One thing that comes with living near a capitol city is politics.
I’m sure you know about the current political drama happening in Austin. Pro-life and pro-choice supporters are battling it out to try to get HB 2, a bill currently being considered by the Texas congress that would change regulations on abortion, passed or failed. (Click here to read the bill and find out more.)
I’ll keep my opinions about the bill to myself, as I do with most political issues, but I will say that both sides have shown impressive support for their cause. Day after day there are rallies and signs and chants and marches and speakers and protests, yet everyone has stayed reasonably peaceful. I think that’s respectable.
Anyway, I haven’t spent a ton of time at the capitol over the past few weeks, but I have gotten to capture some of the action.
It all started last month on the last day of a special session when Sen. Wendy Davis (D) filibustered for 10 hours straight to avoid getting HB 2 considered on the senate floor. With two hours left to go in the session, her filibuster ended and, due to multiple points of order quandaries, outspoken activists in the gallery and multiple other factors, the vote came in 3 min. after the midnight deadline, making it null and void.
I was not there that night, but I did spend the evening (and some of the day) watching it on my computer. It was interesting to watch a filibuster live, and watching my friends and fellow photojournalists cover it was personally kind of exciting for me. As odd as it sounds, I really wanted to be there. That’s part of being a journalist, though. I always have an innate need to witness history as it’s happening.
But no matter, Gov. Rick Perry called a second special session almost immediately, and I got a call to go cover day 1. My assignment was just to cover the happenings on the senate floor, but I got there early to get some images of other happenings.
I walked in to a huge pro-choice rally where most people were wearing orange. I learned later that pro-life supporters wore blue.
It was very hot that day, and I came dressed in business attire, as required to be on the senate floor. By the time the session started at 2 p.m., I was drenched in sweat.
I joined the other photojournalists inside and we photographed the half hour that the senate was in session before they decided to break for the Independence Day holiday.
My day ended early after hanging out on the senate floor to edit and transmit photos.
After that I didn’t feel finished with that story. It didn’t feel like I covered either side the way it should’ve been covered. Perhaps it was because the senate adjourned quickly, or that I didn’t spend the amount of time I thought necessary to photograph this issue.
Earlier this week I went back up to the capitol for a self-assigned shoot. I heard that there would be a pro-life rally, followed by a pro-choice march. That seemed like the perfect opportunity to capture both sides.
First up was the pro-life rally.
While the pro-life rally wrapped up at the south steps of the capitol, the pro-choice march began to move south on Congress Ave., away from the capitol. I, along with a small group of other photographers, had to sprint to catch up with the march, but we made it.
They made a loop through down town and ended up back at the capitol, where pro-life supporters were still gathering.
I was in front of the marchers at that point and as we came around the corner to the capitol gates, a young couple had stopped to take some wedding portraits. Oh boy was that bad timing!
It made for the best moment of the night! Gene Trujillo and Adriana Hernandez of Mexico were great sports and took the whole thing with a sense of humor. I’m sure it’ll make a great story for their wedding day.
After a few minutes photographing the couple, I moved up closer to the capitol to see what would happen when orange and blue collided.
It got pretty loud and crowded, but it all ended peacefully. I made my exit while the getting was good and came home to edit, finally feeling satisfied with my coverage.
Like I said, I’m proud of both sides for being passionate enough about their beliefs to stand up for them in public, and for keeping things classy…mostly.
One of the best parts of covering these kinds of things is getting to work around other photojournalists who I admire. Here are a few snaps of me with photog friends and a couple of me by photog friends from this whole ordeal.
Jerry Lara of the San Antonio Express-News, Me and Louis DeLuca of the Dallas Morning News on the Texas senate floor
Me at the pro-life rally. Photo by Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon of KUTX Austin
Me and Erich Schlegel, Austin freelance photographer
Me cooling off during a pro-choice march. Photo by Ed Ornelas of the San Antonio Express-News
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