The Event

On Saturday, October 17, 2026, I attended another Idaho 50501 No Kings event at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.

I've photographed these gatherings before, but this one was a little different. While previous events focused heavily on protesting what participants see as the growing influence of authoritarianism and oligarchy in American government, this gathering had a more immediate message: Get out and vote.

With the November elections approaching, much of the day's attention was directed toward encouraging people to participate in the political process.

There were at least a dozen informational tents scattered around the grounds. Political candidates and organizations were distributing literature, answering questions, and encouraging people to become involved. Women's advocacy organizations were represented, along with groups such as the Communist Party of Boise and other organizations promoting their particular causes.

Several speakers addressed the crowd from the Capitol steps. Many expressed concerns about the direction of the federal government, emphasizing constitutional protections, democratic institutions, and the importance of preventing political power from becoming concentrated in too few hands.

There was also considerable discussion about Idaho's upcoming ballot measures, particularly Proposition One, which concerns reproductive freedom and abortion rights.

But what interested me most wasn't necessarily the political speeches.

It was the people.

Hundreds of people gathered around the Capitol, carrying handmade signs, talking with one another, listening to speakers, and expressing their concerns about the country.

One thing I noticed was the age of the crowd. People over 50 appeared to substantially outnumber younger participants. There were veterans, retirees, families, and people from different walks of life. I made a particular effort to photograph some of the younger people who attended because I thought their participation was important to document.

There were also some wonderfully interesting individuals.

Two women caught my attention because they were dressed in elaborate, Victorian-style clothing. One carried what appeared to be an antique parasol. They looked as though they had stepped out of another century. I don't know whether their clothing was intended to communicate a particular historical or political message, but they were certainly memorable.

Throughout the gathering, I photographed as many signs as I could.

I believe those signs are an important part of the historical record. They represent what ordinary people were thinking, feeling, and worrying about on that particular Saturday in Boise.

Years from now, those messages may tell us something about what life was like in America in 2026.

Perhaps the most memorable thing about the event, though, was its atmosphere.

People were genuinely friendly.

Several approached me and started conversations. Some wanted to talk about voting. Others shared their thoughts about the current political climate.

During the two hours I spent there, I didn't personally encounter any counterprotesters or hostile confrontations.

It was peaceful, welcoming, and surprisingly warm in a human sense.

As a photographer, I appreciate environments like that. You don't feel like you're intruding or that your presence is unwelcome.

You feel like you belong.

And for me, being there with a camera, documenting what people were doing and saying, gave me a sense that I was contributing something worthwhile.

The Work

I spent approximately two hours photographing the event, moving constantly through the crowd.

I wanted more than just pictures of people standing around holding signs.

I wanted to capture the scale of the gathering, the people who attended, their expressions, their conversations, and the smaller moments that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Several times, I climbed to the top of the Capitol steps to photograph the crowd below. Those elevated positions provided a much broader perspective of the event.

I also photographed from the bottom of the steps, looking upward toward the speakers and the Capitol itself.

Both perspectives were important to me.

One showed the people who came to be heard. The other showed the presentation being made to those people.

The weather presented a few photographic challenges.

Boise enjoyed a beautiful October day with plenty of sunshine and very few clouds. While I love photographing in natural sunlight, strong direct light can create considerable contrast between highlights and shadows.

Those conditions can make it difficult to retain the tonal detail I want in a photograph.

Much of my editing involved recovering shadow detail, adjusting exposure, and bringing some balance back into the images without making them look artificial.

For this gallery, I also made a significant change to my editing workflow.

Rather than using Adobe Lightroom, I edited the photographs with RapidRAW, a free RAW photo editor that I've recently become quite enthusiastic about.

RapidRAW provides many of the editing capabilities I've come to expect from professional photography software, without requiring a subscription.

I'm particularly impressed with how much it allows me to accomplish while keeping my workflow relatively straightforward.

It's still developing, particularly in its integration with artificial intelligence, but I'm increasingly convinced that it has a promising future.

Before the event, I had contacted the Idaho 50501 organizers to ask about bringing a video camera and tripod to record some of the proceedings.

I never received a response, so I decided to concentrate entirely on still photography.

My impression is that the organizers generally leave photographers and other media representatives to make their own decisions about how to document these gatherings. I can't speak for their policies, but I appreciated being able to move freely and photograph what interested me.

And there was plenty to photograph.

The Images

Something I've come to appreciate about photography is that it allows us to preserve moments that would otherwise disappear.

People go about their lives, attend events, meet strangers, express themselves, and eventually move on.

Sometimes those moments seem insignificant when they're happening.

But I don't believe they are.

Everyone who attended Saturday's gathering had a reason for being there. Some were concerned about the direction of the country. Others wanted to encourage people to vote. Some were supporting political candidates or causes they believed in.

And perhaps some simply wanted to spend an afternoon among people who shared their concerns.

Whatever their reasons, they showed up.

I respect that.

I believe it's important for people to become involved in their communities, to talk to their neighbors, to express their opinions, and to listen to what other people have to say.

You don't have to agree with everyone.

In fact, I think it's particularly important that we learn how to disagree without becoming hostile toward one another.

There's something valuable about people being willing to stand in a public place and peacefully express what matters to them.

And there's something equally valuable about simply being among other people.

For someone who has difficulty getting out, meeting strangers, or finding a place where they feel welcome, a community event can be an opportunity to reconnect with the world.

I've come to understand that through my own life experiences.

I also know that happiness isn't necessarily permanent. Circumstances change. People change. Sometimes life takes things away from us that we wish we could keep.

Maybe that's one reason I enjoy photographing people when they're doing something they care about.

Whether they're musicians performing onstage, families enjoying an afternoon in the park, or strangers standing together on the Capitol steps, I want to capture something of who they were at that moment.

I want them to be seen.

I want them to be heard.

And perhaps more than anything, I want them to know that they mattered.

Twenty years from now, someone might come across these photographs and wonder who these people were, what they believed, and why they gathered in Boise on a sunny Saturday in October.

The photographs won't answer every question.

But they'll show that these people were here.

They participated. They cared about something. They made an effort to be part of their community and, in their own way, part of history.

And because I was there with my camera, a small part of that day will remain.

Maybe photography isn't about making life last forever.

Maybe it's about making sure some part of it doesn't disappear without a witness.