How do you decide which events to photograph?

We find publicly posted protest events on various internet sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and other websites belonging to known protest groups. Sometimes KXAN and KVUE identify upcoming events as well. If you think there is an upcoming event with public interest that we should be aware of and photograph you can e-mail [email protected] with details.

What camera equipment do you use?

Currently we are photographing with a Canon 80D and primarily a Canon 70-300L USM Lens. This is a great lens for giving protesters lots of space while still getting great close up shots.

This combination works great but has some limitations in very low light (as all cameras do). If protest events and crowd sizes intensify to the level of Summer 2020 again our plan is to add a Canon R6 as well as a as a Canon 35mm f1.4 lens to give us greatly improved nighttime photography as well as a second camera for wide angle shots.

Why no video?

I hate editing video. I’m lazy and video is a lot more work and content to deal with compared to photography. Trying to clip highlights out of an hours long video recording is hours of work. With that said we are not opposed to exploring unedited live streams at some point to supplement our photography.

Are protests dangerous?

This is a difficult question to answer. If a protest is scheduled to walk along your street or to happen in your area of the city it should not pose any danger to you. There is no need to worry about protesters scaling buildings. If you attend the protest as a journalist you may experience conflict with both the police and the protesting organizations. As long as you use common sense and remain aware of the situation as it unfolds your risk of arrest or conflict is very, very low. Attending as an actual protester *can* be dangerous depending on the situation. There are many protests that pose no danger whatsoever to participants. I’ve seen other protests where approximately 10% of the participants were arrested (and then had charges later dropped) by Austin Police.