I will start off this post by saying that secret service agents have very strong grips… Read on to find out why I know that…
I love being in the middle of political rallies. This is a historic election and it’s great to be involved in it. I have covered McCain a couple of times before– once in Dallas during the Texas primaries and again this past labor day in O’Fallon, MO (which was also Palin’s first rally). I have also covered Obama, Hillary and Huckabee. Obama seems to avoid me and schedules rallies when I am the most busy.
My theory when shooting something is to keep shooting until somebody tells you to move. I did just that. When I got to the BBQ joint, everyone was moved to the other side of the street. I got around this by hiding inside a business next door and shot through their large glass storefront. Not the greatest shots:
Posting up in a store nearby since the police wouldn't let us any closer
So, bad shots of McCain coming out of the restaurant… I realize the police don’t really care about us anymore, so I slowly make my way to the crowd where McCain is greeting supporters:
Cool, I'm close, maybe I can get closer?
Then, he decides to come a little closer and nobody is telling me to move, so I keep shooting…
Ok, I am happy with this… but wait, is he getting even closer to me???
I think I am just lucky at this point.
I follow him down the line as he shakes hands– secret service are moving past me but don’t seem to mind me– I’m not hurting anything…
I think this is when I got too close. How do I know? Probably because I was grabbed by secret service, yelled at by that lady behind him and then told by John McCain himself that I “need to stay back.” Ok, point taken:
A little too close for comfort...
So what lesson did I learn?? Keep taking pictures. And, objects in the wide angle lens are closer than they appear. I guess I didn’t realize how in the way I was until I actually took the camera from my face. But, no harm, no foul… I’ve learned my lesson.
And I’ll look forward to getting the extra screening next time I go to the airport…
