Inauguration Day, summarized...
It has been three weeks since I’ve put anything in here. Jeez, it sounds so bad once I put it down on paper. Can’t hide from that.
4 AM, pre-Inauguration Day
So it’s been too long, I admit. And furthermore, I suppose if it is going to be that long between entries (promise not to have that long a break again…), I figure this one should be a doozy. Because I know all 7 of you are hungering for my words and pearls of wisdom. Actually, there may be 10 or 12, checking this out because on Inauguration Day I handed out my card to some folks.
2 million people in a city, that actually only houses about a quarter that much is quite the sight, if you can actually see farther than 12 feet in front of you. This can be done, however in a myriad of ways. You can wait until you crest a hill, and then look at the 200,000 or so people walking in front of you. You can climb on a dumpster. You can hop. Or you can put one foot on a metal security barrier, and the other on a parking meter, and then look in all directions, until the police tell you to come back down.
"WHERE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GO!" She was shouting this to a volunteer,
about 20 feet, or a hundred people, away.
For those that cared about the Inaugural events, (please, you have a little pulse, right?) you probably saw all the stories from CNN, FOX, etc. So I thought I’d share my experience, through words and many pictures.
Converging at 3rd St. and Indiana Ave. This was a line apparently to get to the parade,which no one was interested in getting to at 730 AM. To the left is the Tunnel, into which, we dutifully plunged forth.
When 2 million spectators are involved, most assumptions can be tossed out the window. Like press credentials. It turned out that they were practically useless. When someone is called a “volunteer”, it means that they don’t know anything and they can’t help you.
These are actual quoted answers given to us after we showed the credentials and asked, "where do we need to go?":
Oooh, you need to go to the Mall!
I have no idea, I've never seen a badge like that.
I don't know, you'll have to ask one of them (pointing in direction of secret service, or some other security personnel, who inevitably tells you that they can't help you, they are only in charge of this particular post, and you can't get in here)
You need to go to [that way] which I found was always the incorrect direction, discovered only after fighting through the crowds to get to said destination.
The Purple Tunnel of Doom, aka, Purplegate, i.e, the Third Street Tunnel. 8 AM
At this point I should mention that I bumped into, and befriended a fellow photojournalist, from Boston, Dave Gordon. He and I made the rest of the trip far easier for each other. Things like this are always easier to get through with someone else to bounce ideas off of. Although I can't readily admit to ever having been involved in covering anything like this. He and others put together some good stuff on their website, mediasoup.net. Thanks Dave.
Eventually however, we did make it to the Purple Tunnel of Doom, aka, Purplegate, i.e. the 3rd street tunnel. I will admit, however that we were lucky in that we made it through largely unscathed, hopeful all the while that the trek underneath the Mall would not turn into some bad Stallone movie. But think of the spot news! Hello Pulitzer! I'm joking, naturally. We emerged, only to find that there was absolutely no movement at the Purple, Silver or Blue gates, so we went to 7th street. And as easily as it had been difficult for the prior 3 hours, we flashed our badges for seemingly the fiftieth time, and were let in...
Confusion reigned after thousands emerged from The Tunnel.
Blue Gate, 830 AM
Finally, 7th St. on the Mall...9 AM
I can’t entirely blame volunteers for much of anything, I suppose. I don’t think they decided to shut off all the streets and herd everyone into 2 directions: this way and that way.
Further confusion ensued when the crowds dispersed from the Mall. The masses swirled and convened and rolled over the landscape in far greater densities than they arrived. Departure is always worse than arrival. And with every blocked street, and every helpless volunteer, we became more frustrated and tired. But to everyone’s credit, I didn’t see one incident. Nor did I hear of one No one shoved. No one became nasty, and we soldiered on in the frosty air towards who knows where. We just kept moving until there came a break.
*I should amend this, having now read multiple articles (WPost, Huffington, Facebook) about the fiasco that was the 3rd Street tunnel. It turns out that thousands made it to the Silver and Purple gates, just like I did, but the swollen crowds were too much for security to handle and they simply locked the gates. Many traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles only to sit for hours outside the gates throughout the swearing-in. I wish all those people would have simply walked several blocks down the mall, entrance was far easier the farther from the Capitol you went...
But I digress. Getting out of the Mall proved just as ridiculous as entry.
Trying to get out of The Mall was awful, too. Only at this point I was tired AND cold.
