The day before the Nevada Caucus I was working at my desk finishing up processing a job from the night before. I walked by the TV and saw a reporter standing outside a Bernie Sanders’ Rally in Santa Ana, CA., reporting that the rally started in one hour. I paused and checked online for details. The event was 14 miles away from me, and my camera bag was packed….So within 10 minutes I was headed over to the High School where the rally was taking place. I parked in a nearby neighborhood and followed the crowd towards the event. My stars were aligned as the place was packed, but I slid into the crowd to get a perfect position in front of the media risers.
Once again, I learned a lot from this event. The biggest lesson was that if I had taller shoes, I could have gained about 2-3 inches to shoot higher than the crowd in front of me. So, for future events, I am packing a couple of plastic blocks in my camera bag to step up on as I lean against the wall or fencing, to save me from tippy toe-ing for 2 hours as I did at this event.
I also had fun timing my shots to feature the raised signage so that it wrapped around Bernie at the podium, so that I shot through a sea of signs. This was a dramatic look especially since within less than 24 hours Bernie Sanders would win the Nevada Caucuses. These images now truly represent the Bernie Wave of Supporters.
I am so excited I was able to document such an important time in United States History. Now, I would love to photograph Pete, Amy, Joe and even Trump Rallies to finish my set of Election Year Events. Crossing my fingers for such opportunities. Enjoy these moments below….
