Don't be asking me to explain why, but this week ended up as a week of macro stuff featuring (mostly) the wee men and some dinosaurs. If you read last week's post, you'll have spotted a reference to the currently ongoing protests in Belfast about the removal of the Union flag from Belfast City Hall. These have kept going this week as well and I started off the week with another shot, which led to another, which led to another and so on. The shots about the flag issue have proved very popular on both Facebook and Flickr; I'd rather the protestors gave up and stopped giving me ideas for photos. I'd probably also settle for people protesting about what I happen to consider to be more important issues like jobs, benefit cuts, cuts in public services and so on. Things that actually make a concrete difference to most people's lives?
7/01/13
I put this up with the description "after baton rounds and water canon failed, the PSNI try a different approach." This was (I suppose) expressing some of my annoyance and irritation about what I see as the pointlessness of the protests. I can't help but think that a small group of people are intent on damaging their own communities (either intentionally or unintentionally) and Northern Ireland as a whole for the sake of what flag flies or does not fly over one building. I would fight for people's right to protest peacefully and democratically about what they believe in but tend to see the violence in Belfast as being driven by other less noble factors, represented by the dinosaurs. Old stuff, and stuff that might never change. I also can't help wondering what would happen if more people, particularly in loyalist/unionist communities actually came out to vote come local elections - actually used the democratic process to effect change. One thing that has emerged from the current events and which I do agree with is that there is a very significant disconnect between elected politicians and the ordinary working class people, particularly in protestant/unionist /loyalist areas of Belfast. I wonder if that can be expressed through the medium of wee men and macro?
8/01/13
I hadn't realised that it would be so hard to buy a "normal" looking toy car. This was the best I could come up with although I did also find a dead ringer for my own car in the same Tesco bargain bin. I'd obviously never make a good rioter since it took me 20 minutes and half a tin of lighter fluid to get the toy car to burn. Also incinerated a couple of wee men and a flag who had got soaked by the puddle of lighter fluid. All in a good cause I suppose.
9/01/13
Nearly 200 shots to get two shots like this. a syringe of green food colouring suspended from my backdrop stand over a white floor tile with another tile as the backdrop. Trying to time the drops with hitting the shutter release at just the right moment was nearly impossible. Also messy - the table, floor and dog were all splattered with green dots by the time I gave up. Low shutter speed (1/160) with two speedlights placed to each side seemed to work well in freezing the corona of the splash.
10/01/13
The morning after. The wee forensic scientists get stuck into my burnt out car. As is anything like this would ever happen in Belfast. I'm afraid to ask how civil disturbance sits with my car insurance.
11/01/13
Sadie and Anges have been absent for some time, although they did make the effort to get some practice in for Operation Standstill tomorrow evening. This is being touted as Belfast City Centre being brought to a complete halt by flag protestors during the evening rush hour. I shall be aiming to be at home from lunchtime.
12/01/13
Operation Standstill appeared to pass off relatively quietly; in Belfast terms that means only one pipe bomb thrown at a house and only one bus burned out in East Belfast. That and stories of medics and carers being denied access to their patients and more police officers being injured. That's "quiet" for Belfast I suppose. Gordon the Express Engine was discovered in a charity shop bargain bin, which was where I got the idea for this from, although I'd have preferred it if he was looking just a bit grumpier.
13/01/13
Burning the car again, although I thought this made a nice shot with a bit of humour and some narrative. Entitled "Sister Assumpta never got to join in with the other nun's fun" I just like the ideas of the wee nuns getting up to all sorts of badness in their spare time. Next up is trying to figure something out with the wee nuns and the wee monks.
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