Pride Again?


I got the Queen to pose for me with her friend – and found another ten photographers had come to my side

Every year I wonder whether to photograph the annual Pride Parade in London again.  And so far every year with one or two exception I’ve decided to do so, though back in 2007 I wrote here:

Ten years ago, taking part in the Pride march was an important personal and political statement for many, sometimes marking their going public about their sexuality. Now it’s largely a fun event, although a few individuals and groups still attempt to get a more serious message across.

One exception came in 2005, when my younger son inconveniently picked the same day for his wedding and my photographic services were required elsewhere. And in 2003 I was in Edinburgh on the day it happened.  Back in 2006 I had a show Ten Years of Pride at the Museum of London, and I think this year was the 20th London Pride I’ve photographed.

Over the years Pride has become a much bigger and more organised event and it is now one of very few events I bother to get accreditation for because of the size of the crowds that come and watch it, particularly around Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. But little of what I do really needs it, and certainly until fairly recent years I never bothered.

Pride is so large now that corporate sponsorship is vital, but as always it comes with a cost, changing the nature of the event. But this year there did seem to be a little more getting back to the grass roots and more political engagement and a little less corporate gloss.


My lens-hood slips around and adds an unwanted frame

Getting accreditation does mean having to arrive early to go to the Press office and pick up stuff, which was a bit of a nuisance, and meant I was at Baker Street where the parade forms up rather earlier than most of the paraders. It was a very slow start to the day and if I’d had any sense I would have found something else to do for an hour or so. But many of the places I might visit don’t open until rather late, and it was in any case a little early for a beer. Sometimes I settle down somewhere and read a book, but often I’m too psyched up to read.


Pride was perhaps a little more political this year than for a while

Eventually things got busier, and by the time the parade was starting at noon things were pretty frenetic.  I went up to the front a quarter of an hour before it began, and then began to work my way slowly towards the back taking pictures. It was well over an hour later that I came to the people still waiting to set off at the back of the march. I should probably have stayed longer and taken some more pictures, but I was already late for a meeting with Class War.

I took the tube from Baker St to Piccadilly Circus and walked into the pub where they were going to be and found no one there.  Eventually I found a small group outside just around the corner and joined them, still waiting for others to arrive. Class War had decided to protest at Pride, and had come with a new banner with the message ‘Poor is the new Queer‘ and ‘F**k the Pink Pound, F**k Corporate Pinkwashing!’  They were not the only protesters, and another group had arranged a funeral procession for Pride, which had attempted to go along a part of the route, but I’d decided that I would be unable to cover that as well as Class War.

The small group of Class War protesters made their way to the parade route through Piccadilly Circus as the parade arrived, but the crowds were too thickly packed behind the barriers for them to get through. They held a short protest in front of the Barclays Bank there, which closed its doors, and then moved off quickly to find a less crowded part of the route on Cockspur St.

As the front of the parade approached, they unrolled the banner, unhitched one of the barriers and ran out in front of it, with a mauve smoke flare attracting attention, and I followed them onto the road to take pictures. They were soon escorted back off the road and I continued to photograph, though rather impeded by an amateur photographer who move in front of their banner, to the consternation of several of the press pack who had now arrived.

I’d thought in advance that I would probably be working at a very close distance and had decided to use the 16mm fisheye on the D700 along with the 18-105mm (27-157 equiv) on the D800E when a longer view was needed. It was a pretty good combination, but once Class War were back behind the barrier and I was still on the other side, after  a few frames I quickly changed back from the 16mm to the rectilinear 16-35mm.


Cropped to remove some of the vignetting by the out of position lens-hood

And there I caused a problem, because I had the lens-hood on that lens, although there was no need for it as that side of the road was in shade. And in my rush to change lenses and the general excitement, I managed to knock the shade out of its proper condition. As often in the heat of the moment, it was some time before I realised this, obvious though it is in the viewfinder, and I took a number of frames with it vignetting at top right and bottom left.  Images seldom work quite as well cropped to remove the vignetting, and sometimes I’ve lived with it there, usually desaturating it to remove a rather noticeable blue edge. The image above is probably better for losing a little at each edge, but there is still some vignetting visible.

Class War soon saw a squad of police heading in their direction and quickly melted away in the crowd. I followed some of them down into the subway from where they emerged without a police escort on the east side of Trafalgar Square and made their way to a nearby pub, where I said goodbye and went to photograph another event.

Many more pictures at Pride Parade (my pictures overstate the political aspects of the event as these interest me more) and Class War protest ‘corporate pinkwashing’.



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My London Diary : Buildings of London : River Lea/Lee Valley : London’s Industrial Heritage

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