The Venice Beach Drum Circle has received a bad rep through the years. Not sure where it came from but the Los Angeles Police Department often break up what is basically a peaceful gathering of community locals, musicians and dancers.
If you've never been to Venice Beach and experienced the drum circle, it's something I recommend checking out. In the past, the drum circle normally took place on Sundays (if I'm not mistaken) but the drum circle happens almost every day from what I've heard.
You walk down (or up depending on which entry point you come in) the boardwalk, perusing the various vendors that line the boardwalk and the deeper you walk down, you start to hear the rhythmic beat of drums and it's really subtle at first but the further you walk, the beat starts to get louder and you start to wonder where this is coming from. Eventually it becomes loud enough that you know you're close by and as you search for its origins, you look on the beach side and you see a group of people and you start to walk over there. You'd like to think that you just want to know what's going on but really, the beat has you.
One day, while spending some time with some friends that lived not too far from the boardwalk, I decided to venture out to the drum circle to take some photos because for some reason I was bored at the party and wanted to photograph something other than people being or getting drunk. So I walked out of the party for a brief moment and headed towards the drum circle and I noticed a man dancing to the beat the drummers were producing. He was really into it, arms flailing and his body swaying to and fro. I shot him from behind as he reached towards the sky during the climax of this particular set. The drummers go through various sets, all different beats than the last.
I always have a great time being at the drum circles. If I had it my way, I'd let the drummers go until their arms and hands grow tired and swollen but I can understand why the LAPD would shut them down at a certain point in time. That being said, they really shouldn't be so hard on the drummers and cut them some slack.
"Sun worshipper" / 35mm Ilford Delta 3200 / July 2009