Street Photography - Tibetan Protest 2011

Yesterday afternoon, I joined the L.A. Street Photography meetup group to photograph the Tibetan Protest which was held at the Federal Building in Westwood, Ca. I really wanted to get into street photography for a long time, but I rarely ever go to protests of any kind or do any street photography in general because I didn't have anyone to go with me and I was concerned about my own safety. Being with a group of photographers made me feel better and it also helped that peaceful protesters, especially Tibetans, were generally ok with photography.

Basically the protest was about human rights for the Tibetans. China believed that Tibet was part of China to which it never was, so China invaded and brutally oppressed the people of Tibet. Between March 10 to March 19 in 1959 was when the Tibetans protested against China. The protest was held today, March 10, because it marked the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising.

The Tibetan Association Of Southern California had been doing protests for 20 years. Sometimes they would hold protests at the Chinese Council to get their point across, but the location wasn't populated enough, so it was hard for them to bring awareness to the public. They usually held protests at the Federal Building in Westwood. The Federal Building and its employees had nothing to do with the conflict between Tibet and China, but it was a major location with high traffic. After the protest, they held a "candlelight vigil" where they did their prayers, and sang the Tibetan National Anthem. There are 200 Tibetans in Southern California. About forty members of the Tibetan Association of Southern California and Friends of Tibetans were at this protest.

Being at the protest with the meetup group, was a great oppportunity for me to work on my photojournalistic skills. If I continue going to a few more events with the group, I hope to improve. Click here to view more photos from the protest.