Yesterday was All Pope All The Time!
Because of security, we were not allowed to go directly to the stadium to photograph the Pope’s mass. Instead, I had to wake up at 3 a.m. (a VERY civilized hour) to get to the media hotel and be bussed to the stadium to pass through security and then stand around for hours waiting for the mass to start. For anyone commuting daily into Washington, I highly suggest the 3 o’clock hour to commute. It might surprise you but there is NOBODY on the roads! 🙂
My biggest worry yesterday was being in the middle of the Pope’s mass and getting the phone call from Nicole that she was going into labor. Thankfully that didn’t happen. I even talked to our Secret Service agent about how I get out if that did happen. Always be prepared.
My position was on the field in the center about 180 feet from the altar. I was pretty much on second base and he was straight out in the outfield. The cool thing is that the Pope walked directly down the center about one foot from us on the way in and the way out.
The only bad thing about our position was that they didn’t put us any higher than the crowd of thousands in front of us. It was fine when they were sitting but when they stood, you couldn’t see anything. Well, being the straight A student I was, I grabbed a flimsy plastic folding chair to stand on when they stood. Can you see where this story might be going??
Let me explain what was on the chair in a little more detail:
Me: could stand to loose a few lbs. (priceless)
2 Nikon D200’s with battery packs: 5 pounds ($3,000)
400mm f2.8 lens: 10 pounds ($8,500)
80-200 f2.8 lens: 3.5 pounds ($1,600)
I’m guessing that you are starting to think that me + 20 pounds of gear worth over $13,000 ÷ a flimsy plastic folding chair might not make me eligible to join Mensa. And you would be right!
About 2/3 of the way through the 2 hour mass, there was a loud crash. The origin of the sound would be the plastic chair crushing and a photographer + expensive heavy equipment going straight to the ground. Luckily, Secret Service, a Fire Marshal, 2 photographers, and some ushers came to my aid. I came straight down on my proverbial ass but I was able to keep the 400mm lens from hitting the ground (thankfully) and I didn’t fall back into all our laptops.
When all was said and done, I was SUPER lucky. Everyone freaked out because they thought I bashed my head on the metal riser behind me. Unless I hit it so hard that I don’t feel any pain or remember it, I don’t think I did. I walked away with a broken lens hood, a cracked battery pack (still works), a little bit of a sore back and a very bruised ego. I can’t believe I didn’t get hurt and didn’t kill any equipment
The photographers joked that I was worried about going to the hospital for Nicole and I almost made her come to the hospital for me. 🙂
