My studio was in the middle of the Stanley Cup Riot 2.0. So, where are my photos?

I’ve decided not to post my images from the riot. I don’t want to benefit from it in any way (financially or through self-promotion). Posting my footage (especially covered in watermarks) would be, in my opinion, in bad taste. I was just a guy with a camera caught in the middle of a few hours of violence and stupidity. That doesn’t make me a good photographer. I’m not a journalist or a documentarian. I don’t observe and record. I create. I don’t want to tear down I want to build up. I don’t want to present images that make people angry or ashamed of actions that were so trivial. After all, this wasn’t footage of people fighting for independence or freedom. It was mass hysteria and hooliganism. Burning cars and and broken windows are sensational, but in this context they are also entirely meaningless. Psychologists and other experts in the social sciences are the only people who have any real expertise in this field.

I’ve been in dangerous situations before and I’ve got stories to tell. I think for many photographers that gets their adrenaline flowing. That and the prospect of capturing something pivotal. And awards, don’t forget the awards and accolades. From what I’ve seen many of the images from the riot were about photographer’s capitalizing on building their reputation. Like wannabe war photographers. But what was the net benefit to the audience? I don’t believe for one minute that this footage recorded anything other than sensational nonsense. Capturing and posting an image of some middle class kid from the suburbs breaking a window does little for the public good. These images don’t afflict the comfortable or comfort the afflicted.

I make a living by photographing subjects and people I care about. Talented people. Smart people with important stories to tell. And I work in advertising where I help clients sell products and services. Yes, it’s about commerce. Is journalism above this? It should be. While it’s not my job to seek it out, if a similar situation presented itself I would put myself in danger again in order to document it. But only if I felt it would help illustrate a worthwhile story. And who decides what is and isn’t worthwhile? I do. That’s the job of a photographer. Every time we raise our camera and frame a shot we decide what is worth capturing and what story is worth pursuing. Stanley Cup Riot 2.0 just doesn’t qualify as worth any more of my thoughts and energy.