"Occupy the Bridge" 11/17/11

rich56k

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving...

My first pictures post (although I'm a longtime poster in the help and customize threads).

Rather than individual captions I've included most of the text from the online story I did for a community college student newspaper ...

"More than 1,000 people took to the streets of Downtown Los Angeles Thursday morning to march and demonstrate in protest, highlighting the need for good jobs, taxing the 1%, and rebuilding L.A.

The "Occupy the Bridge" event was organized by GoodJobsLA.org, Occupy LA, and the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Local 99 and others. It started at West 3rd and South Hope Streets approx. 8 a.m. and wound through the Bunker Hill/Financial District area concluding under the 4th Street bridge at S. Figueroa Street about 9 a.m.

Once there they set up tents in the middle of the street and formed a locked arm circle of protesters around them, with a rally proceeding until the LAPD's order to disburse.

By approx. 10:30 a.m. (over an hour after the permits expired) the police announced that everyone would have 5 minutes to leave the street, as they were now deemed "an unlawful assembly."

After two more warnings the LAPD moved in with military like precision, creating a boxed off area with only the 20+ protesters and the tents still in the roadway.

Then while an LAPD Video Unit taped everything, they handcuffed everybody one-by-one and led the protesters to waiting vans (including an 81 year old who was part of the group). By 11:15 a.m. the remaining crowd had left the area.

Unlike many other "Occupy" protests taking place all around the country this event had no violence, pepper spray used or police assaults on the protesters. This was due in part to the fact that the organizers met with the LAPD before hand and alerted them to the overall details and also that a small group would be willing to be arrested and jailed for failure to disburse.

Compared to other Occupy demonstrations this event was almost anti-climactic in its conclusion. "

Thanks and C&C is welcome,

-Rich56k


#1


#2


#3


#4


#5



#6


#7


#8


#9


#10


#11


#12


#13


#14



#15


#16


#17



#18


#19


#20

Angelo

excellent set Rich

#10 & #14 are 2 of my faves

.

dbveto

Nice shots.
one think I noticed is a few had bandana's over their faces? Are they ashamed?

rich56k

Angelo wrote: »

excellent set Rich

#10 & #14 are 2 of my faves

.

Angelo,

Yes # 10 is one of my favorites also, it seemed to really portray the energy of the moment and I felt a tad intimidated as I went up to shoot it.

#14 is just prior to the LAPD making the arrests of those remaining protesters.

Thanks for the kudos

-Rich

rich56k

dbveto wrote: »

Nice shots.
one think I noticed is a few had bandana's over their faces? Are they ashamed?

Dennis,

Thank you also

Regarding the bandanas - to be honest I only saw a handfull of people wearing them (out of over 1,000) - and as far as their reasons I didn't interview anyone so I couldn't answer that for you.


Thanks again!

-Rich

torags

Nice series Rich...

rich56k

torags wrote: »

Nice series Rich...

Thanks Rags!!

-Rich

In the interest of transparency I should point out that #20 actually occurred earlier while I had the overhead access, not last. I had diplomatically asked the security dept. at the Marriott Hotel for access to their footbridge that connects them to the World Trade Center which after showing my credentials they agreed to - I was the only media person shooting from up there. The last 2 images in the series are actually the US Bank building then the police helmets lined up which I saw on my way back to the subway from the event...it seemed a fitting image to end my morning shoot with.

Richard

Excellent set, Rich. I like seeing the event from a number of different perspectives. There's nothing like a little elevation to get a crowd shot that has a sense of scale to it.

M38A1

Great series to show yet another first-hand view of these protest activities.

I just love seeing the series of images telling a story or transporting me there.

rich56k

Richard wrote: »

Excellent set, Rich. I like seeing the event from a number of different perspectives. There's nothing like a little elevation to get a crowd shot that has a sense of scale to it.

Thanks for the kudos Richard

Yes I agree about the different perspectives - and I must give kudos where due, a fellow Dgrinner (Andrew Wheeler of AutoMotophoto.com fame) had told some time ago to try to shoot from as many perspectives (in addition to standing face-to - face) as possible. I have taken that advice to heart in all my shooting (from getting as high as is available [and safe!] to as low as possible.

