Protesting Prop 8

Opponents of Prop 8 have been protesting in the streets since the measure passed in last week’s general election. Saturday was a big day of protests throughout the Bay Area and the United States. I covered the big rally in San Francisco that drew thousands to San Francisco City Hall. It was a gorgeous day in the City with temperatures nearing 80 degrees. Is this really the middle of November?It’s amazing that so many people from all over the world have come out to support this cause. Although, I’m not sure how much it will help in the end. One thing for sure, there will certainly be a long and arduous court battle over this which means I will be covering many days of court hearings in the coming months. As Rodney King once said “can’t we all get along?”

History

I witnessed history last night. Barack Obama became the first African American to become President of the United States. It was one of the most amazing events that I have ever had the privilege of seeing with my own eyes – or in my case, through a lens. By far, the best part of my job is all the historic things I have been able to see. I feel very lucky.

I was one of 7 Getty photographers covering the election night party in Chicago. My day started out before the sun came up as me and my co-worker Scott Olson went to the polling site where Obama would be voting. Upon returning to the hotel, me and the rest of the team gathered our equipment and walked over to the site. We did final tweaking on our remotes and did final tests. And then we waited. We were hoping that we wouldn’t have a repeat of 2004 when we waited until 4:00 am only to be told that the election was too close to call and the event was canceled.

The day could not have been more perfect. A balmy seventy degree day cooled off to a comfortable evening. No freezing cold wind or rain. Were we really in Chicago? An estimated 240,000 filled Grant Park and the surrounding streets.
My position was a floor position, which meant I was shooting from the middle of the crowd at Grant Park. The small number of photographers that were given floor passes had to move fast to stake out positions as the general public flooded in. Me and my pals Shannon Stapleton (Reuters) and David Guttenfelder (AP) staked out a few spots and let the crowd fill in around us. We all had turtle stools so we stood a little taller than the crowd. The people were incredibly cool with us being there. We had feared an angry backlash and were pleasantly surprised with how accommodating people were.
I teetered on small platform of that turtle stool from about 6:30 p.m. until Obama came on stage at 11:00 p.m. My legs and knees started to hurt after the fourth hour. The weight of my cameras was brutal on my back. I couldn’t move with the crowd so tight. We watched election results roll in on a live feed of CNN. The crowd alternated between boos when McCain would win a state and thunderous cheers when Obama would win. Even though my body was aching, I was energized. This was a very cool moment in time.
It was a surprise to everyone in the crowd when CNN projected that Obama had won the election. It was close at that point and nobody was expecting it to be called to soon. The emotion that followed that announcement was unlike anything I had ever seen. People Cheered. People cried. They hugged each other and laughed. There wasn’t a face in the crowd that didn’t have a smile on it. One woman who had traveled from Columbia to be at the event stood there with tears running down her face saying “that’s my president, that’s our president.” Yes we can was being chanted and was soon changed to “Yes we did.”
Obama took to the stage at exactly 11 p.m. Barack was introduced with the new First Family. He and Michelle walked out with their two daughters to greet the crowd. It was a surreal moment. There was no music, just cheering. I kept expecting music to start blaring over the loudspeakers. It never did. Shooting from our position proved challenging as we were blocked by the thousands of small American flags that were passed out just prior to the speech. We knew this would be a tough spot to shoot from, but it all worked out in the end. It was amazing how fast the crowd thinned out once the short speech was over. Some stayed behind and danced in groups and waved campaign posters. It was like a scene out of the sixties. It is a day I will never forget.

The Heels Are On...

Reuters staff photographer Carlos Barria is under fire for taking a photo during a McCain rally that shows the legs and heels of Sarah Palin. On the FOX news website, thousands have charged that the photo is sexist and is part of some grand scheme by the “mainstream media” to suggest that Palin’s only qualifications are her looks. I think that the general public is intelligent enough to draw their own conclusions on Palin based on her actions, not her looks. Some people have said that a picture like this wouldn’t have been taken if Palin was a man. There are a good number of people that have responded to the claim and see nothing wrong with it.

