Occupy Los Angeles

Bret Hartman — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:39:44 +0000

So a couple weeks ago I got a two day assignment to cover Occupy Los Angeles for The Associated Press. The first day was the morning after LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave the order to shut down the park in front of City Hall at 12:01am. The LAPD gathered around the park and the protesters did a lot of yelling and chanting and the cops did nothing, it was almost like a dry run to see what the protesters were willing to do. Around 7am, rush hour time in Downtown Los Angeles, all the LAPD officers left in an orderly fashion and that was pretty much the last anyone at Occupy LA saw of them that day. So I photographed exhausted people sleeping and gathering for the rest of the day and then I went home.

Later that night I was getting bombarded with emails from AP LA photo desk and the LAPD and the about the upcoming raid. Most of the emails just said that the raid was going to happen and that we would be given an hours notice. The last email I got was from the LA Photo Director from AP asking if the raid happened if she could count on me as her pool photographer, which was a huge honor and one of the biggest assignments I’ve gotten to date. The LAPD decided to allow three pool photographers to go into the park with them. This wasn’t an ideal situation because we weren’t sure if they were doing this to keep tabs on us and in a way censor the information. We also were not there to be cheerleaders for the LAPD. The LAPD insisted on the pool system in an effort to keep us journalist safe. For the most part we were not restricted much, but there were a few instances where they would not allow us to get close enough to get a good photo or tell the story of a particular arrest.

I stayed up most of the night waiting to see if the call would come and it never did.

So, it’s now Tuesday and I spend most of the day running errands and getting things I would need for the raid if it happened. At the same time staying close to home and my camera gear in case the call came. At 7:30pm the call came from Tracy, “Bret it’s time”, she said. I was then sent to Dodgers stadium where the LAPD set up a staging area to check in the 1400 officers that would be taking part in the raid. It was pretty amazing to see that many officers in one place. After the officers were checked and briefed they got in Metro buses and were shipped downtown and All the pool journalists were escorted down to City Hall in a caravan by four LAPD officers because of road closures. When we arrived they had us park on the side walk next the the Los Angeles Times building. We were then briefed and waited patiently until the raid began.

Some of the Occupy LA supporters were chanting a standing their ground and others you could see were slowing leaving the park. Then it happened…at around midnight the LAPD announced over a loud speaker that the Park was closed and anyone that did not leave would be arrested. All the remaining protesters ran back into the park and waves of police officers followed. They ended up not letting the pool in until the park was secure and because of that we missed some good photos, but once we got in there were some great photos to be made. Below are some of my favorites from the two days.

LA Galaxy

Bret Hartman — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 01:05:34 +0000

I’ve had the privilege of photographing most of the LA Galaxy home games so far this season for the Associated Press. I love photographing soccer because I played for nearly 15 years of my life. Growing up I spent almost all of my time going to soccer practice and traveling to soccer tournaments. But unfortunately by the time I was 18 I was really burnt out and decided to hang up my cleats. So, now at the age of 31 I get to relive the game through my photographs. The Galaxy thus far are leading the MLS with 4 wins, 1 loss, and 3 ties. Here are some of my favorites so far this season.

Belasco Night Club

Bret Hartman — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:39:57 +0000

A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to photograph the Belasco Theater in Downtown Los Angeles for the Los Angeles Times. The Belasco was a relic of the early 1900′s and has been empty for over 20 years. My assignment was to photograph the historic theater that had recently been renovated into this night club. Just so happened that it was opening night and DeadMau5 was the heading lining DJ. Some of my favorites, so I hope you enjoy

Banksy Strikes in Los Angeles

Bret Hartman — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 02:48:38 +0000

Banksy has been in the news this week for four different pieces of art that blanket or should I say blanketed three buildings and and a billboard. I say blanketed because two of the four are now gone. One which was on a billboard was removed almost immediately and the other was cut out of the wall of a building that had caught fire previously to him making his mark on it. Someone got a priceless piece of art. The other two are still viewable, for now. One which is being call the “Crayola Shooter” is in the ally of the Urban Outfitters in Westwood and the other is a dog doing his deed on the wall of an abandoned bank near Westwood off of Santa Monica Boulevard. Urban Outfitters has said that they will be painting over it, but I say why? When I was there today there were tons and tons of people coming and going just to see his work on the back of their retail store. It has to be helping business. Anyway I hope you enjoy!

