Well, I was afraid that the post for the last day of the 30-days of Photos might not be too exciting. I really have to say this has been way cool and a lot of fun. I appreciate all the comments on the pictures and really enjoyed seeing evryone else’s photos as well. The flickr crowd who’ve joined in have done some awesome stuff, and we’ve made friends around the world. How cool is that?

As I woke up this morning, however, I heard some noise in the distance that sounded like a big crowd. I also heard a few police sirens going by, so I turned on my scanner to see what was up.

It turned out to be a pretty massive gathering of students (mainly high-school age) supporting change in the immigration-laws.

As I listened to the L.A.County Sheriff reporting on what was going on, the gathering seemed to be picking up more and more participants.

I thought “this might be interesting…” and started packing up my gear…

I packed my D200 with my Nikon 80-400 VR zoom, and spare batteries and cards. I had to find a scanner I could take with me, and since all my portable scanners were dead, I took a plug-in one and hooked it up to my power-inverter in my truck.

The Sheriff’s were reporting between 400 to 1000 people at various locations, so I figured this would best be covered by a long-lens, as the crowds could fill the frame well.

As I was leaving the house, I put on my Nikon D2x “official cap” and started closing the door. Then it dawned on me, how can I get closer to the action if the Sheriff’s had the routes blocked? I ran back in the house, and found a badge-holder on a lanyard that I could slip around my neck, but I still needed a “Press-pass”!

As I had already shut down my computers, I couldn’t easily make one, so I dug around in my dresser and came up with an old Delta Dental card that had a bar-code on it and looked like something official. I knew the press-pass would need a picture, so I cut a picutre out of a Target advertisement and laminated it to the front of my “pass” with packing tape. Looked pretty good too, but of course, don’t try this at home as laws may vary in your locale.

I turned on the scanner and headed to the location with the most reported action. As I arrived I looked for a parking spot where my stuff would be secure, I wouldn’t interfere with police operations, and would give me a way out if things escalated in the wrong direction.

As the crowd approached me (I was well down the road from the Sheriff’s line) , I saw an orderly march, with a lot of people with flags and banners marching from school to school.

I could see the Sheriff’s cars down a few blocks as they were helping to keep the marchers safe and trouble-free.

I got quite a few pictures there, and talked to a few of the participants. Many were genuinely concerned with the immigration laws, and, at least as many were enjoying it as a day off of school.

Everybody was pretty cool, a few gangstas throwing signs, but most were keeping a good lid on things.

Later, after the group passed me by and continued on their way, I went by a few schools, but things were (thankfully) quiet and most schools in the area were on lockdown to prevent anything bad from happening.

I found another group of marchers East of my original spot, so I set up in much the same manner and shot some of the action.

The Sherriff’s, again,were keeping up a good presense but were also respecting the marchers and helping them to go safely along the route.

All in all, it was an interesting day, with this action being repeated across the nation, and I have to give praise to both the marchers and the sheriffs for keeping it all relatively peaceful (99%) and sane.

Ceasar Chavez and Dr. King would have been proud.