I am having a hard time seeing anything wrong with this photo. The picture of a candidate’s feet is nothing new. I know, I have recycled that photo many times over the years – of both men and women. I don’t remember hearing an outcry from the Hillary campaign or anyone else when just about every wire service photographer lined up her heels with supporters or her husband. Where was FOX news then? Where were the critics? It doesn’t make sense that now, all of the sudden, it’s a problem. To debunk the theory that “this photo would have never happened if Palin was a man” I looked back into my archives to see whose feet I had shot. The list is long. I found photos of John Kerry, John Kerry’s daughter, Mike Huckabee and even a woman named Hillary Clinton. The one photo that is similar to Carlos’ picture is of Vannessa Kerry, John Kerry’s daughter. It was in Ohio and her legs are prominent in the frame and John is speaking in the background. I don’t remember any contoversy about that photo.
The Huckabee photo shows his alligator skinned cowboy boots in an awkward stance at this community center in Iowa. The other Kerry pictures were similar. The only difference between the Palin picture and the multitude of Hillary shoe photos that are out there, including mine, is that Hillary doesn’t wear 3 to 4 inch heels or skirts. I did manage to find this comment about a Hillary shoe picture that was written by a woman. See it here.

I personally think that there are far more important issues at stake in this race than worrying about a photo that shows things that the campaign has highlighted in their stump speeches. Are her hands off limits too?

“The heels are on, the gloves are off” - Sarah Palin, October 6, 2008

Round Two - Gloves Off....Not Really

I thought the people in Minnesota were nice, but man, the folks in Nashville are over the top with their niceness. Everywhere you go, people are saying hi to you and reminding you to have a good day. Restaurant workers and bartenders actually engage in conversation with you. A bartender the night before described a bunch of local beers to us, even gave samples, and never seemed annoyed.

Today we had lunch at a good Jewish style deli called Noshville before heading to the debate hall. The food was good, at least my pastrami sandwich was. Scott didn’t seem to impressed with his Reuben. It did look a little greasy. A woman and her husband at the next table overheard us talking about the debate and struck up a conversation with us. They were talking about how they were Obama supporters and wished they could be at the debate. The woman was impressed by how we all came from different parts of the country to take pictures at the event. She asked to shake my hand when we left. Damn nice people here.

We got to debate hall at Belmont University close to 2pm. We would have arrived earlier if we hadn’t been delayed by a multi street closure for McCain’s motorcade. We must have been sitting for 15 minutes while Tennessee troopers locked down a half mile section of road in the pouring rain to accommodate his motorcade. Haven’t these cops ever heard of leapfrog intersection control?

With close to 6 hours to kill before the debate started, we did a few final tests on the cameras. The four Getty photographers would all be shooting tethered into 2 editor’s computers. When everything checked out, a few of us went to the food tent to grab a snack. The food and beverages at the debate has been sponsored by Budweiser and when we walked into the tent at about 4pm, the beer was already flowing. First of all, I don’t remember any media event over my career where there was free beer BEFORE the event started. I’ve seen a few where they might have some beer after, but never before. People were drinking cups of beer as they munched on snacks before the main meal was served. Don’t these people have to work?

The second weird thing about the beer in the media tent is the fact that since 1951, Belmont University has been a dry campus. No Alcohol. The University made a one day exception for the campus to serve booze to media mob. That was very kind of the University to be so accommodating. I felt cheated though. I never got to have a beer on the historic day. Damn.
The debate itself was pretty good for pictures. The “Town Hall” setting is much more photogenic than the kind where they stand behind podiums. I was shooting from a ridiculously small cut riser with 7 other photographers. It worked, but it was pretty tight. With both candidates moving around to speak directly to the audience, you had many opportunities to get both guys in the frame.
I usually don’t hear too much of what people are saying when I am shooting so I only caught bits and pieces of the debate. The one thing I did hear was when McCain referred to Obama as “That One” when trying to point out that Obama had voted for some Senate bill. Nice one, Maverick. Obama shut him down later with his reminder to McCain of his “bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran” tune. The look on McCain’s face was priceless.
Both sides must have said "fundamental" a few dozen times. I'm sure people who were partaking in drinking games while watching the debate got sloshed with the frequency of that word. But, in the end, there didn’t appear to be many fireworks or below the belt jabs. McCain actually looked at Obama this time. William Ayers was never mentioned, I guess that's Palin's deal. McCain won't touch it. With the exception of Tom Brokaw getting testy when the two would go over their time limit and not follow the format of the debate, the event was pretty tame.

