Why the Wedding Photographer Went to Ottawa
'Is that how you want to live? Governments telling you what to do with the only thing on this planet that is truly yours, your body?'
Luc Cherubino resides near Toronto. He’s the main source of income for his household and, in the fall of 2021, was unable to make a truly independent decision about COVID vaccines. As an event photographer he needed access to banquet halls, churches, and other venues. “I do weddings. I do families,” he says.
He rolled up his sleeve, he explains, “So I could go to work. And then we got shut down again, anyway. So I was really upset.” After he heard about a convoy of truckers headed to Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates, he got there a day early and photographed the first trucks as they entered the city.
In a Facebook post dated February 25th (shortly after the protest had been violently dispersed), Luc wrote:
I spent 3 weeks in Ottawa, alone for the most part, away from friends and family…I went there with intent, to document the shit out of what was about to happen…I went there in support of these truckers because I too have been affected by government overreach.
Freedom of choice is what I stand for…Contrary to what most may think, I was double vaccinated between September and October of 2021. I had no choice. It was either I did it, or I lost my home. By the end of December, regardless, I still almost lost everything due to new lockdowns in Ontario…I had my back to a wall…
I ask you this question, is that how you want to live? Governments telling you what to do with the only thing on this planet that is truly yours, your body?
Luc insists he’s not a photojournalist, but after surveying nearly 800 of his Ottawa images, I assure you he’s a formidable talent and that this is a powerful body of work. The stunning black and white images sprinkled throughout the documentary film, Unacceptable Views are his. So is the photo on the cover of Honking for Freedom.
With his permission, between Christmas and New Year’s this blog will feature a small sample of his Ottawa photos.
’Tis the season to reaffirm our shared humanity.
Luc can be found on Instagram here.
His Facebook photo album, “Freedom Convoy 2022,” is here.
