Over the past month, there have been violent anti-Japanese protests across China over disputed islands between the two nations. Japanese businesses and manufacturing plants have been besieged, leading companies like Canon and Panasonic to suspend their operations and evacuate their premises.
In the midst of all this chaos, a tricky problem presents itself: how does a Chinese photographer go about documenting the rioting? As you know, Japan is the motherland of most major digital camera companies, while China doesn’t have much of a role in this industry besides manufacturing the cameras at the request of those corporations. The answer: flags and tape. Read more…
The Guardian has published a piece on how a four-man news operation called Sangat TV has stolen the headlines from big news outlets during the England riots, armed with just a “point-and-shoot camera”:
At times erratic and unpredictable, Sangat TV is still captivating. Its most jaw-dropping moment was on Tuesday night, while it filmed from a car a police pursuit of young rioters down a Birmingham backstreet. With police lagging far behind, Sangat presenter Upinder Randhawa shouted to the officers: “Do you need a lift? We’ll give you a lift. Get in the car.”
Twenty seconds later the rioters were arrested. “Another live Sangat TV exclusive”, Randhawa told his audience.
Talk about Gonzo journalism… Their unique footage has been rebroadcast by CNN, the BCC, and news outlets in India.
