Inauguration 2009

Inauguration 2009 · 07:18 AM

(is that obvious enough? lol)

Okay here we go. This is not art. It's hard to make art out of shooting over a million people. It's more documentation of the day as I experienced it. Some shots are not that great of quality so I'm not really looking for critique, but rather just sharing my experience with my forum friends.

Please, as a courtesy to those who do not share your views, let's keep any political commentary out of this thread.

Enjoy.

Just getting started:
The capitol building (from a great distance) decked out for the festivities (I'm sure Mike got a better shot of this with the BIGMA)

Police were brought in from all over to add to the security. These were state troopers from Kentucky.

There are more. A LOT more. I'm posting about 75 or so (so far) to my flickr. I'm going to give Mike, or anyone else who was there, a chance to add to this if they would like.

bnishanth · 01-21-2009, 01:28 PM

This is going to be one interesting series. Keep it coming folks and thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Nish

roentarre · 01-21-2009, 01:46 PM

It is amazing that you can go through such a crowd made of 6 million people. I would be suffocated to hear that sheer number of people in attendance.

vievetrick · 01-21-2009, 02:29 PM

Great shots Mike!! I keep laughing a little at the shot of the pool. I can see you bigma hanging there. pretty funny. Again great shots guys hope to see more.

mithrandir · 01-21-2009, 02:31 PM

Can you find Mike and Mel in this GeoEye shot?

http://geoeyemediaportal.s3.amazonaws.com/gallery/Inauguration_2009.jpg

southy · 01-21-2009, 02:34 PM

Mike, did you catch any shots of the people running around on the frozen reflection pool?

khardur · 01-21-2009, 02:49 PM

Rockin' photos, guys. I sure would have loved to have been there too.. It appears there were plenty of photo opportunities there...

Can't wait to see more.

mel · 01-21-2009, 03:10 PM

Thanks for all the comments everyone. I took a few shots with the fisheye but none that were so nice as Mikes. I have more shots to post but I figure it's Mikes turn before I hog the entire thread. I have 75 posted on my flickr. I'll be a bit more selective as to the ones I post here. But if anyone is just dying to see them, they're there.

C'mon Mike. It's your turn.

I don't think it was 6 million. I read it was about 1.5ish or so. But it was still a lot of people.

photo_mom · 01-21-2009, 03:21 PM

Hi Mel and Mike!!

Those are very impressive. Can't wait to see the rest.

Mel, I really like your photo of the capital building in the sunrise. The colors of the sky set it off very nicely.

Mike, I think your bigma shot of the capital is very unique and the fisheye of the WWII monument really cool. I'm having trouble counting all of the people holding cameras up.

Okay, where were you when this picture was taken? According to the caption it was at about 11:19 AM.

Inauguration Day | Popular Science

mel · 01-21-2009, 03:39 PM

We're not in that photo. We were further back (from the capitol building) in the WWII memorial. It was a great place to watch. We were standing in the "back", out of the wind, and the sun warmed it up a bit. I was rather shocked to be reminded how cold it was up on the surface world after being down in the bowl for a while.

In the photo, all the blobs of people you see are gathered behind the jumbotrons. The big areas of nobody is the areas out of viewing range of a monitor.

photo_mom · 01-21-2009, 04:00 PM

Originally posted by mel

We're not in that photo. We were further back (from the capitol building) in the WWII memorial. It was a great place to watch. We were standing in the "back", out of the wind, and the sun warmed it up a bit. I was rather shocked to be reminded how cold it was up on the surface world after being down in the bowl for a while.

In the photo, all the blobs of people you see are gathered behind the jumbotrons. The big areas of nobody is the areas out of viewing range of a monitor.

Yeah, I know the WWII and Lincoln are back behind where the photo ends, but I thought maybe you moved around during the day and got closer. It's too bad the satellite shot didn't include that area.

The photos you have on Flickr so far are great. I've enjoyed looking through them! Some of the over-the-head photos really give a sense of how many people were around you.

mel · 01-21-2009, 04:12 PM

Originally posted by photo_mom

Yeah, I know the WWII and Lincoln are back behind where the photo ends, but I thought maybe you moved around during the day and got closer. It's too bad the satellite shot didn't include that area.