Good luck getting on a train with the other million people...Metro Center. 430PM
"Only" two and a half hours later, I stood along the parade route. And waited. And to everyone’s delight. Barack and Michelle, stepped out of their vehicle and walked the rest of the parade route, right in front of me. I've always learned that just because a famous person is in your photograph, it doesn't make it a good one. But after nearly 12 hours of walking, cursing, clawing and dragging my way through the Mall (2 jumbotrons away) and on to the parade. I was thrilled to have one photo of the President.
A decorated Dept. of Commerce.
Man of the hour. President, Barack Obama.
The event was certainly one to remember. I met people from Birmingham, Rochester, and Saginaw. People bused in from Atlanta and flew in from LA. I even met a woman from the Congo, who is currently interning in DC.
Some very happy people on the mall when Obama is sworn in. 11:45 AM
People cheered, and they cried. It was hard to take in the moment without getting swept away yourself. Only 45 years after King delivered his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Obama delivered his on the opposite side of the Mall. You absolutely knew that the rest of your life you'd be telling the story about how you got on the mall for Obama's inauguration, press credentials or not.
A powerful moment for many who got to see it all...
I suppose the pictures aren’t much different looking than regular crowded images of people at a rally or protest. People waving a flag during Inauguration Day, more or less look the same as people waving a flag on any other day. So you try to shoot it with as much context as possible, and remember that I’m taking pictures of a monumentally historic moment. Twenty years from now, I'll remember participating in creating a visual history of that moment. Not everyone could make it. Not everyone wanted to make it. But I tried to bring it back with words, but more powerfully, with images.
I wish I had something more poignant to say about it, but it was truly an overwhelming and awe-inspiring experience. I think with this inauguration there is a change in the air. And I know that word has been thrown around ad nauseum lately. But it’s more than a change in administrations. It’s a change of attitudes. I think there are people now that feel included in the American experience. For centuries of fighting against marginalization, the election of a black president is empowering. It isn’t that the black Americans in this country realize that they elected someone like them. It’s the realization that white America elected someone like them.
An unpopular war and a faltering economy certainly made it easier to embrace a mantra of change. But someone had to bring it, and it just so happened to be someone who is black. For millions of people in this country, the racial divide of our grandparents is a distant memory. Each successive generation is learning that “they” are just like “us”. And one can only hope and assume that the next generation will be even more accepting of a diverse population.
4 AM, pre-Inauguration DaySo it’s been too long, I admit. And furthermore, I suppose if it is going to be that long between entries (promise not to have that long a break again…), I figure this one should be a doozy. Because I know all 7 of you are hungering for my words and pearls of wisdom. Actually, there may be 10 or 12, checking this out because on Inauguration Day I handed out my card to some folks.
2 million people in a city, that actually only houses about a quarter that much is quite the sight, if you can actually see farther than 12 feet in front of you. This can be done, however in a myriad of ways. You can wait until you crest a hill, and then look at the 200,000 or so people walking in front of you. You can climb on a dumpster. You can hop. Or you can put one foot on a metal security barrier, and the other on a parking meter, and then look in all directions, until the police tell you to come back down.
"WHERE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GO!" She was shouting this to a volunteer,about 20 feet, or a hundred people, away.
For those that cared about the Inaugural events, (please, you have a little pulse, right?) you probably saw all the stories from CNN, FOX, etc. So I thought I’d share my experience, through words and many pictures.
Converging at 3rd St. and Indiana Ave. This was a line apparently to get to the parade,which no one was interested in getting to at 730 AM. To the left is the Tunnel, into which, we dutifully plunged forth.When 2 million spectators are involved, most assumptions can be tossed out the window. Like press credentials. It turned out that they were practically useless. When someone is called a “volunteer”, it means that they don’t know anything and they can’t help you.
These are actual quoted answers given to us after we showed the credentials and asked, "where do we need to go?":
Oooh, you need to go to the Mall!
I have no idea, I've never seen a badge like that.
I don't know, you'll have to ask one of them (pointing in direction of secret service, or some other security personnel, who inevitably tells you that they can't help you, they are only in charge of this particular post, and you can't get in here)
You need to go to [that way] which I found was always the incorrect direction, discovered only after fighting through the crowds to get to said destination.
The Purple Tunnel of Doom, aka, Purplegate, i.e, the Third Street Tunnel. 8 AMAt this point I should mention that I bumped into, and befriended a fellow photojournalist, from Boston, Dave Gordon. He and I made the rest of the trip far easier for each other. Things like this are always easier to get through with someone else to bounce ideas off of. Although I can't readily admit to ever having been involved in covering anything like this. He and others put together some good stuff on their website, mediasoup.net. Thanks Dave.