When the debate ended the candidate’s wives joined their husbands on the stage and greeted members of the audience. McCain left within 5 minutes while Obama and his wife stayed for over 20 minutes. Many members of the audience (who were said to be undecided voters) stayed the entire time. Obama shook hands, took pictures and spoke one on one with several people. McCain must have not wanted to shmooze those undecided voters. Such a Maverick move.

Finally, A Campaign With Access

If you haven’t already noticed, it’s an election year. It’s been a busy year for campaign coverage starting with Iowa way back in December of last year. I’ve been on some really good campaigns, Huckabee comes to mind. Despite the lack of staff and an actual plan to deal with members of the press, it was a lot of fun and the photos were always interesting. Hillary had her shining moments, but for the most part that was one of the most controlled campaigns I have been on since Schwarzenegger ran for Governor. You pretty much got nothing and liked it. No picture for you.

Today, I am back out on the campaign. No, not out with Obama again, and no, not Quaylin either. I am rolling with Cindy Sheehan, independent candidate for U.S. Congress as she attempts to unseat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Yup, Nancy Pelosi. Cindy is not a fan. You might remember Cindy, she is the mom of Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Iraq in April of 2004. Cindy waged a cross-country campaign against the war and George Bush in an attempt to get people to demand that we pull out of Iraq. Her movement worked for a little while but couldn’t keep the momentum going. So, she made plans to retire. That plan didn’t really stick either. My day “traveling” with the candidate started early. It’s a busy day for the candidate with 4 scheduled events alongside Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader. When I arrive at the campaign headquarters, several campaign workers are using packing tape to adhere homemade and printed campaign signs to the side of a van conversion/RV type vehicle that Cindy affectionately calls “Jezebel”. The workers are all buzzing around and making sure they have everything together for the first event. Cindy arrives at 9:30 with her Chihuahua Petie.

When it was time to go, about 10 of us piled into the RV with the candidate holding the back door open for us. There was no security sweep and no bomb sniffing dog checking out my equipment. I wasn’t told to wear a campaign issued credential or a Secret Service pass. I was confused for a minute. This was nothing like the usual campaign routine I am used to. Where’s the metal detector, I need my daily dose of radiation. The other thing that is awkward and unfamiliar, I am the only member of the press on this bus.
On the ride over to the first event, Cindy sat in the front seat, an uncommon move for a candidate on a bigger national campaign. She hung out of the window yelling to pedestrians to “vote for me” and “vote for peace.” Something else I have not seen too much of on other campaigns. I'd love to see McCain do that. This is kind of fun.
The first event is a press conference. When we arrived, Cindy seemed pleased that there was a single TV camera already set up. Another would show up later. This was by no means a huge press event, but she seemed happy that people had come out. She mingled with people, thanked them for coming. I shadowed her as she moved around the small crowd, while she greeted old friends and even when she went off to make a phone call. I keep waiting for the inevitable “you can’t be here” line by one of her staffers. It never came. As a matter of fact, I never heard the word “no” all day. My friends out on the big presidential campaigns today would be jealous.
After the presser, we all went back to Cindy’s headquarters and hung out. Cindy and her Chief of Staff had a meeting at a donut shop where they bought breakfast for a homeless woman. Our next event was a fundraiser lunch for Ralph Nader. What’s up with that guys eye? One of them seems to be bigger than the other, kind of like McCain. The $250 a plate lunch attracted nearly 20 people. They all munched on sushi, mussels and finger sandwiches. Nader spoke towards the end and complained that he was not getting the media attention that he deserves and asked why even Code Pink wouldn’t endorse his candidacy. I wish I had answers for him. While he was saying this I was emailing back and forth with my editor asking her if we needed any pictures of him. The answer was a confident no. Sorry Ralphie, I tried.
Another thing I am noticing about this campaign is the lack of flesh pressing. Cindy doesn’t seem to go out of her way to connect with the people like most politicians do. I suppose she doesn’t consider herself a politician, but I would think she would be putting herself out there a little more. I was waiting for those pictures to happen and they never really came. Cindy is a funny woman, has a very dry sense of humor.
The last event for me was a rally at San Francisco State University. On the way over to the rally we were driving on the freeway and the posters taped to the side started to peel away and flap in the wind. We had to pull over and remove the half shredded posters from one side of the RV. Back on the freeway we cruised in the slow lane at about 40 m.p.h. so the other side wouldn’t fly off.
At the school event we picked up photographer Marcio Sanchez from the AP and his reporter. They rode back to the headquarters with us in the RV. Yay, more press. I thought Cindy would have come to the back of the RV to conduct her interview with the AP reporter, but she stayed in her front seat and did the interview over her shoulder. Back at the HQ, Cindy worked in her office while we snapped pictures of her looking intently at her laptop. There was one more event scheduled for the day, but I was done. I was great to have such free access to a candidate. I’m sure that will never happen again.

