As an event photographer, I sometimes shoot events that people think are quite silly. But even if they at first glance appear silly, it’s important to the people involved, and therefore important to me. And sometimes, upon reflection, they bring important issues to light.

Yesterday I photographed a protest in Brighton that would seem pretty silly to most, but raised important questions to how government agencies make decisions regarding faith.

The protest was spurred by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s recent decision to deny Ian Patrick Harris the right to wear his religious headgear in his driving license photo. As a devout Pastafarian (what members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster are known as), Mr Harris wears a as part of his faith.

After an unsuccessful appeal against the decision, he felt it necessary to take to the streets to make his disappointment public. Other Pastafarians from all walks of life showed up in support.

The press did a good job reporting about the events that led to this protest, you can read more in this news article.

Here are some more photos from the day: