16mm   f1.4::f/2.5::1/250::ISO 400021 / OCT / 2023ID :: DSCF1623
Protesters shouting with a megaphone on shoulders under a Palestinian flag in downtown Vancouver, candid 16mm black and white protest photography.
Birds that Cried Freedom :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/2.2::1/250::ISO 8016 / OCT / 2022ID :: DSCF4299
Young boy alongside a Ukrainian solidarity march carrying flags through downtown Vancouver, documentary candid black and white protest photography.
Struggle :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/7.1::1/250::ISO 160021 / OCT / 2023ID :: DSCF0542
Masked protester in a keffiyeh raising a green smoke flare and a Palestinian flag at a Free Palestine rally in downtown Vancouver, dramatic documentary street photography.
Reach for Freedom :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/3.2::1/250::ISO 20016 / OCT / 2022ID :: DSCF4354
Young Ukrainian protesters standing stoically on the Vancouver Art Gallery steps holding the Ukrainian flag beside the "Uninvited" exhibition banner, documentary black and white protest photography.
Ukraini Girl :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/6.4::1/125::ISO 808 / OCT / 2022ID :: DSCF3065
Woman in a paisley robe raising the Iranian Woman Life Freedom flag in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery during a Mahsa Amini protest, documentary 16mm black and white street photography.
Freedom is a Woman :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/1.8::1/250::ISO 400021 / OCT / 2023ID :: DSCF1769
Protesters holding a "Freedom" banner at a night rally in downtown Vancouver, a figure gazing upward as the crowd chants, dramatic documentary black and white photography.
FREED Ommmmm :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f2.8::f/8::1/250::ISO 20019 / JUN / 2020ID :: DSCF7969
Protester from behind raising an "End Racism" sign at a Black Lives Matter march in Vancouver's West End, candid documentary colour street photography.
End It :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/3.6::1/250::ISO 8008 / MAY / 2024ID :: DSCF5084
Masked protester in a keffiyeh chalking a message on the pavement beside Palestinian flags at a Vancouver rally, wide-angle 16mm documentary street photography.
ONIS :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f2.8::f/4.5::1/250::ISO 1605 / JUN / 2020ID :: DSCF7618
Giant black "Black Lives Matter" balloon floating above a Vancouver crowd beside an "End the Pandemic of Racism" sign, documentary black and white protest photography.
Say it Loud, Say it Bold :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/3.6::1/250::ISO 40007 / OCT / 2024ID :: DSCF5130
Masked protesters in keffiyehs holding Palestinian flags amid smoke flares at a night rally in downtown Vancouver, cinematic documentary black and white protest photography.
All is Full of Love :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/3.6::1/250::ISO 50007 / OCT / 2024ID :: DSCF5209
Close portrait of a protester in a keffiyeh raising a fist through haze at a night rally in Vancouver, documentary black and white protest photography.
So this is Love :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/2.2::1/250::ISO 4008 / MAY / 2024ID :: DSCF4622
Two marchers stretching a giant Yemeni flag across a Vancouver street at a solidarity rally, documentary colour protest street photography.
Simbiosis of a Flag :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/9::1/250::ISO 160021 / OCT / 2023ID :: DSCF1138
Protesters chanting with raised fists at a "Free Palestine, End the Apartheid" rally in downtown Vancouver, documentary black and white protest photography.
Sing :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/6.4::1/125::ISO 808 / OCT / 2022ID :: DSCF3083
Woman in a paisley robe raising the Iranian Woman Life Freedom flag skyward echoing "Liberty Leading the People" at a Vancouver rally, dramatic 16mm documentary street photography.
Liberty Leading the People :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/2.8::1/125::ISO 801 / OCT / 2022ID :: DSCF2403
Protester shouting through a megaphone at a Vancouver rally for Iranian lives with a Mahsa Amini portrait and Iranian flags behind, documentary black and white protest photography.
Iranian Voices :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/1.4::1/250::ISO 40007 / OCT / 2024ID :: DSCF5030
Protester gesturing beside a placard critical of Zionism at a night Free Palestine rally in downtown Vancouver, documentary black and white street photography.
Hand Expressions :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/2.8::1/125::ISO 808 / OCT / 2022ID :: DSCF3406
Protester in an "In the Middle of the…" T-shirt shouting with arms raised beside a clapping marcher at an Iranian rally near Vancouver's Pacific Centre, documentary black and white street photography.
In the Middle :: Vancouver, Canada
16mm   f1.4::f/5.6::1/250::ISO 8027 / AUG / 2022ID :: DSCF1566
Crowd raising their hands silhouetted in sunset light beside the Vancouver Art Gallery's "Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists" banner, cinematic documentary 16mm black and white photography.
Uninvited :: Vancouver, Canada

Resistencia

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Resistencia — Vancouver street photography by Miguel Franco

Resistencia

There's something profoundly human, something fierce and fundamental, in the act of standing together, voices raised in unity, selflessly demanding justice. Call it courage, call it defiance, I call it Resistencia. Seeds that refuse to die, growing stubbornly wherever they're buried. Wherever oppression lurks, resistance thrives.

Collection

Few experiences humble you quite like witnessing a crowd step forward and demand justice. Most people, especially in the comfort of privileged Western bubbles, hear about conflicts unfolding 10, 000 kilometers away, and sure, it feels distant, abstract, unreal. But make no mistake: it's real. It's raw. It's happening, whether you're watching or not.

This collection brings together images captured during protests I've witnessed over these past few years. My mantra in these moments is simple yet crucial: stay focused, stay neutral, stay respectful. Easier said than done when you're navigating a storm of raw human emotion unfolding in every direction. There I am, camera in hand, quietly overwhelmed, trying desperately to honor what's playing out in front of me without getting swept away myself. These images, collected here, were taken with the utmost respect, empathy, and profound admiration for the courage it takes to stand up, speak out, and demand better.