Biggest Loser: Season 10

Bret Hartman — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:45:48 +0000

So I’m finally getting around to posting some of my photos from a couple episodes I shot from Season 10 of the Biggest Loser for NBC Universal. The three days I spent on the show last season were for the Make Over and the Marathon episodes. I really enjoy doing the still for this show because the of how real the contestants are and the sheer transformation each contestant makes during the season.

The Make over episode was two days. The first day was at a salon in Beverly Hills and then the next day was the runway show at Smashbox Studios in Los Angeles. The Marathon episode was a grueling 16 hour day in which Trae Patton, another freelance photographer for NBC, and I basically ran/walked the entire Marathon with the final four contestants. The last few miles friends and family members joined the contestants in running the marathon to help give them the final push to finish. It was really amazing to watch the all four contestants push themselves to the finish line. At the same time I found it really hard to run and walk backwards the whole day photographing the contestants. Let just say I think they were all in better shape than I was.

All in all its a very inspiring to photograph the Biggest Loser and I have enjoyed my time on set with everyone involved in making the show what it is. The crew is amazing to work with and I would just like to congratulate them all on finally getting their wish for the show to go Union.

Also congratulations to Season 10 winner Patrick House and to all the rest of the contestants for their hard work.

2010 Year in Photos

Bret Hartman — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:14:04 +0000

Here are some of my favorite photos I took in 2010. I know it’s a little late and it’s been a long time since I’ve updated my blog. I keep using the excuse that I’ve been really busy and traveling and that I’ve been shooting a lot of TV shows for NBC and I can’t post any photos for the shows until the show airs. But, excuses aside my goal in 2011 is to update at least once or twice a month. I can’t wait to show everyone some of the photos I’ve been shooting on set. I will post as soon as the show’s air. But for now there is a few from a behind the scenes shoot I did with the cast of NBC’s Community and and another behind the scene’s shoot of the America’s Got Talent season 5 Finale. Thanks for looking!

2010 NBA Finals: Behind the Scenes

Bret Hartman — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:12:21 +0000

I got the amazing opportunity to do a behind-the-scenes story on the NBA Finals for the Boston Globe. I got to work with Shira Springer, an amazing sports writer for the Globe. We started the story last Tuesday during Game 6 of the Finals here is Los Angeles. The Celtics could have closed the deal, but instead got blown away by 20 plus points. So, then we went into Game 7 and found out that the whole story was in jeopardy of not running if the Celtics lost. But Springer and I couldn’t think about that, so we continued to look for cool and interesting elements to include in the story. As you know the Celtics did end up loosing, but with all the time that Springer and I put into the story the Globe went ahead and ran it today. Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy!

The Celtics Champions merchandise arrives in a parking garage prior to Game 6.

The Trophies arrive at the Staple Center prior to Game 7.

Pau Gasol look-a-like out poses with fans before Game 7.

The trophies are walked to the court late in the fourth quarter.
People watch the final seconds of Game 7 in the hallways of the Staple Center.

February So Far………

Bret Hartman — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:28:14 +0000

Here is a collection of photos from some daily assignments for the month of February that I shot for the Los Angeles Times. I got to photograph on the set of the television show “24″, I photographed Ringo Starr receiving a Hollywood Star, a teachers union protest march, and a Los Angeles Clippers vs. Sacramento Kings NBA basketball game. It’s been a really great month of shooting and I just have to say I am really lucky to be doing what I do.

On the set of the TV show “24″

Ringo Starr receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

UTLA protest march in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Sacramento Kings

California Storms – Rain and mudslides

Bret Hartman — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:09:08 +0000

Southern California has had a lot of rain this month and with rain comes mudslides and beaches covered in trash. I have shot couple assignments this month for the Associated Press covering these events. It kinda funny to me though because basically we cover one street in La Canada Flintridge called Ocean View Boulevard for mudslides. I even covered some of the storms for the LA Times and that’s where they sent me too. I guess its the area that has the most mudslides and this past summers wild fires didn’t help anything either. The slides destroyed many homes and washed dozens of cars down the street. When you see all the mud washed into peoples homes and front yards your can’t help but to feel sorry for them. I think you would get a kind of helplessness feeling when you have to figure out what to do with more than two feet of mud.

Northern Trust Open – PGA Tournament

Bret Hartman — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:49:53 +0000

I got the opportunity to photography the final round of the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago for the Los Angeles Times. Steve Stricker was the leader by a hand full of strokes going into the final round, so I was assigned to stick with his group. Covering a PGA Tour event is really hard work and requires a lot of walking. I was hoping for more of a crowd, but I guess with the absence of Tiger their was no chance. Here are some of my favorites from the day.