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.