As most of you know from my previous thread, John Kerry began his post-convention campaign right in my hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. I took many pictures, but here are some of my favorites.
Scranton is an economically distressed city. It's been steadily losing people for the last 50 years. Close to 200,000 people lived here during the great Anthracite coal boom of the past century. Now, only 80,000 or so remain. I thought this shot was good because it juxtaposes a bit of blight with a bit of new development (the mall at steamtown).
Palpable media presence...
...and police presence at the event. Suspicious men in green shirts!
So we got there at 11:30, 2.5 hours before Kerry was scheduled to speak. That was what the line looked like getting into the event itself. What we didn't know was that organizers gave out three different tickets: red for a large area directly in front of the stage, blue and yellow for an area offset from the stage, and white for a section nearly 100 yards from the stage. We ended up with blue tickets after meeting some friends and working the crowd for a bit.
Ask about this if you want to attend a campaign event near your home!
Federal Courthouse
I love this shot. I decided not to crop the photo because it really captures how small and isolated protesters were at the event. More on protesters in a bit.
We finally got in-- only to be packed like Sardines next to each other. This shot kind of captures the size and scope of the crowd, but it's impossible to fully represent the number of people from my position on the ground. Well over 10,000 people came to the event.
The stage is to the left by the trees. No sign of Kerry, yet!
So my dad knew this guy-- they exchanged friendly hellos and talked for a bit. A few minutes later... the guy whips out the sign.
Oh boy. He took a lot of flak for that one, but no one physically messed with him because of his size. A few other ladies sporting rosary beads tried the same stunt on several occasions, only to have their signs ripped off them.
Well, it's not oceanfront, but who's to complain?
Vanessa Kerry liked that one.
Kerry/ Edwards bus rolls in-- 90 minutes late. "We're gonna change America, but sometimes you gotta swelter to do it" - Kerry via conference telephone a few minutes before arriving. It was *HOT* and humid. Most of us had already been standing in such weather for 4 hours.
Another shot of the bus entourage.
Ben Affleck! He's articulate, charismatic, and a great public speaker. But my main thought was: "whoa. he dated j.lo!"
My favorite shot! The Cate Edwards ass shot.
Everyone was there except the young Edwards children. JFK, THK, Vanessa and Alexandra Kerry, the Heinz brothers, John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards, Cate Edwards, ED RENDELL, Senate hopeful Joe Hoeffel... Ben Affleck.
Nice shot of THK speaking...
and Elizabeth Edwards as well.
Concluding with a good amount of confetti. There's certainly a celebratory and confident post-convention attitude.
Edit: Damn, I can't get the images to show up in the post. Mods?
Scranton is an economically distressed city. It's been steadily losing people for the last 50 years. Close to 200,000 people lived here during the great Anthracite coal boom of the past century. Now, only 80,000 or so remain. I thought this shot was good because it juxtaposes a bit of blight with a bit of new development (the mall at steamtown).
Palpable media presence...
...and police presence at the event. Suspicious men in green shirts!
So we got there at 11:30, 2.5 hours before Kerry was scheduled to speak. That was what the line looked like getting into the event itself. What we didn't know was that organizers gave out three different tickets: red for a large area directly in front of the stage, blue and yellow for an area offset from the stage, and white for a section nearly 100 yards from the stage. We ended up with blue tickets after meeting some friends and working the crowd for a bit.
Ask about this if you want to attend a campaign event near your home!
Federal Courthouse
I love this shot. I decided not to crop the photo because it really captures how small and isolated protesters were at the event. More on protesters in a bit.
We finally got in-- only to be packed like Sardines next to each other. This shot kind of captures the size and scope of the crowd, but it's impossible to fully represent the number of people from my position on the ground. Well over 10,000 people came to the event.
The stage is to the left by the trees. No sign of Kerry, yet!
So my dad knew this guy-- they exchanged friendly hellos and talked for a bit. A few minutes later... the guy whips out the sign.
Oh boy. He took a lot of flak for that one, but no one physically messed with him because of his size. A few other ladies sporting rosary beads tried the same stunt on several occasions, only to have their signs ripped off them.Well, it's not oceanfront, but who's to complain?
Vanessa Kerry liked that one.
Kerry/ Edwards bus rolls in-- 90 minutes late. "We're gonna change America, but sometimes you gotta swelter to do it" - Kerry via conference telephone a few minutes before arriving. It was *HOT* and humid. Most of us had already been standing in such weather for 4 hours.
Another shot of the bus entourage.
Ben Affleck! He's articulate, charismatic, and a great public speaker. But my main thought was: "whoa. he dated j.lo!"
My favorite shot! The Cate Edwards ass shot.
Everyone was there except the young Edwards children. JFK, THK, Vanessa and Alexandra Kerry, the Heinz brothers, John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards, Cate Edwards, ED RENDELL, Senate hopeful Joe Hoeffel... Ben Affleck.
Nice shot of THK speaking...
and Elizabeth Edwards as well.
Concluding with a good amount of confetti. There's certainly a celebratory and confident post-convention attitude.
Edit: Damn, I can't get the images to show up in the post. Mods?
