president obama | a crowds eye view

Most images EVER in a blog post...if you get to the end, I give you a cookie.
*full story is at the bottom, and my goodness it's long too!







juuust waitin'



we've been on our feet for seven hours..but we are happy!


that's my oh so kind neighbor Patrick to the far left.




I couldn't figure out who was up in that little box.



wait for it...they get more excited...


starting to feel it...


oh yeah... whooooo....


RAAAWWWRRRR!!!!

















that is 'lens buddy's' son in front of the lady in the headband, she was so sweet to let him mosey in front...





This is the view from the back of the room by the press box. {yes I found my friend and got a wave or two in to her.}


love the guy in the back....you know all he is seeing is the back of President Obama's head, but he is stoked!





each view unique. always take the shot you see.

mass media en masse.


as you can see from the distance between us and the stack of police, we were a very tame bunch as we exited the building. Yes, that's them over by the Sandwich shop.



and we converge back into the world.



When I thought about packing for the day I knew I needed two things, snax and my camera. A stop at whole foods for a few power bars took care of the snack option. Now the question was what lenses should I bring? What would the lighting be like? How far back would I be? How close could I get? Should I rent a long lens? Borrow one??? Knowing that I wanted to tell the whole story, I opted for my 24-70mm, and tucked my 85mm into my purse....just in case the lighting was dim.

We stood next to each other, all us portlandians..sweet and civil as always. 'Oh, I'm so sorry did I bump you?' When it was just a slight brush of a shoulder. Together for hours, we waited under the most gorgeous of blue skys to see John Kitzhaber and President Obama at the Portland Convention Center.


I hadn't found out about the event until a few days ago when a friend working on the campaign for John Kitzhaber emailed me looking for recommendations for photographers. Of course I shouted, 'ME! pick me!!' : ) Not so easy I am afraid. But as it turns out, I was far happier being a part of the crowd. I am so grateful to have been 'in it' experiencing what it felt like to be a part of the whole. All of us waiting together, moving together, excited together.

After several hours in line we heard the cry from the volunteers, "All cell phones ON...all cameras ON...and purses will be searched!" We were getting close. As we neared the front, my little cluster of people and I separated, parted into 4 lines and dove in.

They shouted directions at us as we were herded through either ticket holder door B or non-ticket holder door A. I was door A. Upon entering the convention floor I noticed again, in typical Portland sweetness, much room was given between each person. God forbid they infringe on each others personal space. {so frickin' nice!}

Now the question..what to do with this space? Do I stay where I am or do I dive in? I knew I wanted to find my friend and there WAS room to do so. Sooo....hmmm...how often do you get to see the President? Do you want to look back on this with regrets?

.nope.

So began my tip-toe through the humans. "Sorry. thank you. please? excuse me and could I just?" All greeted with a moving of feet and a, 'yes of course.' Gosh what a kind bunch.

I almost made it to where I knew my friend would be, but not quite. There was a fence and going around it meant going all the way out and back in again. I parked where I was.

My main 'neighbor' was Patrick. A sweet man who had volunteered on the phones for several campaigns and felt passionately about getting out the vote. He, like the rest of our pack, had been in line since noon.

Now all was going swimmingly, I was enjoying myself, had a clear shot of the podium, was reasonably close and then 'it' stood up. "DEAR LORD!!! He's HUUUUGE!" Turns out the 'sitter' in front of me was a giant 7 foot beast of a man. Now instead of a podium, all I saw was 3 feet of back and a puff of hair. sigh...this would not do. I asked the young man next to me if I might just pop in front of him. His reply, "Why yes!" : )

Comfortable in my new spot, I checked out the view and confirmed several times with my benefactor that he could still indeed see. All was well except...as happy as I was with my lens selection, I knew I wanted just a few images where I could actually see the president's face. So as I was looking for 'moments', I was also on the lookout for a Canon long lens.

It took a while but, BINGO, about 10 feet to my left I caught a glimps of the white shaft of a 70-200mm. I excused myself from my crew and shimmied my way over. My lens buddy was kind, but a bit shy to lend. I explained, that I just wanted a few shots, and only after he had gotten all he needed. Done. He not only let me use it first, he let me use it twice.

There was a young boy in front of us {lens buddy's son} He was about 10 or 11 and a tad too short to see, but he was giddy. While we waited for the President we got involved in the geeky side of photography, What was he shooting at...how high had he bumped up his ISO? Why had he had opted for an extender as that would only allow him to open to 5.6. blah blah...I know..sorry.

When we looked up again, without him even asking, the woman in front of us had let his son climb in front of her so that he could have a better view. sigh...feeling the love.

Now it's very late and my eyes are burny. I wanted to get as much down before it turned to mist. And I must apologize, as yes, this is a post on a political rally, but it seems I found the crowd and the overall story far more intriguing. The diversity, the passion, the kindness, the love for our President and support for John Kitzhaber, the interactions between strangers. It captivated me. But maybe that is what it's all about...all of us.


...................... please VOTE - it matters ...............................