Eventually however, we did make it to the Purple Tunnel of Doom, aka, Purplegate, i.e. the 3rd street tunnel. I will admit, however that we were lucky in that we made it through largely unscathed, hopeful all the while that the trek underneath the Mall would not turn into some bad Stallone movie. But think of the spot news! Hello Pulitzer! I'm joking, naturally. We emerged, only to find that there was absolutely no movement at the Purple, Silver or Blue gates, so we went to 7th street. And as easily as it had been difficult for the prior 3 hours, we flashed our badges for seemingly the fiftieth time, and were let in...
Confusion reigned after thousands emerged from The Tunnel.
Blue Gate, 830 AM
Finally, 7th St. on the Mall...9 AMI can’t entirely blame volunteers for much of anything, I suppose. I don’t think they decided to shut off all the streets and herd everyone into 2 directions: this way and that way.
Further confusion ensued when the crowds dispersed from the Mall. The masses swirled and convened and rolled over the landscape in far greater densities than they arrived. Departure is always worse than arrival. And with every blocked street, and every helpless volunteer, we became more frustrated and tired. But to everyone’s credit, I didn’t see one incident. Nor did I hear of one No one shoved. No one became nasty, and we soldiered on in the frosty air towards who knows where. We just kept moving until there came a break.
*I should amend this, having now read multiple articles (WPost, Huffington, Facebook) about the fiasco that was the 3rd Street tunnel. It turns out that thousands made it to the Silver and Purple gates, just like I did, but the swollen crowds were too much for security to handle and they simply locked the gates. Many traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles only to sit for hours outside the gates throughout the swearing-in. I wish all those people would have simply walked several blocks down the mall, entrance was far easier the farther from the Capitol you went...
But I digress. Getting out of the Mall proved just as ridiculous as entry.
Trying to get out of The Mall was awful, too. Only at this point I was tired AND cold.
Good luck getting on a train with the other million people...Metro Center. 430PM"Only" two and a half hours later, I stood along the parade route. And waited. And to everyone’s delight. Barack and Michelle, stepped out of their vehicle and walked the rest of the parade route, right in front of me. I've always learned that just because a famous person is in your photograph, it doesn't make it a good one. But after nearly 12 hours of walking, cursing, clawing and dragging my way through the Mall (2 jumbotrons away) and on to the parade. I was thrilled to have one photo of the President.
A decorated Dept. of Commerce.
Man of the hour. President, Barack Obama.The event was certainly one to remember. I met people from Birmingham, Rochester, and Saginaw. People bused in from Atlanta and flew in from LA. I even met a woman from the Congo, who is currently interning in DC.
Some very happy people on the mall when Obama is sworn in. 11:45 AMPeople cheered, and they cried. It was hard to take in the moment without getting swept away yourself. Only 45 years after King delivered his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Obama delivered his on the opposite side of the Mall. You absolutely knew that the rest of your life you'd be telling the story about how you got on the mall for Obama's inauguration, press credentials or not.
A powerful moment for many who got to see it all...I suppose the pictures aren’t much different looking than regular crowded images of people at a rally or protest. People waving a flag during Inauguration Day, more or less look the same as people waving a flag on any other day. So you try to shoot it with as much context as possible, and remember that I’m taking pictures of a monumentally historic moment. Twenty years from now, I'll remember participating in creating a visual history of that moment. Not everyone could make it. Not everyone wanted to make it. But I tried to bring it back with words, but more powerfully, with images.
I wish I had something more poignant to say about it, but it was truly an overwhelming and awe-inspiring experience. I think with this inauguration there is a change in the air. And I know that word has been thrown around ad nauseum lately. But it’s more than a change in administrations. It’s a change of attitudes. I think there are people now that feel included in the American experience. For centuries of fighting against marginalization, the election of a black president is empowering. It isn’t that the black Americans in this country realize that they elected someone like them. It’s the realization that white America elected someone like them.
An unpopular war and a faltering economy certainly made it easier to embrace a mantra of change. But someone had to bring it, and it just so happened to be someone who is black. For millions of people in this country, the racial divide of our grandparents is a distant memory. Each successive generation is learning that “they” are just like “us”. And one can only hope and assume that the next generation will be even more accepting of a diverse population.
People gravitate to people like themselves. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s what you do or say to people that are different, however small that difference might be, that matters. Let’s not forget that people the world over, like to invent reasons not to like other people. And there are horrible things that go on every day to reinforce that. But finally in a country that is supposed to lead the world in an evolved way, we can let the elephant out of the room just a little and realize, too, that maybe we’ve leaped our own hurdle. Hopefully that might just inspire some others to do the same.
Comments
Post a Comment