I went looking for trouble. I found it.

The American Legislative Exchange Commission is in town and so are the protestors.  Today, instead of being at the Westin Kierland, the ALEC demonstrators went to the Salt River Project, a Phoenix based power and water company. A group of protestors chained themselves together inside the public utility’s business office.

Outside, protestors were pushed back to the sidewalk as they disrupted business.I don’t know whether it was the fact that I’m not 24 anymore or that maybe I didn’t eat today, but when the Phoenix Police reinforcements arrived, my heart started pounding when they broke into a very intimidating run.  I thought for sure the pepper spray was going to fly.  I was concerned because the cops are all wearing black and were severely back lit.  I was also downwind and would have been (indirectly) pepper sprayed for the third time this week.  Cooler heads prevailed and police held the line.  I was worried that my pictures would be severely out of focus because it’s hard to shoot when you can’t see or breath (I was probably more worried about the not seeing or breathing part).

While it seems at times that the protestors are disorganized or easily distracted, one thing is certain: Neither side is fooling around.

Unfortunately it’s the police that have to come between the protestors and those they are demonstrating against.  I enjoyed last night when The Rev. Jesse Jackson said that the police need to be cheered as they are also the 99%.

Until the right people start listening, I suspect the protests will continue.  And the untrained, disorganized soldier will continue to be arrested and take the brunt of pepper spray wearing only goggles, scarves and used gas masks. There were a total of 16 arrests.

I’d like to see an end to this.  I prefer to make pictures of people having fun.

What you hear just before the air turns orange are the sounds of people screaming and trying to get out of the way of each other. “Shit! Here it comes!” Someone yells.  A few people are brought to their knees. There’s a lot of choking and gagging that goes on when the pepper spray flies.

Medics help those who’ve taken direct hits to the face.  The victims can’t see and can barely breath. Their skin burns. Bad.  After they’ve been treated, a white coating covers the skin of those who’ve been sprayed (see the top photo).

Pepper spray doesn’t care who it hits. Many wore gas masks or had handkerchiefs over their face for protection.  My camera didn’t provide much protection the two times I encountered the orange-colored air.

The Occupy Phoenix movement traveled to North Phoenix to protest the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The Occupy movement is a peaceful group, yet when the Anarchists showed up, things went south until the instigators were arrested.While I love studio and location photography, photographing hard news is very difficult — yet keeps you sharp.  All of the rules of photography still apply: focus, composition, lens selection, etc. Yet you still need to be creative, while keeping yourself safe while covering the news in a sometimes hostile environment.  A photojournalist needs to be close — and can’t turn away.

Old Salt

Lending his political weight to the Occupy Movement, The Rev. Jesse Jackson stopped by Cesar Chavez Plaza on Thursday.  He joined with the group after speaking with them and led a march to Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold in downtown Phoenix.Jesse’s message was for the group to persevere.  And to remain peaceful.

He said that The Movement isn’t dying as some have reported.  He said that people in positions of power are starting to take notice.

Some people don’t care for The Rev., but I think there is a lot to be said about someone who is trying to make the world a better place.

Maybe you can fight City Hall.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take peace over pepper spray any day of the week.

[NOTE: These photos, and more, are available at Corbis.]

I remember Thanksgiving as a time of being with family and friends.  It seems to have changed into a big meal before Americans go off to stand in line on Black Friday.  I went out in search of lines and Black Friday crowds. I was in search of Americans.  And I found a few.

The people I encountered, like John Holdson, were wonderful. I didn’t see any episodes of pepper spraying or anyone acting inappropriately. I just saw a lot of people who seemed to be on a scavenger hunt.

And in spite of the “madness,” Stephanie Ramsey and Tim Abbot were able to remember that the Holidays are all about the love.

And in better Black Friday news:  U.S. stocks posted sharp gains Monday, following reports of strong Black Friday weekend sales.  The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite surged and their advances broke a multi-day losing streaks for the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq.  I hope the world can climb out of the Red (ink) and stay in the Black.  But something tells me you didn’t come here for that information.  I hope your Holidays are filled with love and warmth. And I’m wishing you have a prosperous new year.

What once took the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance several days, they accomplished in several hours. Because of their efforts, 7000 families will enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Your local food bank will be grateful for your donation.

Sleep Well, Your Americans are on Guard

When I was in the military (USAF), it was against the rules to go off base in a fatigue uniform. It was the green work uniform. If you were going to be in public, you needed to be in full-dress Blues or in the office attire which was slacks and the blue uniform shirt.  Walking around Times Square I found a couple of Army soldiers. Privates Garibito and Alvarez  had just finished training and were on their way to Afghanistan.