Michelle and Teddy - Day One of the DNC

I think Barack made a mistake by picking Joe Buh-Buh-Biden as his VP. He should have picked his wife, Michelle. Her speech that topped the first night of the DNC was impressive. She was an amazing blend of real person and seasoned politician. The woman can speak. Men and women in the packed Pepsi Center were brought to tears as she spoke of family, dreams and her love of country. Michelle also appears to have had some serious stage training. Most political wives often seem uncomfortable and shut down (Teresa Heinz Kerry comes to mind) but Michelle comes off as intelligent and confident. She knows how to play up the crowd, comes out waving and makes sure she acknowledges the entire audience. From a photographer’s perspective this is great since most come out and barely lift their arms as they look at their feet.

Day two of the convention started early for me. I was on the early shift with my co-workers Mark Wilson and Cliff Hawkins. We cover the hall until noon when the rest of the crew arrives. The big event for the morning is Michelle Obama doing a sound and light check. When we first arrived, it was just me and AP photographer Charlie Dharapak on the floor. Within an hour, there were dozens of photographers jammed up against the stage. We stood like this for a couple of hours. Boredom sets in fast when you’re just standing there like cattle. We amused ourselves by taking tons of pictures of the guy vacuuming the carpet on stage. The only thing that diverted attention away from the vacuum man was the overly made up and super cheesy E Insider reporter who was doing stand up with her shirt half open. It was funny in a not so pretty way. She even asked me if I could take her picture and put it up on the wire. You can’t make this stuff up.

The day was long. By 2 pm we had to be in our positions where we would be for the next 7 hours. Howard Dean dropped the gavel at 3 pm, officially starting the convention. Delegates wearing goofy hats and costumes started to stream in. The variety show style band was playing bad cover songs to lead into and out of the different speakers. The Florida delegation appears to be the most outrageous with dozens of them wearing pink glasses and pink flamingo feathers as they danced and played volleyball with beach balls. The photographers on the floor swarm.

There are dozens of people speaking, from the City Clerk of Chicago to Ted Kennedy. So much of the day is spent listening to the same speech over and over again about how Barack Obama is so great and how “we can’t have four more years of the same failed policy.” It is numbing after a while. The worst speaker of the day was liberal republican Jim Leach. The man needs a personality. He didn’t move a muscle in his body during his speech. I’m not even sure his mouth moved. If the arena lights had been dimmed, the entire place would have fallen asleep.

I botched up the Jimmy Carter appearance. From what I understood, he would only be appearing via a taped message. I took this as an opportunity to take a bathroom break. Of course, moments after I dropped down from my position and am nowhere near my camera, he walks out. Thanks buddy.

I was kind of shocked that Teddy Kennedy spoke. I was thinking that he might come out and wave after Caroline gave her tribute to him. But, in typical Teddy fashion, he came out waving to the energized crowd. They had set a stool next to the podium for him to rest on as he spoke and he just pushed it out of the way and stood for his entire speech. I am glad he didn’t collapse on stage or something. That would have been ugly. This could very well be the last time that we see this man. What a way to go if that is the case.

After a late dinner, the crew headed back to the Final Stay America. New information came to light today about some recent activity at the Final Stay. My editor Sandy told me that according to a waitress at the Denny’s across the street, there was a big prostitution ring that was busted at the hotel a few weeks back. She also told her a story about how a man came into the Denny’s recently and became obsessed with trying to win a prize in that machine where you put a quarter in and try to navigate a little crane hook to lift a prize out of a pile of stuffed toys. I guess he spent all of his money unsuccessfully trying to get a stuffed toy. He became frustrated, went to his car, got a shotgun and blew a hole in the glass. He reached in, grabbed a toy and left. This is a very colorful neighborhood.

