www.kissonline.com

the line: in front of madison square garden, home to the republican national convention, these protesters talked with new york's finest. throughout the march, most protesters were very cooperative and friendly with the police... as were the police with the protesters. it was clear from the beginning of the march, new york was prepared and dedicated to the success and safety of the events that surrounded the convention. in this picture, a barrier separates the protesters from the police. at different points in the march, the police were 3 to 4 deep, with men on horse, on bicycle, motorcycle, and with dog. throughout middle manhattan, you could not go a half block without running into at least 6 police officers. security was tight. that was clear to me, when i visited madison square garden a couple times on the evening i arrived to the city... where i snapped a number of pictures of the facility. upon my return to my room a few blocks away, i was stopped by a group of men that had been in front of the garden. the men, wearing shorts, t-shits... one even sporting a kiss (the rock band) t-shirt with cutoff sleeves.. seemed to be normal new yorkers or tourist checking out the excitement. as i turned my key into the door of the hotel, one of the men flashed a secrete service badge at me and ask if he could talk with me. concerned with the number of picture i was taking of the facility, he asked me for basic information of my visit. after a number of follow-up questions, a view into my camera bag, he quickly realized i was simply an aspiring photographer from texas. far from a plotting terrorist, the questioning helped this small town boy feel a little safer.
photo by: william goynes