The photos you have on Flickr so far are great. I've enjoyed looking through them! Some of the over-the-head photos really give a sense of how many people were around you.

Oh yeah we were moving around a lot but during the actual ceremony we pretty much stayed put. So at that time we were probably there. Or maybe not quite there but making our way forward from the Lincoln Memorial. But either way, we're not in that picture

And with the size of the crowd, it was more an issue of how good a view could you get of the nearest jumbotron, rather than how close could you get to the capitol building

. But it was an amazing experience.

And thanks!

**monochrome** · 01-21-2009, 04:39 PM

Hey Mel and Mike - thanks for posting these - nice for we landlocked Missourians to see real shots.

My daughter trailed Biden around for two days producing for ABC News. If she ships me a disk I'll add a few to this thread - they'll be Canon, but they'll be views

maxwell1295 · 01-21-2009, 05:40 PM

Bravo! You guys did a great job documenting an incredibly memorable day. That had to have been the ultimate in street shooting.

Mike, I guess it's safe to assume the 10-17 will be on your lens map?

I knew you would fall in love with that lens...

mel · 01-21-2009, 05:56 PM

Originally posted by maxwell1295

Bravo! You guys did a great job documenting an incredibly memorable day. That had to have been the ultimate in street shooting.

Mike, I guess it's safe to assume the 10-17 will be on your lens map?

I knew you would fall in love with that lens...

I don't think we're done yet. I'm just waiting for Mike to take his turn posting. I may give up waiting and post another batch myself here before long. Or Southy? You have anything to share with us?

MRRiley · 01-21-2009, 07:19 PM

Ok.... sorry it took so long. Didn't have much time this evening but here is a batch...

Dawn breaks on the Inauguration - Tamron 28-75mm

The Capitol all Decked Out - BIGMA

Throngs of Excited Spectators - BIGMA

Patriotic Guardsman - BIGMA

National Museum of Natural History - 10-17mm Fisheye (a little gimmicky but I love the sky in this one)

Thanks for all of the compliments guys. We definately had a fun day of shooting. Cold, but well worth it.

Mike

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01-21-2009, 02:31 PM	#19
mithrandir Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,895	Where in DC are Mike and Mel Can you find Mike and Mel in this GeoEye shot? http://geoeyemediaportal.s3.amazonaws.com/gallery/Inauguration_2009.jpg

01-21-2009, 03:21 PM	#23
photo_mom Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 545	Very awesome! Hi Mel and Mike!! Those are very impressive. Can't wait to see the rest. Mel, I really like your photo of the capital building in the sunrise. The colors of the sky set it off very nicely. Mike, I think your bigma shot of the capital is very unique and the fisheye of the WWII monument really cool. I'm having trouble counting all of the people holding cameras up. Okay, where were you when this picture was taken? According to the caption it was at about 11:19 AM. Inauguration Day \| Popular Science

01-21-2009, 04:39 PM	#27
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Thanks! Hey Mel and Mike - thanks for posting these - nice for we landlocked Missourians to see real shots. My daughter trailed Biden around for two days producing for ABC News. If she ships me a disk I'll add a few to this thread - they'll be Canon, but they'll be views

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01-21-2009, 01:28 PM	#16
bnishanth Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sydney Photos: Gallery Posts: 223	This is going to be one interesting series. Keep it coming folks and thanks for sharing. Cheers Nish

01-21-2009, 01:46 PM	#17
roentarre Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 11,783	It is amazing that you can go through such a crowd made of 6 million people. I would be suffocated to hear that sheer number of people in attendance.

01-21-2009, 02:29 PM	#18
vievetrick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Easthampton - Massachusetts - USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,183	Great shots Mike!! I keep laughing a little at the shot of the pool. I can see you bigma hanging there. pretty funny. Again great shots guys hope to see more.

01-21-2009, 02:34 PM	#20
southy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 178	Mike, did you catch any shots of the people running around on the frozen reflection pool?

