A Kinder, More Gentle Fish...
Jun 21, 2018 00:38:23 #
Years ago, when I was still in the daily grind of photojournalism, I was sent to all kinds of places to make photos of everything from homeless people to baseball stars and common men to the President.
So, I have to tell you about this prior to the rest of the story. My brother Mike is also an accomplished photo puke. His thing is video though, so I have always helped him with the still work and he has helped me with the video side of things. It works well and he is one of my best friends. I also have enormous professional respect for him. Well, Mike was also the Director of Visual Media at the White House. SO, I started a new job where I did a lot of traveling, and was assigned to cover a Presidential event in Pintlala, Alabama. The owner of B.A.S.S., Ray Scott, had invited the President to fish in a tournament, and the President accepted. Since this was my very first presidential event, I called my brother Mike and said "Hey, I have an assignment to shoot the President in Alabama, can you tell me how to get credentials?" There was a pause, and my brother answered in a very stern voice "Mark, you dumb ass, we don't shoot the President, we PHOTOGRAPH him. Secret Service listens to ALL calls at the White House and you need to get it right!". I felt one inch tall and was so embarrassed. I never made that mistake again.
I got my paperwork done and was issued the proper credentials, and on the press platform at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama they had my name and affiliation taped to the platform floor and right next to mine was my brother's. So, it was cool being able to literally work side-by-side with him. AF1 lands, and one of the first people to deplane is my brother. It was so surreal to see him stepping off that jet and he walked toward the press platform with gear and tripod in-hand. He greeted me and said "The President is going to work the crowd on the right side of the platform. Let's go to that edge, so we're ready.". We did, and I got some really nice shots of him shaking hands with the crowd. He made a short speech at Maxwell then loaded up in "the beast" and off to Ray Scott's private lake. Since I knew where it was, Mike jumped into my car and we traveled the 30 minutes to the event and sat around playing "hearts" for several hours while the President went fishing. There was talk that they had placed secret service scuba divers into the lake, but I never saw evidence of this. So, after a few hours, they start the weigh-in and the President is 3rd in line. Most of the national press was directly under the President during the weigh-in and I was back about 30 yards on the press platform with a 600mm F4. The sky was washed out that day and in the national photos, they had this big ugly white background. By shooting from a distance, I was able to get some color and when I sent my brother a copy of the shot, he called me and asked for 100 more. "Best shot of the day" was what he told me. One of the proudest moments of my career. I told him I would like a signed copy, but it never happened. Still a great memento for me of that day is having this photo. Plus, I just liked the idea of the leader of the free world holding up a big, slimy fish.
Shot with a Nikon F3, Nikkor 600mm F4 with Fujicolor 400. I would guess an exposure of 1/500th at F4.
Hope you enjoy it as well.
So, I have to tell you about this prior to the rest of the story. My brother Mike is also an accomplished photo puke. His thing is video though, so I have always helped him with the still work and he has helped me with the video side of things. It works well and he is one of my best friends. I also have enormous professional respect for him. Well, Mike was also the Director of Visual Media at the White House. SO, I started a new job where I did a lot of traveling, and was assigned to cover a Presidential event in Pintlala, Alabama. The owner of B.A.S.S., Ray Scott, had invited the President to fish in a tournament, and the President accepted. Since this was my very first presidential event, I called my brother Mike and said "Hey, I have an assignment to shoot the President in Alabama, can you tell me how to get credentials?" There was a pause, and my brother answered in a very stern voice "Mark, you dumb ass, we don't shoot the President, we PHOTOGRAPH him. Secret Service listens to ALL calls at the White House and you need to get it right!". I felt one inch tall and was so embarrassed. I never made that mistake again.
I got my paperwork done and was issued the proper credentials, and on the press platform at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama they had my name and affiliation taped to the platform floor and right next to mine was my brother's. So, it was cool being able to literally work side-by-side with him. AF1 lands, and one of the first people to deplane is my brother. It was so surreal to see him stepping off that jet and he walked toward the press platform with gear and tripod in-hand. He greeted me and said "The President is going to work the crowd on the right side of the platform. Let's go to that edge, so we're ready.". We did, and I got some really nice shots of him shaking hands with the crowd. He made a short speech at Maxwell then loaded up in "the beast" and off to Ray Scott's private lake. Since I knew where it was, Mike jumped into my car and we traveled the 30 minutes to the event and sat around playing "hearts" for several hours while the President went fishing. There was talk that they had placed secret service scuba divers into the lake, but I never saw evidence of this. So, after a few hours, they start the weigh-in and the President is 3rd in line. Most of the national press was directly under the President during the weigh-in and I was back about 30 yards on the press platform with a 600mm F4. The sky was washed out that day and in the national photos, they had this big ugly white background. By shooting from a distance, I was able to get some color and when I sent my brother a copy of the shot, he called me and asked for 100 more. "Best shot of the day" was what he told me. One of the proudest moments of my career. I told him I would like a signed copy, but it never happened. Still a great memento for me of that day is having this photo. Plus, I just liked the idea of the leader of the free world holding up a big, slimy fish.
Shot with a Nikon F3, Nikkor 600mm F4 with Fujicolor 400. I would guess an exposure of 1/500th at F4.
Hope you enjoy it as well.
Jun 21, 2018 05:38:35 #
Jun 21, 2018 05:59:29 #
Jun 21, 2018 08:41:23 #
Jun 22, 2018 11:22:04 #
Pixeldawg wrote:
Years ago, when I was still in the daily grind of ... (show quote)
The man in the picture, not my cup of tea (although in comparison.....). But what a great story and a great picture!
Jun 22, 2018 11:34:27 #
I am going to stay away from political discussions here, but I can tell you that he was a genuinely nice person when I met him.
Jun 22, 2018 13:37:14 #
Pixeldawg wrote:
I am going to stay away from political discussions here, but I can tell you that he was a genuinely nice person when I met him.
Then what a wonderful experience for you!
Jun 22, 2018 16:23:46 #
Jun 22, 2018 21:42:31 #
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