You may not have been at Dodger Stadium to watch the Dodgers win the Western Division, but L.A. Downtown News’ intrepid photographer Gary Leonard was there and shares with us his fine, focused eye and his thoughts. He had struggled to decide between Dudamel and Dodgers. In this own words:
“This year was the Dodgers’ best record in attendance in their own history. More than 3.7 million tickets sold.
“At the end when they won, there’s this celebration on the field with champagne and crazy fans and photographers trying to guard their cameras from getting wet. I’m really proud that my equipment made it through. There’s a technique now that everybody quickly puts a plastic bag over their camera, because the players come out and they throw champagne, coca cola, any thing that’s wet. It’s a friendly thing. They throw it at the fans. It takes some finesse to take pictures and not get your equipment ruined.
“A big weight was lifted [when the Dodgers won the title and made it into the playoffs] because they had lost five or six in a row in order in or to get to the place they could win the title. Such a weight was lifted that it was a really happy celebration. They play St. Louis tonight night here. They play again Thursday night. Two games then they go to St. Louis.
“It was hard for me to pick where to be that night. That night was Dudamel’s first public event with the L.A. Philharmonic. It was at the Hollywood Bowl with a lot of kids. My friend Flea was there with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Herbie Hancock, the L.A County High School for the arts. Not the one Downtown, which is too new. Maybe next year.
“Dudamel is a rock star. She says you could feel the electricity there, but I wasn’t there because I was I at the Dodgers and before that at the New Moon Festival (photos coming soon).”
“I can’t believe they turned me down for credentials. I was at spring training. I drove to Arizona. I was at the Rose Parade when they had the Dodger float. I was there for their Think Cure events, their charitable arm. It’s a mistake. We represent the community. We put an item in every single week. I’ve covered post-season before. It’s like getting hit in the stomach. They’ll say it’s the fault of Major League Baseball. You cover the whole season and they cut you off. I emailed the Dodgers about what Major League Baseball did, and I’m waiting for a response. I’ll cover the parade. We’ll see if Major League Baseball controls the parade. At this point, the Dodgers aren’t the bad guys. We’ll see. There’s only a few hours until the game.”
Check out all the photos here.
Downtown News Photographer Gary Leonard can be reached at echobark@aol.com.