Save The NHS Demonstration...

The National Health Service is a publicly funded healthcare system in UK. Providing a comprehensive range of free health services to the residents of the United Kingdom. On 17 March 2012, the people decided to take to the street of central London in a bid to save the NHS system from privatization. Their displeasure with the new bill is apparent. Taking part were people from all walks of life; the health care workers, pensioners and students.

The demonstration began with a rally outside the Department of Health in Whitehall. The demonstrators then took to the street in a relatively peaceful march across central London, stopping all traffic in its path. After hours marching through the street, they were eventually contained and dispersed by police kettling.

Journey by Car...

Leaning comfortably against the window and looking at the world goes by like a beautiful art piece. It is fascinating how a simple car ride could be so visually fulfilling.

As an avid driver and photographer, i set upon a journey to photograph that visual beauty of traveling in a car. The end result is simply an abstract visual documentary of a road trip, uniquely UK.

(All photographs taken with Ricoh GRD IV)

5 Images Photostory-"Occupy London".

This assignment is pretty much self explanatory, documenting a story with no more than 5 images, captions for each photograph and an article of no less than 150 words.

Since I am interested in the culture of Demonstration and Protest, i decided to do a story on the ongoing demonstration, "Occupy London". Do check out the articles below.

Environmental Portraiture-The Selected Images.

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm often intrigue by the motivation behind all these demonstration and protest. Such mass movement seem to be very much part of life on this side of the world. So in-conjunction with my environmental portraiture assignment, i've decided to get in touch with some of the activists and demonstrators.

Maria Gallastegui, 53, an activist with (Peacestrike.org). Amazingly, she has been camping outside the House of Parliament since 2006. She is against the British government decision in going to war. She believes in peace and hope to get the government to listen and respect the people will.

Anas EL-Khani, 35, born in Syria, has been living in London most of his life. An activist with the (British Solidarity for Syria) movement. Demonstrating to raise awareness to the current situation in Syria. Hope the International Communities will increase pressure on the Syrian regime.

Mojahed, 32, Syrian, has been in the UK for 3 years. Demonstrating with his young son, to show solidarity with his fellow countrymen in Syria. He is very upset to see Syrian suffering and hope the British Government will do more to prevent further atrocity.

Very often, demonstration only work in number. The bigger the masses the larger the response, however, do not undermine the individual behind the facade. By putting a face and a little human touch, i hope to unveil the many stories that are often more powerful than the forces of number. This will be an on-going project...

Faces of Syria & the Middle East Revolution.

Tuck away in the relatively peaceful sanctuary of Singapore, the conflict and unrest that is happening around the world are often irrelevant. Glimpse of images & reports from the news are the only reminder we had. All these seem so distanced while we continue in our relentless pursue for the seemingly, unimportant, financial struggle of a city dweller.

On Feb 11, I had the opportunity to document a demonstration organized by Amnesty London in Trafalgar Square. It was a peaceful demonstration in support of those protesting against repression throughout the Middle East & North Africa. The determination of the people were evident. Not surprisingly, majority of the demonstrators were Syrians, many of whom were directly affected by the ongoing conflicts.

Such demonstrations are often perceived collectively in the mainstream media. The focus is often on the obvious agenda. Coming from a place where protest and demonstration are rarely heard of, I am interested in getting to know more about the individuals that participated in such events and the stories behind them. Such mass movement could only be made possible when individuals decided that they had enough and wanted change. These stories are often powerful and cannot be undermined.

A symbolic attempt to burn the Russian Flag by the demonstrators.

(Photographs taken with Canon 5D Mk2)