| I
arrived at the Royal Festival Hall around 9.30am for a briefing from the
J2000 Press Office and picked up the information available on the day's
events. My brief for the morning was to cover the events and meeting in
Trafalgar Square, where I was asked to be sure to photograph particular
speakers close-up, including the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the afternoon
when a human chain was being formed around the Thames I was to cover Blackfriars
Bridge, where there was to be a strong presence from the black churches.
|
Unfortunately
I didn't have the one piece of equipment vital for a photographer today,
a mobile phone, so the various numbers I was given were of little use! There
were two other photographers working for the organisers, one team from a
charity doing more or less live coverage for the J2000 web site using a
Nikon Coolpix, as well as shooting for their own use, and a French woman
shooting colour slide. I was largely shooting for black and white prints,
though as usual I took some of it on colour neg; mostly using a Minolta
CLE with 28, 40 and 90mm lenses. |
 |
|
Trafalgar
Square was fine, except that nothing much was happening when I got there.
I was able to take a few pictures of people collecting signatures for
the petition and on the stalls there, as well as the final preparations
that were slowly being made. Soon there were some African dancers - easy
to photograph - and some street theatre that proved impossible, being
too spread out for me to make any sense of.
Then came
the usual hassle with the stewards, who had been instructed by the organisers
to keep the press back behind the railings and not let them on the platform.
|
Fortunately it wasn't too difficult to argue my way through as most of the
people around had more sense, and I was able to get close enough to get
on with the job. Trafalgar Square isn't the easiest place to photograph
speakers, as the microphones are usually set up more or less on the edge
of the plinth. For most of the people I managed to get reasonable pictures
both from one side and also from the ground in front, although as the square
filled it with people it began to become difficult to move from one position
to the other. I was also able to take some better pictures of people waiting
to speak and of the crowd's reaction. |
 |
| The
afternoon was more of a shambles. I really needed the mobile, because when
I got to Blackfriars (having stopped for lunch) I found the plans had been
changed and the chain was finishing at Waterloo Bridge instead. No one had
any idea where the people I was supposed to be photographing would be, and
I needed to get back somewhere fast in order to be able to photograph the
climax of the day with the formation of the human chain. I decided I didn't
have time to get to Westminster Bridge - which would have been my choice
of position and ran for the South Bank, arriving very hot and out of breath
but in time to get the pictures you see here. |
Around 4pm
I'd decided to call it a day and to miss the party as I'd promised to
get the work in, so I went for the train home and after a quick meal started
processing. As soon as the film was dry I contacted it and selected frames
to scan and by the time I went to bed around 2am the images were on the
web for them to see on Monday morning. Most of the actual use made of
the pictures was from digital files on the web, although over the next
couple of weeks I did make actual prints for those who wanted them.
|