I managed to get close to the stage down at Grand Park to get these photos of Bernie Sanders as he spoke to thousands of people, who gathered with excitement to hear him speak and (in my case) finally see him in person.

There were several other speakers and performers who came on stage, once things got underway after 2:00 PM. Then Bernie showed up and the crowd went wild. It was worth the long wait.

Tags:   Freephotos Los Angeles Bernie Sanders in L.A. Downtown L.A. Speech Grand Park L.A. Bernie Sanders Feel the Bern Microphone Band-Aid

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I don't know what happened to Bernie's left eye, but I almost expected him to say, "You think this is bad? You should see the other guy!"

Bernie spoke about his usual campaign promises, such as Medicare for all, free college and university tuition, eliminating gerrymandering and Citizens United, raising taxes on the extremely wealthy, making companies like Wal-Mart pay their employees at least $15 an hour, his proposed minimum wage. Bernie spoke on a host of other topics, including the Mueller Report and Trump's corrupt administration.

These are just two of the many photos I shot today. I will be running them through Photoshop and getting them up soon as well, and that will include some choice frame capture from video.

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Grand Park between Broadway and City Hall was closed off for the Bernie Sanders rally. While waiting in line, I got this shot of the crew preparing the platform where the media and anyone else with press passes got to stand to get those head-on shots you would see in stills and video, and which would include the supporters standing in the background. I got to the location early enough to enable me to be close to the stage, as you could see with the previous two photos of Bernie up close.

Tags:   Freephotos Los Angeles Bernie Sanders in L.A. Downtown L.A. Speech Grand Park in L.A.

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And it was a good thing I got to the location early. It didn't take long before more people arrived and waited in line. The barriers were set up so that the line could snake around and consolidate them in one area.

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This was another shot I took while waiting. I was also checking my settings to see if any adjustments would be necessary. I originally had my white balance set for cloudy, but changed it back to daylight when it seemed the clouds would move off. They did, but not entirely.

What is happening here is the background being set up with the Bernie banner in the middle, with the American Flag on one side, and the California flag on the other. Selected supporters would be herded on to that platform, be given Bernie signs, and when Bernie spoke and there was applause the crowd in the background could be seen applauding and waving their signs for the media cameras.

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