26th March

    Comments and faves

    1. ★

      Jukie Bot added this photo to her favorites. (14 months ago)

    2. Moxette (14 months ago | reply)

      That's Peter Marshall. How did he get in that condition?

    3. fraser donachie (14 months ago | reply)

      ... o wow - you know this guy? I bumped into him at the London TUC "March for the Alternative'. I saw several photographers who'd got a little too close to the 'action' and who'd been splattered with paint by the idiot minority. He seemed fairly relaxed about it and we shared a few words and I sympathised but walked away thinking "he's gonna be REALLY hacked off tomorrow when he wakes up". Seemed like a really nice guy ... is he on here somewhere? Small world ...

    4. fraser donachie (14 months ago | reply)

      ... OK - just found him and his blog mylondondiary.co.uk/ He certainly likes to get amongst it! Maybe I shouldn't be too sympathetic after all! I'm going to tag him and see if he has a comment ...

    5. Moxette (14 months ago | reply)

      I don't really know him but I've chatted to him a couple of times and I recognised him in your picture. I don't think he ever remembers me, to be honest. Seems a nice chap though.

    6. peter marshall (14 months ago | reply)

      Hi Moxette (and Fraser)

      The picture is after I'd spent 20 minutes cleaning the worst of the paint off and had continued taking pictures for a couple of hours. There is a good picture of me shortly after I was hit by Milena Nova on Facebook but if I try to post about it here I get told

      Hey! A URL or phrase that you tried to post has been used for abuse on Flickr before. (ex. SPAM) If that's you, stop it! If that's not you, sorry, but you can't post it.

      and I've seen a few others. I think more than 50 people came up and took my picture that afternoon, and doubtless more who didn't make themselves known to me.

      I was photographing the police who had just grabbed a guy out of the mainly black bloc crowd outside Topshop at Oxford Circus. Not I think one of the guys in black who they seemed to be leaving carefully alone - both here and elsewhere as I'd come with them from Trafalgar Square. They had him down on the ground just by the side of the doors to Topshop and were treating him to the usual unnecessary violence. As I was moving back slightly a paintball hit me on the chest. I think it was probably aimed at the police, although later some of them were apparently obviously targeting photographers.

      Both cameras still working fine, though I can't get all the paint off. When I got home around 3 hrs later (I would have stayed longer if I hadn't been covered with paint) I had a bath then put all the clothes I was wearing to soak in the water, kept soaking with the occasional change of water and bit of scrubbing for the next 3 days, then in the washing machine. Most of the paint came off, except from my shirt.

      But you can't get "too close to the 'action'" if you are a photographer (as Robert Capa made clear), though you can get unlucky, as I clearly did.

      I don't get on Flickr often, too busy with my own things. I've already written about some of the March 26 things on my >Re:PHOTO, and put some of the pictures I took on My London diary - though still some to follow.

    7. peter marshall (14 months ago | reply)

      The picture by Milena is at the lower right in this album
      www.facebook.com/?sk=lf#!/album.php?id=100001 455206534&am...

    8. Moxette (14 months ago | reply)

      Glad you escaped relatively unscathed but sorry to hear the paint didn't come off your cameras, Peter!

    Want to format your comment?
    keyboard shortcuts: ← previous photo → next photo L view in light box F favorite < scroll film strip left > scroll film strip right ? show all shortcuts