Pray that Private Angel Garabito and all of his brothers and sisters stay safe.

Classic Pak

There’s something about a man whose earrings match his grill. Sean Thomas, AKA Canibus (click here to listen to “Go Get It), is a rap artist in Times Square, with his magnetic personality and jovial spirit, is an American who was fun to be around.

I went to NYC to show my portfolio and see the sights. I also thought I should keep my eyes open for someone to include in the project. While I was there, I met Canibus who was giving away copies of his latest disc, “Classic Pak: Times Square Edition.”  He even autographed it for me.

While was with him, a long-lost friend — a record producer — just happened to be walking by and the two were joyfully reunited.  In a city where you are alone in a crowd, it was wonderful to see happier moments unfold.

[Canibus: "Go Get It" used with permission]

The Subway

I have a friend from New York who use to tell me that the Subway was a good place to get your ass beat.  She said things could get rough if someone were to see me taking pictures.  So what’s the first thing I did?  Took lots of pictures.

As someone who lives in Phoenix, public transit, for the most part, is a bit of a mystery.  I wish it weren’t, because in places like Seattle and New York (the only places I’ve encountered public transit) make it a wonderful feature of a metro area.

I love photographing people and seeing how they (we) go through the pace of their lives.  Maybe I’m a professional tourist.

But honestly, aren’t we all part of a giant human zoo?  Don’t feed the bears. Don’t pet the lions.  Be sure to enjoy everything that is on display.  Maybe it’s better to say, “Look, but don’t touch.”  It’s all about respect — for your craft and for those you are photographing.

Working in newspaper is what prepared me for photographing people. There were days when the plans for the next day’s front page had fallen through and the photo editor would say, “Tony, go get us a front-page picture before your 3 o’clock assignment.” And you had just gotten there at 1 p.m.

In the game of life, sometimes we are able to knock it out of the park and other days where we can only bunt.  The fans rarely scream when the bunt happens, so you find ways to score the home runs.  These habits remain, even when you are in a different city, on business.

Occupy Wall Street

Meet Bobby Steele.  I wish I would have spent more time with him at Occupy Wall Street because he’s old enough to remember the Viet Nam War and civil rights protests of the ’60’s and 70’s.

It’s cold in Zuccotti Park. He (nor the other Occupy Wall Street protestors) is not there because it’s convenient.

The protestors feel their voices will make the world a little better.

Not everyone agrees with the Occupy movement.  I suspect those, not in agreement haven’t lost their home, 401k or other things they’ve worked for.

I suspect that those who are willing to brave the winter’s cold have lost their home and have little choice but to occupy Wall Street. (The lady on the left picked a fight with a demonstrator after she had been shopping for fashion at Century 21.)

After the police took away the protestor’s generators, the protestors became more Green as they began using their bodies to recharge batteries.

I wish I could have spent more time at Occupy Wall Street.  But after a week of portfolio reviews, I promised that we would only spend an hour at Zuccotti Park.

The Statues of Liberty

Clearly I’m a tourist in The Big Apple.  I don’t think you can see it all in a week — maybe a year.  The problem with infinity, is that it’s just too big.  This is the case with New York City.

I hope you like my view of the Statues of Liberty.  If you don’t, please feel free to send me back to The City That Never Sleeps.  It’s a great place — even if there is just too much of it.

You probably already knew this, but New York City is a(n a)maze(ing place).  I spent a week there showing my portfolio. If you’re not careful, you could get lost and never find your cheese.

What was nice is that all of the portfolio reviews were in one place at Canoe Studios. About a mile from the hotel. (Who ordered Coke? I want a Long Island Ice Tea.)

Every day, our day was ordered with a built in, two-mile hike. The City won’t come to you.  We never walked just two miles. I think a light day was six. I kept thinking of Lou Reed’s “Take A Walk On The Wild Side,” which has nothing to do with walking to work. The place was just wild and I was walking.

Every day.  Every night.  All day and all night, the movement and the noise never stops.

As I walked and observed, I thought the New York sidewalks are like driving on the freeway.  As people move about, some are going fast (some running in high heels), some are going slow and sipping coffee.  Others are talking on the phone and texting.

“A hustle here, a bustle there. New York City is the place where…”  Nobody says hello or even acknowledges your presence (unless you are moving to slow and they are talking on the phone, telling others about how slow you’re walking).

