The image that brought thousands of people to South Bank was a single photograph — a small Syrian boy washed up on a beach. By the time the vigil was organised, the grief had already moved through the news cycle. The people at South Bank that evening had decided to do something with it rather than let it pass.
I photographed the vigil as I photograph most night events: available light only, wide aperture, and an acceptance that some images will be blurry in ways that serve the mood rather than undermine it. The candlelight gave everything a warmth that felt appropriate to what was being expressed.
On the SEED activists: The first image I made was of four young SEED activists holding a hand-painted “Welcome” sign on an Aboriginal flag background. They were smiling. The message on the sign was simple enough to be impossible to argue with. That combination — Indigenous activists welcoming refugees to country — is a picture of something that Brisbane at its best actually looks like.
On the speakers: Several speakers addressed the crowd from a low platform at the centre of the park. The best photograph came when the light was right behind one speaker — curly hair lit from behind, face in partial shadow, thousands of candles and glow sticks behind her. That image required no editing except a slight exposure correction.
On the memorial wall: Someone had built a low stone-effect wall and covered it with photographs and children’s drawings. A woman in a patchwork coat stood in front of it holding a candle and pressing her palm against one of the photographs. I made two frames. Both worked.
On the scale: Aerial photography would have been the honest way to document the size of the crowd, which numbered in the thousands. From ground level I had to use wide shots from the edges of the park to give any sense of the scale. The Brisbane CBD skyline above the candlelight was incidental and perfect.
Events like this remind me why I photograph protests and vigils: the faces are open, the intention is legible, and the light is usually doing something interesting.