I was terrified. Once before I had crossed paths with the man they call Harper- a barbeque tour when Garth Turner shaking the hand of the want-a-be Prime Minister “in those days”. That was over 2 ½ years ago. It’s amusing how things change and still manage to stay the same.
Like an election. My goal was to succeed in getting a halfway decent shot of the Prime Minister Stephen Harper and possibly with running candidate Lisa Raitt. Get them with a crowd behind them cheering like in America, even better. Getting a close intimate shot of the Prime Minister shaking hands and talking to people? Unlikely. The lighting? Terrifying.
Unlike a few weeks ago when Dion visited the same location in Oakville where he stood on stage, spotlight by a projector against an enormous flag, the roomed dimmed slightly and I was able to get plenty of clear shots at my whim. The heat from the lamp was just what I needed and I was satisfied with the amount of effort I went through to bring a pleasing image.
Harper was different. All media registered, received tags and stood idly by as Harper supporters shook hands and gossiped. After some time, we all grouped together to wait our time to go in though I did try to wander around the door to get an idea of what I was up against.
The hall was horribly lit. This disappointed me. It’s unlike for me to give up at this point however; there was also nowhere else for me to go as we were then filed in by party personal. There was a platform to perch on, yellow tape to hide behind. This was our pit and the stage somewhere off into the distance.
I did pack a good lens and I was able to bring the stage closer, so I was confident with what I brought. What got to me were those Nikon D3’s with telephotos the size of a Frisbee floating around like sharks. How horrible I only took this lens, I thought but I perched on the platform and took aim.
My luck seemed to change as my finger hit the trigger.