Last week I got the opportunity to photograph President Barack Obama during his visit to Austin for European Pressphoto Agency (EPA).
Years ago when Obama was campaigning the first time around, he came to San Marcos. I was on staff at the San Marcos Daily Record at the time and got to cover his visit. This time was very similar, though the venues and crowds were smaller.
He had two speeches planned for Thursday – one at Manor New Tech High School and one at Applied Materials in Austin. I was assigned to cover both speeches from a spot on the risers.
While it is exciting to get to cover a presidential visit, unless you’re in the pool and can stay with the president all day, it’s fairly routine. I had to arrive at 9:30 a.m. to check in and find a spot at Manor New Tech High School, and the president wasn’t scheduled to speak until 1:05 p.m. He didn’t arrive until about 1:30 p.m., so all of the media had to stand around until then.
It was a bit frustrating because we were sequestered in a high school gym in the back of the school and if we wanted to see the president speak, we weren’t allowed to leave. If I could come and go during that time, I’m sure I could have found a feature photo or two of people holding signs outside or the Secret Service milling about or something. But instead we stood around and told stories.
On the up side, it’s a great place to see fellow photographers and talk about what we’ve all been working on. It’s sort of like a reunion.
That photo above looks pretty packed, and it was, but the atmosphere is not what you might think. We’re all there for the same reason, and though we technically compete with each other, we cooperate well to make sure everyone gets what they need. For example, my new friend Bob was very generous to let me share his tall ladder for the above shot, and another Bob and Matt shifted their ladders to make sure we had enough room.
After a while the pool photographers came in and the presidential seal was hung on the podium. It was time to shoot.
I started on a ladder with my D700 and my 200-400mm f4. I wanted to make sure I got the shot from dead center in front before moving on to another angle.
He stood at a podium in front of students on risers, with an American flag behind them. It was an okay background, but a little busy for my taste. After a few minutes I shifted to a riser on the side of the stage, where a banner was well-placed in the background. (It’s like they plan these things…)
He gave a speech that lasted about 10-15 min. and then briefly greeted the crowd before making his exit. That’s where the best shots are made, when he interacts.
Then it was off to the second site – Applied Materials.
It was about 5 min. up the road by GPS, but it took a lot longer with delays due to Secret Service and construction. The majority of the media barely made it inside before the check-in cut off at 3 p.m.
Once inside I found my spot and sat down on the floor with my laptop to edit the first speech. We had about an hour and a half wait before things started happening again. I had a little trouble finding a reliable wifi signal, but got photos in just before it was time to shoot again.
The setup at Applied Materials was very similar to Manor New Tech – a set of risers in the back, facing Obama, and a set of risers on the side. I liked this location a little better because there was more room to move around on the risers, there were more people in the crowd and the light wasn’t so dramatic.
I used the same strategy, shooting from straight on first…
Then moved to the side.
Then, of course, Obama greeted people on his way out to the tune of thousands of camera shutters.
That last photo was one of my favorites of the day. They all look so thrilled to see the president.