This photo involved about six hours of...

This photo involved about six hours of waiting. I got a call from an

editor about a group of UCI students blocking the entrance to their

on-campus trailer park. The university wanted to send in a drilling

truck to test the soil, which is one of the steps to removing the

residents and demolishing the trailer park. I arrived at mid-morning

to find several TV crews and other news photographers milling around

the students as they held protest signs and marched in defiance at

the university. After several hours of photographing the scene and

waiting for something to happen, the campus police arrived to talk to

the protesters. Several more hours passed as the police tried to

convince the students to disperse and avoid arrest. Everything was

very orderly and polite; so polite, in fact, that when the arrests

finally came, I was able to move among the police and protesters

almost at will as they were led away in handcuffs. This relaxed

atmosphere, and my own perseverance, allowed me to get in very close

and find the unusual photo of the protester framed by the handcuffs

and the arresting officer.

-- Kent Treptow