Political opinion is not the purpose of this site. I document what I see when I am “street shooting“ and I do not care what the subject might happen to be.
I will simply document what I see. This was in fact a “first” for me because generally I stay far away from crowds. But this was too compelling and photographically rich not to explore it.
Heading downtown today, we were suddenly stuck in an enormous traffic jam, moving just inches at a time. And most of the time just standing still. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this was a Trump Rally just getting ready to form up. Or call it a protest or however else you want to name it.
But it was in fact peaceful and disciplined.
The camera cannot convey how many people were jammed into the street on both sides—each one carrying a flag or banner.
As I have mentioned before, I always have the camera with me. Many days I don’t even get one shot. That’s ok. The 6500 is small enough that it’s never in my way and that encourages me to take it with.
This was not just one or two small groups of people. These shots above are just at the edge of it. There were people with bull horns and others shouting their message. No one gave me a hard time as I zipped around trying to get some good shots. There had to have been many thousands there.
I spoke with “Jay”. A so-called Proud Boy. He surprised me. 
Regarding “Jay” (if that was in fact his name I don’t know) who I reference in the photo above. He wore a logo identifying himself as a “Proud Boy”. I’d heard only bad things about this group. But I decided to approach him and try to chat anyway. I’m a shrimp and Jay is HUGE. He could not have been nicer or more respectful to this geek (me) with a camera in hand, trying to strike up a conversation. He condemns racism and all forms of hatred, but he loves this country and deeply values law and order. That’s why he was part of this rally. He impressed me. It would be hard not to like him.
As I mentioned, I’ve never seen anything quite like this. The passion and fervor were palpable, and yet they were all disciplined, respectful and made a big effort not to block traffic. I just thought that it deserved to be documented. And even though I’ve let some color sneak through here and there, I still believe that it has a place on this website.
santa fe and me. photos 