FEBRUARY 17, 2008 - Chelsea Clinton was the center of attention at a democratic rally for Hillary Clinton at Ryan’s Grill at Ward Centre. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D , EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 (at 10mm), Aperture priority, 1/125 sec at f/3.5, ISO 1600, Auto white balance

So Chelsea Clinton was in town doing the stump thing for her mom. It was finally my time to be on Chelsea patrol Sunday when she was to make an appearance at some affair at Ryan’s Grill at Ward Centre. “Alright,” I thought, political fun and a bar all rolled into one. My kind of deal.

I got there early and hung out on a bench outside, pondering my fate. I’d heard that Chelsea doesn’t talk to the media, but is free game for photos. The bar area is tight, and when I finally walked in to scope the joint out, there were throngs of people at tables while servers delivered orders. I could just see myself knocking a jug of wine out of someone’s hand as I jockeyed for a photo.

The microphone was being set up in a corner, bathed in backlight. Clinton would either be a silhouette, or she’d be properly exposed, but the backlight would be blasted. Could have a holy effect. Or look like garbage. I started to think of plan B.

At this point I suppose someone got the word that the light was awful, and a bunch of support people started taping Hillary signs to the window. Problem solved.

Then the action started. I saw Dan Inouye and his fiance approaching the restaurant, so I went towards the door to get into position. They came in and I was getting shots of them shaking hands and getting leis. Then Chelsea came in, and the throng burst into applause.

FEBRUARY 17, 2008 - Senator Daniel Inouye and his fiance Irene Hirano talked with Chelsea Clinton. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D , EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 (at 10mm), Aperture priority, 1/80 sec at f/3.5, ISO 1600, Auto white balance

I was in the right place since Inouye was still near the entrance. There was some small talk and they tried to walk in deeper into the place.

Of course, people there were in a froth trying to get close to Chelsea, and I was trying to backpedal to give them room. I wasn’t going anywhere. A strange tension was developing, and I was trying to keep my distance. TV was off to my left and had their light on which was nice since the place was a black hole and I wanted to avoid using a flash.

A handler came up and started to asking us to back up. I was trapped and getting nervous. I didn’t want to provoke them, so I ducked out and ran to the back.

The mob surged forward. Everyone had cameras and pens and hopes and dreams. I did a hail mary from behind, then decided I’d loop around to catch up with Inouye who was working the crowd. I figured Chelsea would do the same, and I’d let her come to me.

Eventually it turned into a log jam, so I decided I’d get into position for the speech. Whatever that meant.

TV had set up directly in front of the mic, but I opted for an opening to the side. The photos would be a little more dynamic, and I could be that much closer without seeming “too close.” And it worked out well when Inouye introduced Chelsea.

FEBRUARY 17, 2008 - Chelsea Clinton is introduced by Senator Daniel Inouye at a democratic rally for Hillary Clinton at Ryan’s Grill at Ward Centre. Behind is Colleen Hanabusa. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D , EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 (at 22mm), Aperture priority, 1/50 sec at f/4.5, ISO 1600, Auto white balance

Everyone huddled around as a server came up behind me to deliver some cocktails. They looked good. I wished they were for me.

FEBRUARY 17, 2008 - Supporters watch Chelsea Clinton speak. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D , EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 (at 10mm), Aperture priority, 1/200 sec at f/3.5, ISO 1600, Auto white balance

With this side angle I was also able to get some tight, nicely lit portrait-type deals of her speaking. A light had been set up and was placed behind the TV cameras. From their angle the light was almost direct, but from where I was shooting it was at a good angle.

FEBRUARY 17, 2008 - Chelsea Clinton speaks. Exposure details: Canon EOS 1-D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f2.8 (at 200mm), Aperture priority, 1/250 sec at f/2.8, ISO 3200, Auto white balance

After she finished a brief spiel, there was more glad-handing and autographs and photos. I stuck around for a little longer just in case.

A good time had by all.

January 28, 2008 - U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner spoke alongside Governor Linda Lingle at a press conference establishing the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 (at 10mm), Manual, 1/200 sec at f/3.5, ISO 1600, Tungsten white balance

Every so often, the governor holds press conferences in her office at the state capitol. I’ve always found them to be somewhat entertaining to shoot. Sure, you have a couple of talking heads, or maybe some signatures being scrawled in a deluxe leather-bound folio, or maybe a trophy (if you’re lucky).

For me, it’s the thrill of the hunt. Will I be able to milk this “photo op” for all that it’s worth? Will I come up with something different? Or will I come away with the classic “execution at dawn” people-standing-in-a-row (with only the blindfolds and cigarettes missing) shot?

So I drove down into the dusky loins of the capitol and parked. I was ready. I had an aloha shirt on. This was going to be big. Some sort of “announcement” was going to be made about “energy.” Someone from “Washington” was going to be there.

“Washington?” Did they say “Washington?”

I got off the elevator on the 5th floor and sauntered to the governor’s office. Small rivulets of people were doing the same.

I opened the giant wood door, and was greeted with a waiting room filled with all sorts of people. Suits. Military types. Silky aloha shirts. Slacks. High heels.

