Anyone in the U.S been photographing any Trump rallies?

CropDusterMan · May 28, 2016

Was interested to see if anyone has been out photographing any of the Trump rallies and some
of the protest activities and some of your observations...?

i was shooting in San Diego yesterday and things got very sketchy a few times...heavy police presence
kept the craziness to a few incidents, and there was no vandalism...but I could not get over some of the
tension in the air, the passion of the people...quite extraordinary. The color palate is wonderful, lots of
signs, flags, interesting people.

Two23 · May 28, 2016

I didn't go but know a guy who went to the Trump rally in Bismarck ND. He said he saw nothing like the wackiness in California. We don't really have any extremists here, and ND might be too far for them to come. They would be run out even if they did.

Kent in SD

removed account4 · May 28, 2016

cropdusterman
i heard from a friend or 2 in california who were going to go to the rallies
but they figured since there was no drought they would water their sand lot
and do a full fledged 7 hour print wash with running water.

benjiboy · May 28, 2016

I'm not in the U.S, if I was I'm not a masochist.

CropDusterMan · May 28, 2016

jnanian said:
cropdusterman
i heard from a friend or 2 in california who were going to go to the rallies
but they figured since there was no drought they would water their sand lot
and do a full fledged 7 hour print wash with running water.

That was a good one! ;O)

CropDusterMan · May 28, 2016

benjiboy said:
I'm not in the U.S, if I was I'm not a masochist.

??

Down Under · May 28, 2016

Masochist indeed! That was a good one. Not much about the sad politics we are saddled with nowadays, in any way, shape or form, draws a good laugh from me any more, but cropdusterman did. Kudos to you, mate.

I was born in Canada and grew up in New Mexico. Still visit the latter at least once a year. All those heavenly primeval landscapes... I now live in Tasmania (Australia) and still follow US politics, as your politicians at least know how to be interesting (= controversial).

I would never dare take a camera to a Trump rally. Or if I did, then maybe a Holga. Something cheap, so if I were to get knocked down by some seemingly psycho cop or security apparachik or thoroughly hosed with fire water, nothing much would be lost.

Here in Australia we take our politics seriously, but with a healthy dose of Down Under cynicism. Already a few street walls in Hobart have been graffiti spray painted with an old line we always see during our election campaigns - don't vote, it only encourages them.

This is a photo web site and so (unusual for me) I will keep my political opinions to myself, except for one "photographical" comment. This year's Ozzy campaign appears to be between a clapped-out Leica M in new blue-black leather, a "minty" but technically suspect Pentax K1000, and a salesman for Ferrania films. We wait in hope, but not too much.

cuthbert · Jun 2, 2016

ozmoose said:
This year's Ozzy campaign appears to be between a clapped-out Leica M in new blue-black leather, a "minty" but technically suspect Pentax K1000, and a salesman for Ferrania films. We wait in hope, but not too much.

Best political jab I've read in the last months. Very well played!

Dr Croubie · Jun 2, 2016

ozmoose said:
This is a photo web site and so (unusual for me) I will keep my political opinions to myself, except for one "photographical" comment. This year's Ozzy campaign appears to be between a clapped-out Leica M in new blue-black leather, a "minty" but technically suspect Pentax K1000, and a salesman for Ferrania films. We wait in hope, but not too much.

Trying to figure out which is which of the K1000 and Ferrania, the M is obvious.
Would that make Mr X something like a Canon EOS Rebel? Bit slick looking, bit middle of the road, nothing particularly exciting, but inexplicably popular because noone can afford the M and noone really trusts the K1000 to last more than a few rolls?

Wayne · Jun 2, 2016

Corran on the Large Format Photography site posted some large format shots of a Trump rally in Georgia a few weeks/months back

36cm2 · Jun 2, 2016

jnanian said:
cropdusterman
i heard from a friend or 2 in california who were going to go to the rallies
but they figured since there was no drought they would water their sand lot
and do a full fledged 7 hour print wash with running water.

Absolutely hilarious. Don't know if you heard, but Trump just gave a stump speech in Rochester and notified everyone that Kodak has actually been secretly making Kodachrome and throwing it into the ocean since 2009. He's going to make Fuji build and pay for a supertanker to collect all the rolls and bring them to B&H in NYC, where they'll be distributed free of charge to anyone that voted for him in the primaries. Except, of course, any "sleazy" media photographers, who are readily identifiable via their Speed Graphics.

gone · Jun 2, 2016

Yeah, the police in San Diego are completely nuts. I couldn't stand them when I lived there, and gave them a wide berth because they were so potentially aggressive and violent.

Maybe it's just me, but photographing a Trump rally is pretty far down on my list of things to do! Let the people that get paid for hazardous duty have at it. Me, I'll just try and ignore all this until the election as that's all that counts.

CropDusterMan · Jun 2, 2016

momus said:
Yeah, the police in San Diego are completely nuts. I couldn't stand them when I lived there, and gave them a wide berth because they were so potentially aggressive and violent.

I wouldn't say they were nuts at all. They were very prepared with large numbers following the craziness in Costa Mesa, CA the day before and IMO, showed tremendous restraint.

