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January 14, 2006
Pre-Inauguration: Friday in Williamsburg
It's now the wee hours of the morning (about 2 AM), a time I swore I wasn't going to be awake after getting up before 5 AM this morning (yesterday, technically) to drive to Williamsburg for pre-inaugural photography. I didn't, however, want to go to sleep without selecting and editing at least a couple dozen shots to share here on DocDem.
I'll spare you the full story of being very pleased with my packing and travel progress this morning only to realize once I arrived and was standing in my hotel room that I forgot to put my overnight bag in the car. I had $10K worth of digital camera and computer equipment and no clothes or a toothbrush. My wife would have some choice comments on how typical this was in terms of my mental priorities. I've said before that I'd take my laptop over pants in a packing crisis... seems I wasn't kidding. ANYWAY...
I spent a good bit of the day (after negotiating the delivery of my forgotten clothes... they will arrive with a friend attending the inauguration tomorrow morning) hustling around the Colonial area, picking up press credentials, talking with other photographers, going through a media walk-through with Jeff Krause and the press pool, and working in a few shots here and there. I adore Williamsburg, so this entire event is a treat to me on many levels. Today was also a little jarring, though, due to the sheer magnitude of preparation going on that shakes the usual calm, coordinated and very 18th-century Williamsburg atmosphere. The presence of police motorcycles roaring down Duke of Gloucester, the large groups of guys in fatigues and more State Troopers than you can shake a stick at (which I don't advise, frankly) is very much NOT the Williamsburg I know. I'm not complaining, of course... all of these people and their activities are the cogs and wheels in the machine that drives this massive endeavor we call Inauguration. My hat is off to the many people who have been coordinating this huge event (and I mean you, Jeff Krause, among many others).
The photos I've posted are a selection of pre-inauguration "behind the scenes" stuff mixed in with some casual and creative Williamsburg photos that have nothing to do with anything other than my infatuation with the Colonial scene. I can't come here and not slip by the Governor's Palace kitchen to photograph the goings-on and the tasty looking things that, by law, none of us can sample. Dangit...
Click here for the photos:
Pre-Inauguration: Friday in Williamsburg
39 shots - 1 page
The last few shots were taken at the concert at William & Mary Hall where I met "The Constituents", a band headed by Arlington's Commissioner of the Revenue (they proudly told me they were the only band with an elected official among its members). They were a fun bunch and sounded fantastic. Headlining the event were the Beach Boy(s) with Mike Love... so look toward the end of the photos to see the man of the hour doing the introductions. :)
Sleep... must sleep... I want to get up early enough to catch the mist on Duke of Gloucester. Then it's off to the press stands for the main event. I'll try to get some photos of that online from my hotel before heading to Richmond tomorrow night to photograph the Inaugural Ball.
- Aaron
Posted by amahler at January 14, 2006 01:49 AM
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