It’s a Bird; It’s a Plane; It’s a Drone Doing Berkeley?
by Steed Dropout
May 6, 2014
I AM THAT DRONE
I was a drone, Saturday, photographing eight (claimed) events in a few hours. How else could I have done it, but to loft?
At risk for droning on, let me explain. Subjects from one event wandered into another. That happened in the morning when some race runners trotted by an Indian pow-wow at Cal; (2 events). In the afternoon Cal students, painted red from a Holi day frolic in the hills, folicked into People’s Park for a hip–hop fest (2 more).
It would be a lie to inflate my coverage; a lie from anyone but an ad-man. It was a Hitchcock ad-man, who excused such a lie as, “the expedient exaggeration.”
While confessing, I admit also that I’m not really a drone.
I missed some key events, as well. This was just one of those Berzerkeley blowout days with a lot going on. If you read me in Berkeley Reporter or noticed from my Berkeley Daily Planet days, I’m always stumbling onto stories.
Let my photos tell this one.
I stumbled, Thursday, on to this high school immigration-reform exercise in free-speech. Photo by Ted Friedman.
Friday, I stumbled onto a Berkeley Fire Department graduation. 'You could find good shots anywhere,' I thought, not knowing the biggest be-all-end-all shoot in Berkeley in a long time was around the corner. Photo by Ted Friedman.
No stumbling here, for comix giveaway day. I had scouted, Friday, the shoot at Fantastic Comix, met an owner and secured permission to shoot. That's how I got into the store to shoot the first comix kid getting in. The kid and two of his friends told me they arrived an hour and a half early, 'We had it easy. People wait in sneaker-lines for days.'Photo by Ted Friedman.
Nearby, nutty runners trotted by Cal's Spring Indian Pow-Wow as it set up for pow-wow-ing. I count that a shot of two events. Sue me. Photo by Ted Friedman.
Before Pow-Wow. Photo by Ted Friedman.
Early bird gets 'the Worm.' First customer at comix giveaway. Long-wait pays off. Photo by Ted Friedman.
The joint was jumping at Nia House School benefit in West Berkeley. Photo by Ted Friedman.
Lawn score at Nia House. People's Park's free clothes shoppers would be jealous.Photo by Ted Friedman.
No shot at nearby Books, Inc., which threw an all day trivia contest, but I shot not. I was there, though, to watch the handing out of trivia questionnaires. Dave Eggars was scheduled to speak at Moe’s at 7pm. Missed that and Mrs. Dalloways books in the Elmwood district.
Painted Cal Hindi wannabes back from celebrating the Indian fest of Holi in the Berkeley Hills, overlooking the bay. Shot that last year. This year they joined me at a Cal hip-hop festival in People's Park. Photo by Ted Friedman.
Back to the Pow-wow, which staged a finale procession. Photo by Ted Friedman.Read Dropout’s drop-in effort, South Side Tales, as it creates a new Berkeley District–TeleHaste and calls this Berkeley’s center.