Sorry Bill, Not This Time

I wonder if Bill Richardson thought he was going to be named as Obama’s VP. He was on hand at the Rio Grande High School gym rally and gave a very spirited pep talk before introducing the senator to a packed house. He sat intently looking on from the front row, nodding when Obama made points that he agreed with. He clapped at all the right moments. But, the second that Obama finished his speech, Richardson was gone. If you blinked, you missed it. He didn’t even wait for Obama to come by on the rope line for one more handshake. It was like the Roadrunner, just a cloud of dust. Meep meep.

Time to eat.

One of the best things about traveling with a candidate is the food. The only problem is how much food there is. Just about every event has food as does every flight and bus ride. If you aren’t careful you can end up looking like the Michelin Man in no time. It is hard to resist though when the advance staff sets up spreads of local fare. Today we were treated Mexican. I love the food in New Mexico. Every campaign visit I have ever made to New Mexico has been a good culinary experience. Today was no exception. Tacos, enchiladas, chips homemade Mexican cookies – good stuff.

My quick trip inside the bubble ended after the high school event. When the motorcade arrived at Cutter Aviation I hopped off, grabbed my bag and headed to the main terminal for my flight home. This was a very short trip, but there is plenty more in the coming months. Onward to the conventions.

The Obama McCain Meeting

The AC cord from the laptop dangled alongside the shoeless man as he sprinted down the corridor at the Oakland International Airport. His flip flops are nearly falling out of his shoulder bag. Ten minutes earlier an announcement went over the public address calling for this man to come to gate 20 for immediate boarding for the 10:15 flight to Seattle. It was no 10:25. The plane was gone. Might be time to invest in a watch.

I was early for my 11:45 to Orange County. I am headed to Pastor Rick Warren’s mega church in Lake Forest, Ca. for the town hall style meeting with McCain and Obama.

Saddleback Church campus is gigantic. Dozens of buildings, tents and a few restaurants are scattered all over the 120 acre complex where an estimated 20,000 people come to worship. The place has a very weird feeling. The people are overly friendly. I’m not going to drink any kool-aid if it’s offered.

The two presumptive presidential candidates will be questioned by Pastor Warren in a massive 2,000 or so seat auditorium with fake trees in the mezzanine and oversized video monitors above the stage. The giant press riser is so big that it actually looks empty. Maybe it was. I am double-teaming the event with my Los Angeles counterpart David McNew. The plan is to have me join the traveling press and shoot from the buffer and McNew will shoot from the rear.

Church security staff is very weird about our movements in the church and was limiting our photo opportunities from the buffer. We would get three chances, once when Obama and Warren met, another during a commercial break and finally the shot of McCain and Obama meeting at the show’s halfway mark.

The first shot we’re given lasted roughly 45 seconds. The mob of about 15 stills and TV cameras was escorted down a long walkway into the buffer. Some are doing the accelerated walk. The elbows are starting to come out. The light is challenging. A wave to the crowd and we are ushered back to our holding area. Shot two was for the most part in the dark as they turned the stage lights off during the commercial break. As if it wasn’t dark enough already.

Anxious photographers jockeyed for position in the hold as the money shot drew near. As we were escorted down the path to the stage people actually started running. Once at the stage, the pushing began as people tried to jam themselves as close to the stage as possible. I stood behind the pack so I wouldn’t be shooting up their nose. In the blink of an eye we were out.

Traveling press broke away and we moved to the motorcade and were enroute to the airport in Long Beach within a few minutes.

An hour-long flight on O-Force One and we were in Reno. We were staying at the Grand Sierra Resort. After dropping bags in my pimpin’ mirror clad and dimly lit suite, I went people watching in the bar with AP photographer Alex Brandon and Athena Jones of NBC. The people were completely entertaining. From chubby women wearing painted on clothes and a Vanilla Ice look-a-like to Midwest convention goers and a Patrick Swayze wannabe with a bowl cut. The Sways-He impersonator tore up the dance floor with a combination of moves from Dirty Dancing to Sweatin' To The Oldies. Fascinating. Aside from drinking too much, I also lost $40 on the roulette table.