Back with Barak

  So with 3 1/2 hours of sleep I rolled back from the ALCS to cover Barak Obama in Orlando. I first had to drop off a camera I borrowed at Rob's house before picking up Benjamin at my in-laws. 

  After I got back to the house I had just enough time to download my stuff from the weekend and pack the necessary gear for the rally before dropping off Benjamin at a neighbor's house.    On the radio I learned more details about the political event at Amway Arena. For starters it was going to be outside of the Magic's home arena on the North side. Secondly I found out they were expecting 40,000 to show up (50,000 actually showed up.) for the 6pm event.

  Everything kind of fell my way. I drove to the arena through the Parramore part of town which isn't really the safest way but I figured it was the quickest. Once there I asked a police officer where media was parking and showed him my credential. He told me to go on through and pull in to the lot directly behind him which was adjacent to the entrance. Once through security I scoped out the positions. They had the standard two camera platforms with much of it was reserved for the traveling press corps.

  I found a spot that was open and immediately marked it for myself with a Sharpie. It was on the "cut-away" platform and utilize the stairs leading up to the entrance of the arena as its main backdrop. I knew the stairs would fill with people helping to illustrate the size of the crowd.

  By the time Senators Obama and Clinton took the stage the light was really nice. The auxiliary lighting the campaign brought in really complimented the ambient.

  I was able to move around to the various positions, including the buffer area around the stage, to get different shots of the Democratic Nominee. It was nice to be able to make a variety of images during the 45-minute rally.

  As Barak made his obligatory hand shaking tour of the crowd I got my pictures and ran back to my car to get ahead of the crowd. I remember what traffic is like after a sold out Magic game so doubling that I didn't want to get caught. Besides I had to get home to transmit as the campaign didn't offer wireless internet access which was unlike my previous experiences on the campaign trail.

  I got home and rushed to my office to transmit. luckily I had already downloaded the pictures off the cards and onto my laptop while driving home from the rally.

  After moving 12 images to EPA I grabbed a glass of Merlot and took a long, hot shower to relax. I was finally home and could sleep in my own bed for a change.