental candidate.

This voting system does not always elect the majority candidate. But our founding fathers created that election system in order to ensure that the US, as a single nation, does not hold too strong a power over its citizens. Here much governing power is granted to the states also.

And so:  Some protestors are angry about who won the election. Some protestors are angry about the way our election system "robbed" them of their majority choice. Some protestors are not angry at all but simply want to stand up for what they believe in and against Trump's sexism, racism and hatred.

And, unfortunately, a few protestors are not nice people and might try to stir up some violence just for kicks. Sadly this will gather more attention than it deserves.



I'm sure I should **not** be discussing the current US political situation. If any of the other mods want to edit this topic and delete my comments, that is OK. I only wanted to try to explain a bit. But it seems impossible to explain without veering off into something political. Again, I apologize if these explanations are upsetting anyone.



Borge, the states cannot go against federal laws. So they do not "go rogue". "-)
The point is that our states form a loose federation, not a tight one.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: BW on November 13, 2016, 09:24:35
A very good explanation, Andrea. However, I will never be able to really understand the ability to run a federal union, with rogue states ::)

Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on November 13, 2016, 09:28:57
Enough explaining. We get it now.

New comments from here onwards *have* to address the posted images, not their political context.
Title: Re: Oakland Trump protest
Post by: Peter on December 16, 2016, 20:59:42
Thank you Bjørn, it's the photos we are Critiquing not the event.

 
Taking chances can result in shooting an OK photo and grabbing a great one.