Gavin Bragdon Shares Positive Outcomes of Photographing Trump Rallies
All images by Gavin Bragdon. Used with permission.
“You can say “fuck you” and “You’re alright” at the same time”, says photographer Gavin Bragdon as we discuss people with different political perspectives. He adds, “There’s more to us than our political beliefs”. His recent documentary work is a reflection of these statements, as he positions himself, camera in hand, amongst what society describes as the opposition.
At Them Frames, I made the conscious choice to remain apolitical. Politics is in a depressing state and I wanted to use photography as a means for people to escape all the negatives in life. What I am interested in, however, is how photography can help bring humans together, especially in a time where it seems too easy to set us apart.
I’ve been following Bragdon’s street photography for almost a decade now, and I’ve always been drawn to the raw, illuminated energy in his frames.
He’s also one of the more outspoken people in my online circles when it comes to the state of politics, especially in the United States. I may not always agree with his takes, but I always respect that he's prepared to voice his stance.
It’s abundantly clear he’s not a fan of the Trump administration or the people who make up the president's loyal MAGA movement. When he made the decision to attend Trump rallies and photograph them, it would have been easy for him to go out of his way to present them in a negative nature, using his lens to mock the people he so strongly disagrees with.
But, he didn’t…
Instead, he removed his personal alliances and chose to photograph them authentically. He went as far to have non-political conversations with those who attended the rallies. During his interactions he looked beyond their political beliefs and actively chose to see all the other elements that make them human - leading to positive interactions that otherwise may not have been possible without his photographic approach.
I have a lot of time for Bragdon and the work he’s currently creating. So much so I wanted to speak to him about his experience of photographing the opposition - thankfully, he was happy to oblige.
A quick spoiler: Despite the positive outcomes of his experience, it’s not all hugs and roses. Bragdon isn’t afraid to share his frustrations with those who don’t align with his political views.
But, as much as I want Them Frames to be apolitical, I’ll never sensor a photographer's beliefs either - keep that in mind when reading the rest of the interview.
Them Frames: Hey Gavin! What was your motivation to start photographing Trump rallies?
Gavin Bragdon: Hey Dan!
Part of it is knowing that this is an important historic inflection point in American history, so there’s that drive to witness, experience and record this moment. In 2024, it was about what path would America choose - would it choose the more rational, logical approach and appeal to its better angels, or would it give into something darker and more dangerous and authoritarian?
What was the collective mental state of the country? Now that Trump is back in power, that has shifted to documenting what very much appears to be a serious attempt at authoritarianism and watching the country shift from democracy to dictatorship - if it isn’t stopped at some point before it’s too late.
There’s also a weird, dark fascination with the MAGA culture that I have despite my personal disdain for it - maybe actually because of my disdain. I think of it as dark Americana. It’s like the stereotypical American culture of roadside attractions, rodeos, evangelist Christianity, kitsch, fast food, commercialism and so on.
Stuff I think are great photographic subjects on their own, but it’s given this dark fascistic dystopian 21st century twist.
Its freedom fries mutated into something far more virulent. And it’s just a loud colorful carnival. I mean believe it or not, these things are actually fun to shoot, even if after you pack your camera and go home, you’re a little horrified about what you just witnessed.
I find America a fascinating subject to shoot anyway, but now it’s at this massive historical, political and cultural tipping point and it’s impossible not to want to photograph it in this place. Trump rallies are the ultimate expression of the bizarre, surrealist zeitgeist we find ourselves in.
Them Frames: Clearly you’re no fan of the Trump administration. What helped you photograph authentically without letting any biases take over?
Gavin Bragdon: There’s me as a person and there’s me as a photographer, especially when it comes to something like this. As a person, MAGA pisses me off. I mean there's been a lot of days over the past year, especially since the election and especially since the inauguration where I go through the day scared, depressed or just plain angry about this shit.
But when I’m out there shooting, my photographer’s hat is on. The aforementioned negative emotions take a back seat. A morbid curiosity and fascination takes over. I become a sort of tourist at a strange amusement park or an astronaut on an alien planet. I’m this curious observer with a camera. It’s all in the name of science so to speak.
Them Frames: You took the time to speak to people at the rallies - Please, can you share some of the positive interactions you had?
Gavin Bragdon: Generally speaking, these interactions have been positive for the most part but that’s largely because they’re de-politicised. I don’t go out there trying to debate, fight or talk shit. That’s not my job.
Remember, my photographer’s hat is on in these cases. I am here to document, to capture images, I place myself as the person with political opinions aside. Therefore, I come off as a more neutral observer figure.
My mixed accent helps here because most of them just assume I’m a foreigner. With the interactions being apolitical, you can peel back the political veneer and meet the person underneath.
A lot of them come off as genuinely decent enough people. Friendly, neighborly, often surprisingly chill. They’ve just bought into some stupid shit, I would dare say a cult even, and by the way I’m totally not letting these people off the hook for contributing to the horrible situation this country and the world faces right now because of their collective vote.
I will give them shit for it, but it doesn’t mean I hate them. You know, my dad was a Trump voter until Jan 6th changed his mind. We gave him grief, but it didn’t mean we hated him. He was still our dad.
Them Frames: The mainstream media is determined to keep us as polarized as possible. How do you think independent photography can help bring us closer together?
Gavin Bragdon: In my opinion what’s actually been worse than the mainstream media is the internet. Mainstream media was bad enough, especially with say the British tabloids or the Fox News model. But, the internet stuff really puts fuel on the fire, especially on social media and with the rise of algorithms.
So basically what happens is we get caught up in our political bubbles more intensely than we ever did with legacy media and the algorithm is feeding us ever more extreme versions of these beliefs, especially on the right who seem to be more savvy about this than the left is.
On platforms when we “meet” people from the other side, we are only seeing them for their political beliefs detached from the rest of the person. They are MAGA and nothing else. They are woke socialist and nothing else.
The Trump we know today would not be in the White House without this sort of environment brought on by this insidious technology that controls us more than we realise. You can sort of look at where we are today as a long Black Mirror episode. And for what it’s worth, I’m not immune from this either.
Where photography has a role is for the photographer just meeting, seeing and interacting with people in real life and seeing they are more than just an abstract set of beliefs If the photographer does their job successfully, the viewer will be able to see around the sharp corners and beyond the rigid lines set up for us in the media or online.
Them Frames: What’s your overarching goal with all of your protest and rally photography?
Gavin Bragdon: To record a small bit of history at this crucial juncture, to document the current paradigm and attempt to “get at” the zeitgeist of this weirdest of weird times in this weird country in a weird world.
You can see more work by Gavin Bragdon by visiting his Instagram and his website (shared with his brother, Gareth Bragdon).
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