Republican Nat'l convention

[buzzsaw]

What did you all do tonight? Maybe watch the Rep convention here in St.

Paul? I was thinking earlier today about when I grew up and saw all the

Vietnam protestors and all the signs and hub bub they created. I started

thinking that the timing and location of all of this made for some good

photo ops and an interesting life experience. I parked in the Sears parking

lot next to the state capitol and needless to say (if you watched the news

tonight) that's where all the action ended up being. I started on on John

Ireland and saw a few interesting attention wanting individuals… all in all

very peaceful. Then went down a few blocks to 12th and cedar and saw the

police with a circle of people whom they had just arrested and then made a

rush into the crowd and nabbed some more "loud mouths". Mostly peaceful

activity from a lot of grungy tree hugger type folks. Then I headed back to

my car at dusk and all these people starting running just north of Sears and

boom, boom, boom all the sudden smoke starts billowing and people are

scattering…. I had to go over and take some pics… some older woman got

pegged and was hurt and was helped away… a lot of people shopping at Sears

were leaving the bldg and the police took innocent bystanders as well as

trouble makers and corralled them to a bridge and then arrested them. I'm

certain some of them will get off and others won't. I left and had to zig

zag out to University avenue and through some neighborhoods to get on 94 so

I could head home… darm police had road detours everywhere. Sorry no birds

tonight! ( ;

[Steve Foss]

Nice stuff, Mike. I especially like the red-and-white-striped peace chick in front of the "brown shirts" and their billy clubs.

[Dbl]

Good work Mike, might be a bit more safe to stick to birds though!

[harvey lee]

Isn't it sad when we have our Leaders holding a convention and we have to have the police and Nat. Guard attend the gathering to keep peace?

I agree we all the right to protest our possible future leaders but we should not need the police there to try and keep the peace while they meet.

The pictures say it all. Some want peace but will go to any end to get their words heard.

Our candidates are not the Nazi's.

[buzzsaw]

Okay, I processed a few more.

Thanks for the feedback, I figured these would be good to share.

tear gas gunman.

OUCH!

This is part of the scene at the Sears parking lot that was all over the news last night.... the second image is of a woman who was hit with something in her arm and she fell down and was assisted away... I'm thinking she was an innocent person walking out of Sears and all the so called Anarchists got the police riled up and she paid the price for their foolish actions.

ISO 4000 on image below of cops (too far away to flash) 1/25 sec

Thats about all I have thats decent enough to post.

[fishinchicks]

Interesting that the protesters had equipment to combat the tear gas. Look at the guy on the right in the last photo. I don't think he is employed by the St Paul PD.

As much as I dislike the protesters who claim their message is peace by using violent means, I think you did a great job capturing the event. Good thing you didn't get arrested like the KARE 11 photographer!

[Ryan_V]

fyi..in the second photo in the second set, he's not a tear gas gunman. those aren't tear gas on his vest.

[buzzsaw]

Thanks, Ryan. Just going by what he said.

[Eskimoman]

What are they then? Looks like taer gas to me.

[yakfisher]

Nice work Buzz, great photos. Those are 40mm less than lethal marking rounds with an irritant powder.

[finnbay]

Pretty compelling shots! Like the striped chick, and the silhouette (sp),

[buzzsaw]

Nice work Buzz, great photos. Those are 40mm less than lethal marking rounds with an irritant powder.

Thanks! What exactly is "irritant powder"? I just googled it and came up with what you said and I would say you are 100% correct! They say the green munitions are meant for Greenpeace type of demonstrations, therefore that is why they had it at the RNC.

[Paul]

great documenrtery shots

[Steve Foss]

Not that there's much money in it, Mike, but some of these are quite good as photojournalism.

If the STrib or the PiPress (or any of the handful of muscular suburban weeklies) are doing a week's end retrospective on the RNC, it may be worth contacting them. As stated, not a lot of $, but recognition and name-spreading eventually translates into $.

[buzzsaw]

Thanks Paul and Steve. I swear I am so lazy when it comes to submitting anything... Good advice, I appreciate it.

[Steve Foss]

Next time around, think about it in advance.

Too late now for the weekend, considering newspaper deadlines, but you know as well as I do, Mike, that if you want to enter that market you have the ability to do it.

If I was still a daily newspaper organizing/assigning editor, there were two images of yours in particular that would have had me on the phone with you to arrange licensing terms. They were as good as anything I saw through the AP or the TC dailies.

When I said they were good, I meant it, and I have those 15 years as a newspaper reporter, editor and photographer (as well as a certain award) backing up what I say.

Forget the commodities trading. Trade in something of REAL value! OK, sermon over.

[yakfisher]

An irritant powder would have similar effects to tear gas but the powder would effect a more localized. A tear gas canister is an aerosol and covers a large area would be used to disperse a large crowd. Where as this marker round has a consistency like baby powder, but it has a skin irritant that causes a burning sensation like cs gas or pepper spray. The marker round is used to mark and disorient a target. A target like a protester that the police intend to arrest. Sad that this type of thing has even be used in this country.

These rounds can still injure or kill if a target is fired upon inside a minimum safe range. I've not shot that specific gun, but I have fired an M203 which is that big tube you sometimes see attached below the barrel of an M-16 or M-4, it kicks a little more than a twelve gauge and packs quite a wallop when a high explosive round is used.

[buzzsaw]

Thanks again, Steve! Your giving me the warm fuzzies today. I remember you got that Pulitzer award, thats quite the accomplishment! I don't think I'm ready to give up the day job, maybe if I could dress up like Spiderman or something ya know. I get so used to shhoting the stuff I shoot and this was the first PJ thing I'd done and I remember telling a friend that it was so much different, yet so much the same as shooting wildlife. In some ways you have to think differently, but regardless you need to be thinking on your feet and stay ahead of whats happening... kinda like predict where the action will be next and get in position to get "the shot" or else start getting creative I guess.

Thanks, Yak for the detailed explanation! We need to give you a new moniker... something like Ballistics guy".

[yakfisher]

How about Grenadefisher