Photojournalism Story:
Okay, so yesterday I went to see Across the Universe at the E Street Theater. I was the only one in the theater, as it was midday on a Tuesday, which was awesome. I'll wrote more about that later. I was having dinner with my friend Kate, who works at the Capitol, around 6:15. On the way there, I noticed some sort of naval ceremony going on (which I later realized was for the sailor who just recieved the Medal of Honor), and so of course, stopped to take pictures. I moved around the outer permitter, taking pictures, then noticed a potential shot and went behind the ceremony, to get this photograph:
After sitting there for 30 seconds or so, one of the offical Navy photographers (who I later determined was a Chief Petty Officer - the Navy equivalent of a Sergeant First Class) came up to me and said "Wow. Nicely spotted! Mind if I steal your idea?" I, mind not working quite right due to the compliment and who it was coming from, said "Sure!". We both shot for a minute or two, then compared photos, and he actually liked mine better than his own! He asked if I was a professional, and I said "Not yet!" and he said "You should be! Your stuff is good enough to submit!". Which further turned me into a grinning idiot. At that point, he said "Hey, would you like to go inside the rope? I can let you in, and you'll get much better shots from in there.". I sort of babbled a "Sure! Thank you so much, sir!" as he lifted up the rope for me to duck under. I got some *great* shots once inside, and got to make a fool of myself, laying down in front of the sailors to get the shots, etc. They also let me get about 20 feet from an Admiral! AN ADMIRAL. Close enough to get this picture with my non-telephoto lens! I realized a few minutes later that I was the *only* non-military personnel photographer inside the rope. Eee!
Once inside the rope, I was able to get these shots, which I am extremely proud of:
At the recommendation of the Navy photographer, I submitted these two (1 and 2) to the Washington Post. We'll see how that goes.
All in all, it was a huge ego boost, and I walked away half an hour later grinning like an idiot. Unfortunately, I was so amazed at the situation, that the practical part of my brain sort of shut down, and I didn't get the photographer's contact info, or give him mine. Stupid, stupid me. Oh well. There's always next time, assuming there's a next time.
So...yeah. It was pretty awesome.
After sitting there for 30 seconds or so, one of the offical Navy photographers (who I later determined was a Chief Petty Officer - the Navy equivalent of a Sergeant First Class) came up to me and said "Wow. Nicely spotted! Mind if I steal your idea?" I, mind not working quite right due to the compliment and who it was coming from, said "Sure!". We both shot for a minute or two, then compared photos, and he actually liked mine better than his own! He asked if I was a professional, and I said "Not yet!" and he said "You should be! Your stuff is good enough to submit!". Which further turned me into a grinning idiot. At that point, he said "Hey, would you like to go inside the rope? I can let you in, and you'll get much better shots from in there.". I sort of babbled a "Sure! Thank you so much, sir!" as he lifted up the rope for me to duck under. I got some *great* shots once inside, and got to make a fool of myself, laying down in front of the sailors to get the shots, etc. They also let me get about 20 feet from an Admiral! AN ADMIRAL. Close enough to get this picture with my non-telephoto lens! I realized a few minutes later that I was the *only* non-military personnel photographer inside the rope. Eee!
Once inside the rope, I was able to get these shots, which I am extremely proud of:
At the recommendation of the Navy photographer, I submitted these two (1 and 2) to the Washington Post. We'll see how that goes.
All in all, it was a huge ego boost, and I walked away half an hour later grinning like an idiot. Unfortunately, I was so amazed at the situation, that the practical part of my brain sort of shut down, and I didn't get the photographer's contact info, or give him mine. Stupid, stupid me. Oh well. There's always next time, assuming there's a next time.
So...yeah. It was pretty awesome.