Washington, DC – 39th. March for Life
Sometimes you have to wait for the picture to come to you. You keep looking, shooting and working the event. Then it shows up. This “baby” traveled all the way up from Chattanooga, TN to be captured in front of the Supreme Court. A small island of Pro-Choice protestors were busy mocking and chanting slogans and profanities at the participants of the 39th. annual March for Life. U.S. Capitol Police formed a ring around them to keep them safe (although they were the ones instigating the crowd), rather than making them leave since they had no permit to protest. As they chanted “This is what Democracy is like,” I thought…. They have no clue. 30-40 people in the middle of a rally of Ten’s of Thousands (100,000+) yelling insults at them and the police were standing there, quietly protecting them. That….. is truly what Democracy is. Scroll down and enjoy the pictures.
Going Back 31 Years
It all started very innocently. “Dad, can I borrow your camera for the weekend?” His answer was, “Sure, come and get it.” So I did.
Granted, I had no idea how it worked but that was not as important as the “Girl.” Yes, there was a girl behind the camera. She was taking a photography course with this other guy, and I could not just show up empty handed. (More below Image)
1967 Nikkormat
The weekend was a humbling experience. They had to teach me how to put film in the camera, but once they did I shot “two rolls” of film that weekend. The rest…. Well its history now. A year and a half after that weekend, I began working as a photographer with a daily newspaper. That was 31 years ago.
So this weekend, I travelled back from the digital world and spent the weekend shooting ” three rolls of film.” Actually 3 rolls of Kodachrome 64, soon to be obsolete. The film that rocked the photography world is no longer being manufactured and as of the end of the year won’t be processed ( only one lab — www.dwaynesphoto.com/ available worldwide till Dec 30 ) any longer.
At the beginning instead of B&W, I shot slide film and Kodachrome was king. I spent lots of money on it, honing my craft. So when Kodak announced the end of Kodachrome, I ordered 3 rolls. Don’t know why I ordered 3, but at the time it seemed as a good number. And after the weekend, I’m glad it was only 3.
It was hard going back. Using my trusty (old) Sekonic meter and shooting one frame at a time was OK, not being able to see what I was shooting was not! So now I will send the film away to California to be processed. When it returns, I will scan the slides and dedicate a post titled: Kodachrome Fall – A Weekend Journey.
Nick & Natalie
I remember Natalie as a little girl who was always laughing, this was many years ago. Time passed, we lost touch. She went off to High School, College, became an Architect and then found a “boy”, a good one! And they got jobs at the same firm!
Over the weekend we met in Richmond for a morning at Maymont Mansion, in the heart of the city. It was a wonderful morning of catching up and photography. I was assisted by my “lovely” daughter (my reflector girl) and God graced us with wonderful weather. (3 Photos Below)
Nick & Natalie
Nick & Natalie
Nick & Natalie