I had tried an earlier footbridge (pic #2) but was quickly told to take one pic then leave by building security - that put me in full diplomatic mode for the later footbridge which was successfull.

If it can help anyone else I highly recommend going to a sporting goods store (Big 5 out here in SoCal) and spending approx. $8 on a pair of knee pads (well at my age and physical condition they're a required lifesaver ) "Bike" brand is what I've used for years now.



Thanks again!

-Rich

rich56k

M38A1 wrote: »

Great series to show yet another first-hand view of these protest activities.

I just love seeing the series of images telling a story or transporting me there.

Thanks Scott for your comments!!

Also apologies for taking so long to reply to you and Richards posts - haven't been online as much as usual lately - Thanks Again

-Rich

T. Bombadil

rich56k wrote: »

Unlike many other "Occupy" protests taking place all around the country this event had no violence, . . . . and also that a small group would be willing to be arrested and jailed for failure to disburse.

Interesting photos. I'm glad there was no violence.

Two questions arise.
1)Can you tell us what the fellow in #6 is trying to say? I can't figure out what he means by taping his passport over his mouth.

2)How does one agree to be arrested? This is a foreign concept to me. I would have thought the police would make their own decisions about whom (and whether) to arrest. Does that mean it is all theater?

Enjoyed the photos. Thanks for sharing.

rich56k

T. Bombadil wrote: »

Interesting photos. I'm glad there was no violence.

Two questions arise.
1)Can you tell us what the fellow in #6 is trying to say? I can't figure out what he means by taping his passport over his mouth.

2)How does one agree to be arrested? This is a foreign concept to me. I would have thought the police would make their own decisions about whom (and whether) to arrest. Does that mean it is all theater?

Enjoyed the photos. Thanks for sharing.

Bruce,

Regarding your questions...

1) I still wonder the same thing - even the Chair of the Journalism Dept. at community college I attend asked me the same thing - all I can say is that every one I saw participating was very passionate about the event (of course that's only my opinion - as a photojournalist I've been taught that my opinion has no place in the PJ context - and I believe that; My objective is to try to take the viewer to said event and present an unbiased perspective - but of course questions will always arise - how about the humorous aspect - even had I asked him he prob wouldn't have said much as there was a passport taped to his mouth - lol - sorry it's late and it's finals week and well you know...

2) In this case as I learned afterwards the group that was arrested had in fact agreed to go to jail to show their resolve and belief in what they were doing. As such the event organizers had obtained a legal permit for their activities (a march thru the streets starting and ending at said points, then a rally under the 4th street bridge) - however, such a permit also has a time limit - after said time limit the police can at any point move in and arrest if they so choose for assorted reasons depending on what is still taking place - be it failure to disburse, blocking traffic (by sitting in the middle of the street).

So one one hand I/we can make a conscious decision to break a law in front of a police officer and yes its his or her decision whether to arrest me/we or not. And they can only arrest those that are in fact breaking said law(s). Whether it was all 'theater' or not ...hmmm...if one wants to call being willing to go to jail for something you believe very strongly in (and in fact going to jail) 'theatre' is a matter of opinion. I can see both sides of that issue.

Once the order to disburse and leave the street was given (more than once and well after the permit had expired) the group that stayed was in fact arrested.

I'm not sure if I answered your questions or not but I hope I did - it was a valuable shooting experience for me either way trying to plan where to shoot from, most of which is while moving backwards as the march comes towards you, where I could get different perspectives, etc. it was both challenging and educational for me - afterwards I located the attached photo by Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times and realized that was the shot I hoped to get by going 'up high.'

I had even seen the vantage point he shot from and made the decision not to attempt getting up there as I'd be shooting directly into the sun and the march would be past if I didn't act fast - his image truly shows the entire group of marchers much better than mine - as it turns out just after this pic they turned left and thats where I was shooting from - they never had that length of street to stretch out on after the turn - but hey it was my first protest!!

Thanks again for your comments/questions!

-Rich

M38A1

I'd lean towards the government silencing the voice of the people with the passport thing.... Just a WAG though thinking about the context of the event and what a passport represents.