As y'all might have caught on the news, Queen Elizabeth has celebrated her Platinum Jubilee- perhaps not such a big deal in the U.S. but up here in Canada it is dominating the news coverage and despite the post-Covid blues, inflation, bizarre gas prices, and the news of yet another tragic school shooting- folks are still celebrating "Her Majesty's" long reign. Although Canada has its own Constitution and the old British NorteAmerica Act is long gone, we are still partof the Commonwealth and the British Royalty shows up here for visits every now and again.

Here in Ottawa, the National Capital District, one of our main "industries" are the Government and visits by all sorts of dignitaries, celebrities, heads of state, and religious leaders are no big deal for the residents. When the Queen or the Pope shows up it does draw a significant crowd. U.S. presidents are a big draw as well.

In my time as a press photograher working for a daily newspaper and a few wire services, I covered so many of these official visits that it became routine. It was hard to file spontaneous shots because everything is totally orchestrated and adds all the extra security and it is borderline boring and predictable.

When the Queen visited I would sometimes cover the cross-country agenda for an entire week. I thought to myself, "that poor woman" she greets hundreds of VIPs, attends endless ceremonies and dinners, relates to crowds of regular folks, sufferers jet lag and by the end of the visit, you could see the strain on her face. My favourite shot of her, that I display in my office, was at the end of a visit, she was bushed, but every time she was greeted by a child she would instantly recover, light up, make eye contact, speak to the kids and smile - she would glow.

As y'all might have caught on the news, Queen Elizabeth has celebrated her Platinum Jubilee- perhaps not such a big deal in the U.S. but up here in Canada it is dominating the news coverage and despite the post-Covid blues, inflation, bizarre gas prices, and the news of yet another tragic school shooting- folks are still celebrating "Her Majesty's" long reign. Although Canada has its own Constitution and the old British NorteAmerica Act is long gone, we are still partof the Commonwealth and the British Royalty shows up here for visits every now and again.

Here in Ottawa, the National Capital District, one of our main "industries" are the Government and visits by all sorts of dignitaries, celebrities, heads of state, and religious leaders are no big deal for the residents. When the Queen or the Pope shows up it does draw a significant crowd. U.S. presidents are a big draw as well.

In my time as a press photograher working for a daily newspaper and a few wire services, I covered so many of these official visits that it became routine. It was hard to file spontaneous shots because everything is totally orchestrated and adds all the extra security and it is borderline boring and predictable.

When the Queen visited I would sometimes cover the cross-country agenda for an entire week. I thought to myself, "that poor woman" she greets hundreds of VIPs, attends endless ceremonies and dinners, relates to crowds of regular folks, sufferers jet lag and by the end of the visit, you could see the strain on her face. My favourite shot of her, that I display in my office, was at the end of a visit, she was bushed, but every time she was greeted by a child she would instantly recover, light up, make eye contact, speak to the kids and smile - she would glow.

As y'all might have caught on the news, Queen Elizabeth has celebrated her Platinum Jubilee- perhaps not such a big deal in the U.S. but up here in Canada it is dominating the news coverage and despite the post-Covid blues, inflation, bizarre gas prices, and the news of yet another tragic school shooting- folks are still celebrating "Her Majesty's" long reign. Although Canada has its own Constitution and the old British NorteAmerica Act is long gone, we are still partof the Commonwealth and the British Royalty shows up here for visits every now and again.

Here in Ottawa, the National Capital District, one of our main "industries" are the Government and visits by all sorts of dignitaries, celebrities, heads of state, and religious leaders are no big deal for the residents. When the Queen or the Pope shows up it does draw a significant crowd. U.S. presidents are a big draw as well.

In my time as a press photograher working for a daily newspaper and a few wire services, I covered so many of these official visits that it became routine. It was hard to file spontaneous shots because everything is totally orchestrated and adds all the extra security and it is borderline boring and predictable.

When the Queen visited I would sometimes cover the cross-country agenda for an entire week. I thought to myself, "that poor woman" she greets hundreds of VIPs, attends endless ceremonies and dinners, relates to crowds of regular folks, sufferers jet lag and by the end of the visit, you could see the strain on her face. My favourite shot of her, that I display in my office, was at the end of a visit, she was bushed, but every time she was greeted by a child she would instantly recover, light up, make eye contact, speak to the kids and smile - she would glow.