A couple of friends chat in Times Square as Rihanna doesn't look on.

The City has a voice and it’s loud.  Jack hammers pounding, cars driving, horns honking and sirens blaring. It’s an audio assault. It seems clear that when you are in New York, you are alone in a crowd.  I think your job would provide more than income.  It would provide a social outlet.  I think it would be hard to make friends while in “traffic.” One of the things I thought interesting was that there were a lot of sirens blaring. As it turned out they were mostly ambulances who would sit behind people who were stuck at an intersection and they would just blast their siren (as if the motorist could pull over). The police were fairly active too.  But I wondered how could anyone get away with doing something on a crowded NYC street?  On our last night we saw a man who was immobilized by the police in a full body straight jacket.  I don’t think he willingly allowed himself to be dressed up and laid face down on the sidewalk.  Susan suggested that he might have tried to rip off one of the stores.

I felt that in spite of being where people can see you, nobody seems to be watching. Yet everyone is very aware.

I enjoyed seeing thing that until last week had only been able to see in books or on TV.  I liked that I could see the Empire State Building in morning light as I raced to our meetings.

Times Square was like the biggest Las Vegas in the world. The only thing missing are slot machines.

“Hey Sugar, take a walk on the wild side… (and the colored girls go do doodoo).”  I love this place and can’t wait to go back!

On Deck: The subway and Occupy Wall Street (a very brief view) and the Statues of Liberty.

“Tony! Get out of the street before you get hit!”
I think Susan’s job was to keep me alive and to remind me that I needed things like food and sleep.  New York City is an absolutely overstimulating city. Everything competes with everything else in a manner that puts Las Vegas to shame.  The camera was pressed to my face as I saw things that were foreign to me.

Everything is moving.  Everything is noisy. Buildings are so tall that they make the sky appear very small.  I’m glad Susan had my back.

I sometimes felt that New York is Pompei without its Mount Vesuvius. Some things looked like a city that was built on top of another city.

It looks old — and I love that. I’m originally from Las Vegas, where I was born and raised. Anything older than its twenty-fifth birthday is bulldozed and rebuilt as something new.  I stayed in a hotel where Nikola Tesla died.  I wondered how many people had stayed in my room since the hotel was built in 1929.

What I especially loved about New York was that it doesn’t shut down.  It was so nice to eat dinner at 11 p.m. after being in portfolio reviews all day.

Over the course of the next week, I plan to share my photographs of New York with you.  When I wasn’t in meetings, we went to Occupy Wall Street, saw Ground Zero and Times Square.

We didn’t have time to do all of the tourist things.  I didn’t have the ability to spend as much time as would be needed at Zucotti Park (Occupy).  I did find a couple of Americans, though.  Just wait until you see what I did in regard to The Statue of Liberty (just remember that it’s a “free” country).

New York is a beautiful city and I plan on returning soon.
(OK, so this isn’t New York. I just liked the picture.)  More to come…

Keeping you updated with my whacky ramblings and bone-jarring photography is of utmost importance to me.  I had intended to blog while in New York, but at the end of the day, about all I could do was pass out (I showed the portfolio to a lot of people and it was intense).

As I came into the office, yesterday, an email from Polaris Images asked if I was covering Herman Cain’s press conference. Yep. And gaining access, shooting and hitting an East-Coast deadline consumed my day.

The hardest part of freelance photojournalism is that you don’t get to say you are with The Tribune, or the Sun or whatever.  Nobody gives you press credentials.  Yet while checking in to Herman Cain’s Press conference, I was asked for a credential.  Rob Schumaker with the Arizona Republic flashed a Coyote’s hockey pass and gained access.  I was stopped.  My business card didn’t count.  After a few minutes of telling them that I was freelance and had no REAL credential, I realized that in my truck was an OLD Tribune Newspaper credential that I had forgotten to pin to my wall of souvenirs.  I went back, found my relic, flashed the pass and gained front-row access.
I plan to work into the night, tonight and after tomorrow’s two meetings, I hope to blog and show off the images I shot in New York.

Hotel room view

In the span of two weeks I went from New Mexico to New York where I could see New Jersey.

I thought I had been to the big city, but in comparison, LA is only medium sized.  It was nice to be in a place that was open around the clock.

Why was I there? To show off the new portfolio.  I’ll tell you how it went, later.  Right now I’m feelin’ the jet lag and am about to drop.  Stay tuned…