AN amateur photographer who aims to highlight the diversity at Scottish independence marches has said he believes people's differences will be "the strength of an independent Scotland".
Lindsay Fraser, from Arbroath, has photographed individuals at six All Under One Banner (AUOB) marches to try and document the people who will win the case for Yes.
Fraser, who is a sub-sea engineer by day, took to Twitter to showcase some of the uplifting black and white photographs he snapped at Saturday's AUOB march through Glasgow, gaining upwards of 1000 likes in the process.
He told The National: "I always concentrate on the individuals. You see a lot of pictures with a big collective, it’s nothing but flags.
"But I like faces, I like people, it’s just great seeing the diversity on these marches. It’s worth documenting, for sure."
The photographer went on to say diversity does not exclusively mean people coming from different faiths or cultures.
He said: "There’s diversity in people from all sorts of backgrounds. It is a broad church. I just want to document that.
"And I think the historical significance hopefully will be on our side at one point, and at that point we can look back and have a look at the type of individuals who made that change for Scotland.
Here's a small selection of photos from yesterday's #AUOBGlasgow march for independence.
— YourWullie (@YourWullie) January 12, 2020
Again, concentrating on the individuals rather than the collective.
As always, if you spot anyone you know, let me know via DM and I'll send a hi-res copy. pic.twitter.com/xndQu9pMfI
"I think we should be celebrating differences and not the similarities. I think diversity would enhance our own national identity, I think it does. And I think the strength of an independent Scotland would live in the differences of the people and I think everyone embraces that, which is great."
Fraser explained he usually starts off by joining fellow Yessers at the beginning of the march before stopping along the way to capture his pictures.
On Saturday he chose to stop by the Unionist counter-protest at the bottom of Union Street to capture the reactions of marchers passing by.
"That’s what you want, because the march can go on for two/three hours depending on the volume of people. So you’re wanting to catch a reaction."
But it isn't an angry reaction captured in Fraser's pictures. "Everyone looks like they’re enjoying themselves," he added.
Despite having now captured hundreds of powerful photographs, Fraser hasn't really planned out what he wants to do with them.
"I love taking photographs. As I say, I love these marches, it’s a joy. I get the best of both worlds.
"I’m not a professional photographer but I have been taking photographs for many many years. But I do get a lot of comments saying this would be a great coffee table book etc, so I think that would be the goal."
Fraser would welcome them ending up in a gallery, but for now a table-top book is all he is aiming for. "As I say I think I would only probably consider that when we win our independence," he concluded.
Follow Fraser on Twitter to see more of his photography here.
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