Jon Crispin's Notebook

I had heard earlier today that Bernie Sanders would be in Amherst this evening and thought it would be interesting to go and check it out.  I used to shoot a lot of political stuff when I was younger and have always liked the vibe of campaign gatherings.

There was a huge queue outside of the Mullins Center for the 6.00 PM event.

Here are Bill, Billy, and Elias who came over from Hudson, NY.  Bill is a huge politics buff and was a fan of both Hillary and Bernie.  Elias is going to Africa in a few months.

The event was supposed to start at 6.00, but there were still thousands of people outside at that time as security was pretty tight.  TSA were checking bags and pockets, and the Secret Service was in full force.

I think this guy was serious!

There was quite a lot of positive energy in the building.  And not just young folks.  It was actually quite diverse in terms of age.

The only merchandise I saw for sale were these earrings, and I don’t think the woman selling them was an “official” part of the campaign.  $10.00 a pair.

Just like old times for me; this guy was shooting 16mm film!

I love photographing events like this, as people are really open and happy for the attention.

Here is my Norwegian friend Björn, who seemed to find it all exotic and interesting.  He said that given what Bernie had to say, he would probably be thought of as a center-right candidate in Norway.

I will say this; Bernie has a tremendous amount of energy and drive, and there is a very genuine quality about him.  The crowd was completely with him the whole time.

It was a very interesting evening, and so much fun to be in the middle of this sort of event again.

Don’t forget to vote!