The drought comment in CA was taken out of context though.

Eric Rose · Jun 2, 2016

Frank Petronio has shot some images at a couple of rallies. I believe he was shooting digital though. Not sure what name he is using on APUG these days.

TheRook · Jun 5, 2016

Unless I know for sure I will be in the front row, I would not even consider taking any of my beloved film cameras to a crowded, tumultuous rally. Just not worth the risk.

apkujeong · Jun 5, 2016

TheRook said:
Unless I know for sure I will be in the front row, I would not even consider taking any of my beloved film cameras to a crowded, tumultuous rally. Just not worth the risk.

An F3 with motor drive would easily withstand a tumultuous rally - and would make a decent weapon if a blunt clubbing instrument were suddenly required. I'd be too worried for the health of anyone hit with such a camera to try it though!

Sirius Glass · Jun 5, 2016

TheRook said:
Unless I know for sure I will be in the front row, I would not even consider taking any of my beloved film cameras to a crowded, tumultuous rally. Just not worth the risk.

My recent experience at political rallies is that even close, it is hard to get much of a look of the candidate. I decided not to put a WLF on my Hasselblad and hold it over my head, so I went without a camera and enjoyed the rally. Do not make any assumptions about my politics based on this post.

Two23 · Jun 5, 2016

ozmoose said:
Already a few street walls in Hobart have been graffiti spray painted with an old line we always see during our election campaigns - don't vote, it only encourages them.

I think this election has the absolute worst choices in the entire history of the country. All of these people are sickeningly phony, and completely incompetent. In any other election, all of these people would lose in a landslide. Deciding which one to vote for is like reaching into a Porta Potty and picking up the "cleanest" turd. Rather than get involved with the Porta Potty, I console myself by learning how to make & shoot paper negs.

Kent in SD

Theo Sulphate · Jun 5, 2016

Two23 said:
I think this election has the absolute worst choices in the entire history of the country. All of these people are sickeningly phony, and completely incompetent. ... Deciding which one to vote for is like reaching into a Porta Potty and picking up the "cleanest" turd. ...

Totally agree.

Rather than speculate too much about how we've arrived at this state, I will offer one observation that many people are totally uninformed or misinformed about domestic and world issues. I deliberately read news from very diverse sources - even from sources I dislike.

A co-worker, photographer acquaintance in his mid 60's never watches or reads any news whatsoever. He has the latest information about Sony sensors or Sigma lenses, but he has no clue who ISIS (or ISIL, or Daesh) is, didn't know anything about beheadings or the Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a cage, didn't know anything about any domestic issues. Yet he votes - presumably based on what "vibe" he gets from a 10-second snippet he sees of a candidate on the Comedy Channel.

I fear that, as a whole, we get the government we deserve.

As for photographing a rally or some such, I'd have to take either my Nikon F with 500/8 mirror lens or a Canon Rebel G with 75-300, since I'm not likely to be in close.

CropDusterMan · Jun 5, 2016

Good photos don't happen at the rallies....they happen at the protests. Perhaps I should've said "protests" in the title.
To get good images at a protest, you have to get close and be bold. It's a fine line...

Theo Sulphate · Jun 5, 2016

CropDusterMan said:
Good photos don't happen at the rallies....they happen at the protests. Perhaps I should've said "protests" in the title.
To get good images at a protest, you have to get close and be bold. It's a fine line...

That's true, but only if you like those types of photos. In early 1971 I photographed a huge anti-war protest and march in downtown Los Angeles. I think I did a good job getting lots of good images and covering the event well. My only regret is that I wasted some film on "side-protests" and attention-whores who were just there for the publicity.

These days I much prefer photographing landscapes, nature, towns, and industry.

removed account4 · Jun 5, 2016

36cm2 said:
Absolutely hilarious. Don't know if you heard, but Trump just gave a stump speech in Rochester and notified everyone that Kodak has actually been secretly making Kodachrome and throwing it into the ocean since 2009. He's going to make Fuji build and pay for a supertanker to collect all the rolls and bring them to B&H in NYC, where they'll be distributed free of charge to anyone that voted for him in the primaries. Except, of course, any "sleazy" media photographers, who are readily identifiable via their Speed Graphics.

i did that, but i wasn't sure if i was dreaming ..

DREW WILEY · Jun 7, 2016

Glad this thread isn't asking for photos of Trump "allies" instead of "rallies". One category is nonexistent, the other synonymous with the usual riots
downtown. The first category will lead to an MRI on your head, the latter to getting your head bashed in with your own camera, or worse.
I've got better things to do.

SchwinnParamount · Jun 8, 2016

Two23 said:
I didn't go but know a guy who went to the Trump rally in Bismarck ND. He said he saw nothing like the wackiness in California. We don't really have any extremists here, and ND might be too far for them to come. They would be run out even if they did.

Kent in SD

If you know of a guy who went to a Trump rally there, then you know of at least one extremist.

CMoore · Jun 10, 2016

They would be run out of town...just because they were going to Support/Vote for Trump.?

Love the drought joke.!

Anyone in the U.S been photographing any Trump rallies?

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