It was electric.

Or so I told myself, as I braced for the impending “event.”

People started to fill the governor’s office, which is actually just the room where these press conferences are held. A big table, a giant Seal Of Hawaii dangling behind the podium, flags, a semi-circle of nice leather seats with little “RESERVED” signs on them, a phalanx of television cameras. The room was at capacity. People were hanging from the rafters (well, not really, but it was close).

Some man came out and a hush fell over the crowd. “The governor will be coming out soon,” he announced. Murmurs from the crowd. I looked for a gavel, but didn’t see anything.

Then, a door opened, and people rose to their feet, and in walked Lingle and a couple of other people.

It had begun.

Ted Liu stepped up the mic and started talking.

With the room stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey, there really wasn’t any room to move around. I was slightly to the right of the podium, prime for shooting mugs, but it wasn’t conducive to anything else. I usually wander around and look for weird angles, but that wasn’t happening today. I decided on doing the layer gag. Get one person in focus, the other out. Luckily from where I was standing either Lingle or Karsner were standing in position that I could get the two of them in the same frame.

January 28, 2008 - U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner listens as Governor Linda Lingle speaks at a press conference establishing the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. Exposure details: Canon EOS-1D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f2.8 (at 200mm), Manual, 1/320 sec at f/4, ISO 1250, Tungsten white balance

So I milked this idea for a while, then found a little open space off the right behind some cardboard “energy initiative” info graphic sitting on an easel.

From there I could shoot wide and get the whole room, establishing the scene, plus there was another angle where I could employ the running two-for-one-in-the-same-frame gag. Plus, the light was a little moodier from this vantage point.

January 28, 2008 - U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner speaks as Governor Linda Lingle listens at a press conference establishing the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. Exposure details: Canon EOS-1D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f2.8 (at 90mm), Manual, 1/200 sec at f/4, ISO 1250, Tungsten white balance

With that out of the way I went back to the front to start harvesting mugs. This is an important part of any press conference assignment. Come away with as many mugs as possible. The paper always needs fresh mug shots of people, and sometimes you can get photos of people you wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to shoot. You never know when those will come in handy.

And with that, it was over. Another fun-filled episode in the governor’s office.

October 21, 2007 - Geoff Morris held an anti-ferry sign at a public meeting on Kauai at King Kaumual’i Elementary School for a special session regarding the Hawaii Superferry. Exposure details: Canon EOS 1-D Mark II, EF 70-200mm (at 200mm) f2.8, Aperture Priority, 1/320 sec at f/2.8, ISO 3200, Auto white balance

I got sent over to Kauai the other day to cover the public meeting for a possible special session by the legislature to try and keep the Hawaii Superferry afloat.

It was an in-and-out deal; fly in mid-day, shoot and transmit photos, and catch the last flight back to Honolulu.

The meeting was to start at 2 p.m., and I got to the school around 1 or so. There were some people starting to wander in, and I began analyzing the lay of the land.

The meeting was held in the cafeteria, three of the walls of which were essentially all windows. The senators were on a small stage against the one solid wall in the place. Everything else was pretty much back-lit. Fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, adding a a weird hue to the otherwise daylight color of light in the room. Oh well, not much I can do about that, I thought.

I went outside and got some photos of people signing up for testimony, then hung out and lurked. In a situation like this, I like to get a feel for the people involved, and try to keep to myself as much as possible.

I was wearing a Star-Bulletin shirt, and had my “press” tags dangling from my neck for effect. And one or two people came up to me and handed me copies of what they planned to say. I dutifully took them, just in case (and it’s always nice to have extra paper for notes if needed).

Then a guy came up to me and wanted to hand me what looked like a magazine. “Can I give you one of these?” he asked.

“No thank you,” I replied.

“Are you sure?” he asked, looking a little surprised.

“Yeah,” I said.

“But you’re with the media, I thought you’d want one,” he said.

I just looked at him. And then he walked off, looking a little hurt.

Things finally started rolling at 2, and I started shooting. After about 10 minutes, it was becoming apparent that this was not going to be a repeat of the infamous Lingle/Coast Guard episode from last month. The crowd was well-behaved, and there were only about three or four signs in the crowd.

Since there wasn’t a whole lot of drama going on, it was just a matter of getting a variety of different shots of essentially the same thing — people standing at the microphone, saying what they would say, and senators looking at them, occasionally scribbling on yellow legal pads.

At one point, a woman got up and began speaking. She prefaced her comments by telling the crowd “You’re probably not going to like what I’m about to say.” At which point I thought, hmmmm… could there be drama? When it became apparent that she wasn’t against the ferry per-se, she was immediately heckled and booed by the crowd. Might have been good with audio, but the pictures just looked like any other.

Some other guy went up and gave a rambling talk about how he was in favor of the ferry, and again was promptly booed and jeered. After I shot photos of him, I went up to him (in the middle of the crowd) to get his name. As he was giving it to me, some guy behind me started blurting out various lines like, “I hope you got pictures of the people who are against the ferry!” I ignored him thinking “how could I not? There are over 300 of you here.” It’s the usual thing I get all the time, people see I’m from “the mainstream media” and immediately brand me as someone with an agenda. Usually one that doesn’t agree with their point of view.

