So many mixed emotions, as there were during the Women’s March last year, here in L.A. The comfort of the massive, supportive community. The wondering what will come from this worldwide effort. The inspiration of speeches, well-thought out messages and passion. And, again — like then — I was compelled to try to capture it in a way that made both the event and the emotions real.

I brought my daughter with me. She’s a budding photographer, herself. Quite good already, at 13. We got down early and quickly found a second floor vantage point in a downtown clothing store. Aside from the opportunity to get her out shooting, we spent some time just walking among the crowd, too. After all, this movement was started by students around her age. I wanted her to feel and be strengthened by the incredible power of what her peers have created.

I would call this piece probably something like, “Waking Up.” Something about seeing people watching the march — how they appreciated it, took it in, absorbed it. The whole thing was very moving.

My favorite photo of the whole bunch. As I told my daughter, the goal of shooting an event for me is not coverage, but to try to capture something that is emblematic of the event. And it can be anything — big and wide, or small and interesting. A microphone in front of a student’s face, asking, “tell me how you feel about this” is the epicenter of this movement to me, because it illustrates the shift in power and attention to our unassailable youth. They know better. And they now have a voice and a platform. It’s really something to behold.

People were certainly enjoying themselves, too, but for the most part, this was a very serious occassion. People were thinking, paying attention, shouting, reading, listening and taking it all to heart.

A family from Las Vegas and a man just incredibly proud to take part in such an important movement. A march is an incredible thing because it marks a moment in time. When laws change and the world gets better, the march is something you look back on and and say, “I was there. I helped.”

Sometimes in photography you go capture a narrative. Still, other times, the narrative develops with the images. This, to me, ended up being the latter. What I see in the images is a story of a generational shift. The process of handing over the reins to our youth and empowering them to make the change they want to see in the world.

Addendum:

Why I’m hiding comments on this article

It seems that due to my article being featured on the homepage of Medium, and the political nature of the content, that some people saw that as an opportunity to jump in with Fox News talking points. I hid them — not because they disagreed with the content of what I was capturing, but because they weren’t really interested in the article, just riding the wave of it for the eyeballs.

It may not seem like it, but getting featured on Medium, at least in my own category of creativity and photography, takes effort. Creativity, hard work, empathy and consideration. If you’d like to have a platform for your own opinions, I suggest going and earning it.

Thanks for reading. For more of my photography, visit: joshsrose