01-21-2009, 02:49 PM	#21
khardur Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: NW Massachusetts Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,560	Rockin' photos, guys. I sure would have loved to have been there too.. It appears there were plenty of photo opportunities there... Can't wait to see more.

01-21-2009, 03:10 PM	#22
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531 Original Poster	Thanks for all the comments everyone. I took a few shots with the fisheye but none that were so nice as Mikes. I have more shots to post but I figure it's Mikes turn before I hog the entire thread. I have 75 posted on my flickr. I'll be a bit more selective as to the ones I post here. But if anyone is just dying to see them, they're there. C'mon Mike. It's your turn. I don't think it was 6 million. I read it was about 1.5ish or so. But it was still a lot of people.

01-21-2009, 03:39 PM	#24
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531 Original Poster	We're not in that photo. We were further back (from the capitol building) in the WWII memorial. It was a great place to watch. We were standing in the "back", out of the wind, and the sun warmed it up a bit. I was rather shocked to be reminded how cold it was up on the surface world after being down in the bowl for a while. In the photo, all the blobs of people you see are gathered behind the jumbotrons. The big areas of nobody is the areas out of viewing range of a monitor.

01-21-2009, 04:00 PM	#25
photo_mom Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 545	Originally posted by mel We're not in that photo. We were further back (from the capitol building) in the WWII memorial. It was a great place to watch. We were standing in the "back", out of the wind, and the sun warmed it up a bit. I was rather shocked to be reminded how cold it was up on the surface world after being down in the bowl for a while. In the photo, all the blobs of people you see are gathered behind the jumbotrons. The big areas of nobody is the areas out of viewing range of a monitor. Yeah, I know the WWII and Lincoln are back behind where the photo ends, but I thought maybe you moved around during the day and got closer. It's too bad the satellite shot didn't include that area. The photos you have on Flickr so far are great. I've enjoyed looking through them! Some of the over-the-head photos really give a sense of how many people were around you.

01-21-2009, 04:12 PM	#26
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531 Original Poster	Originally posted by photo_mom Yeah, I know the WWII and Lincoln are back behind where the photo ends, but I thought maybe you moved around during the day and got closer. It's too bad the satellite shot didn't include that area. The photos you have on Flickr so far are great. I've enjoyed looking through them! Some of the over-the-head photos really give a sense of how many people were around you. Oh yeah we were moving around a lot but during the actual ceremony we pretty much stayed put. So at that time we were probably there. Or maybe not quite there but making our way forward from the Lincoln Memorial. But either way, we're not in that picture And with the size of the crowd, it was more an issue of how good a view could you get of the nearest jumbotron, rather than how close could you get to the capitol building . But it was an amazing experience. And thanks!

01-21-2009, 05:40 PM	#28
maxwell1295 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Long Island, New York Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,703	Bravo! You guys did a great job documenting an incredibly memorable day. That had to have been the ultimate in street shooting. Mike, I guess it's safe to assume the 10-17 will be on your lens map? I knew you would fall in love with that lens...

01-21-2009, 05:56 PM	#29
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531 Original Poster	Originally posted by maxwell1295 Bravo! You guys did a great job documenting an incredibly memorable day. That had to have been the ultimate in street shooting. Mike, I guess it's safe to assume the 10-17 will be on your lens map? I knew you would fall in love with that lens... I don't think we're done yet. I'm just waiting for Mike to take his turn posting. I may give up waiting and post another batch myself here before long. Or Southy? You have anything to share with us?

01-21-2009, 07:19 PM	#30
MRRiley Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sterling, VA, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,275	Ok.... sorry it took so long. Didn't have much time this evening but here is a batch... Dawn breaks on the Inauguration - Tamron 28-75mm The Capitol all Decked Out - BIGMA Throngs of Excited Spectators - BIGMA Patriotic Guardsman - BIGMA National Museum of Natural History - 10-17mm Fisheye (a little gimmicky but I love the sky in this one) Thanks for all of the compliments guys. We definately had a fun day of shooting. Cold, but well worth it. Mike