Let me tell you, while I might have my own opinion on what I’m covering, I make it a point to leave it behind when I go into a news situation. I shoot exactly what happens, avoiding coloring it with my own opinions. Of course, nobody believes this, and I’ve learned long ago that I’ll never please all of the people all of the time. So I just let it go.

Anyway, I stood around for about two hours or so, then decided I’d go back to the car and transmit the photos back to Honolulu. I also called the city desk to let them know this was not the pressure cooker drama that some may have expected.

After about a half-hour of editing and sending, I went back in and hung out just in case something else happened. Although I was doubtful at that point.

The place had emptied a bit by this time, and I saw some room to sit at the front by the mic. A woman went up to testify and had a long scroll of the negatives she thought the ferry would bring Kauai. She unfurled it in front of the senators and I got some photos of that.

Then right after her, a high school student went up and held a banner with a bunch of negatives written on it.

Well, this is interesting, I thought. Props. So after the kid sat down, I went over to get her name. As she was about to give it to me, the scroll woman came over and said, “you need to talk to her parents.”

“She just gave public testimony, in a public venue,” I told her (while thinking, “and she gave her name, too”).

“Don’t talk to him,” she told the girl.

At this point I could see things unraveling fast. The woman was getting agitated, and I wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation, not in this crowd, anyway. I decided it would be best to let that one go.

“Well, can I get your name, then?” I asked the woman, since I had photographed her. Maybe I could salvage something.

“They have it,” she snapped back.

“Who?” I asked.

“Them,” she said, pointing to the senators.

I looked at her blankly, then got up and left. It was a lost cause. And the photos weren’t worth the potential for a full-blown confrontation with this person who obviously didn’t want anything to do with me.

It’s like arguing about religion or politics, nobody’s gonna win.

I left the school a few hours later, and went back to the airport.

Definitely an interesting day.

October 15, 2007 - Senator Jill Tokuda’s door. Somewhere behind that door Hawaii Superferry Executives John Garibaldi and Tig Krekel meet with the senator. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-5.6 (at 19mm), Aperture Priority, 1/50 sec at f/4.5, ISO 800, Auto white balance

I was sent over to the State Capitol the other day to get some photos of Hawaii Superferry execs going around meeting senators in preparation for a possible special session next week.

Driving over I got to wondering if it was going to be a media circus, if there would be Superferry P.R. handlers there… or maybe there would be nobody there, and I’d have the place to myself…

I met up with Richard Borreca in the Star-Bulletin’s bureau in the loins of the Capitol building, and we headed upstairs to where the fun was to start - Sen. Jill Tokuda’s office. There were a couple of the TV stations there waiting.

Waiting.

“Are they in there already?” I naively asked the guy from KITV.

“Naw, they’ll be coming down the hall and going in,” he answered.

So we all stood there, waiting.

Then, Garibaldi and Krekel appeared from an elevetor and briskly walked down the hall. I shot them long, then pulled in close for a few mugs (the paper is always in need of mug shots — what we call those tight face shots they use when they quote someone). They approached the door and I switched to a wide angle lens and went in close as they walked in.

That was a thrill.

Then we waited.

And waited.

And stared at the door.

For 45 minutes.

Borreca came over and said, “Imagine working in Washington, this is all you’d do. Stare at doors.”

Then a door on the side opened and out they came. So we all rushed in figuring they’d stop and talk about their lives, and their hopes and dreams, and what they had for lunch, and other important details pertinent to why we were all there.

Instead, they just kept walking briskly to the next office.

At this point I found myself behind the pack, which just wouldn’t do, so I took off in a sprint to get in front of them for that wide angle “walking down the hallway while ignoring the media” shot.

Into another office they went.

And so we stood outside and waited.

And waited.

There was a baseball game on in Hemmings’ office next door. But it was far away and I’d need to watch it through my 200 mm lens. I wasn’t in the mood.

Then they came out, and we all sprang into action.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

And into another office they went.

And we waited.

It was well past 5:30 p.m. and most offices were closing up, so we figured this would be the last visit for the day, so we could get them to stop once they were done here.

Then they emerged, and we all did our dance routine again.

They headed straight to the elevator and we backpedaled the whole way in front of them.

At the elevator they were cornered and made small talk.

October 15, 2007 - Hawaii Superferry executives John Garibaldi, right, and Tig Krekel talk with the media after they made visits at the State Capitol to try and get support for the Superferry. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-5.6 (at 10mm), Aperture Priority, 1/60 sec at f/3.5, ISO 800, Auto white balance

So I got in and got them answering questions from a few TV reporters. The photog from KGMB had a light on which I usually hate, but used it here from some rim light in an otherwise very dark corner of the Capitol.

I could tell the Superferry guys wanted to get out as fast as possible, and I liked how Garibaldi was casually yet somewhat frantically pushing the elevator button.

Then the elevator arrived, and they got in, and the door closed, and I stood there and blankly stared at the door, and then realized they wouldn’t be coming out of this door anytime soon, and turned around and headed back to the office.