Nearly 500,000 people marched on Washington for women's rights - here's what it was like to join the crowd

WASHINGTON - Nearly half a million people showed up to the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017, making it one of the largest demonstrations in US history.

I was one of the tiny specks in aerial photos, which helped estimate the crowd at 485,000 souls, and the experience was unlike any other in my life.

To be clear, I'm not a woman; I'm a white, heterosexual, cisgender man who's also a husband, father, photographer, and journalist - and I recognize the many privileges that American society affords me. (If you want to read a woman's perspective on attending the march, a story by my talented colleague Leanna Garfield is a great place to start.)

I also support women's rights, among other egalitarian causes I saw on thousands of signs during the march, and contemplated walking alongside my wife and baby daughter in support and solidarity.

However, I felt it important to go as an observer and document some of the myriad marchers and their convictions.

Here's what I saw and heard at the Women's March on Washington.