Walkabout

Earlier this week I agreed to volunteer photograph during a political fundraising dinner with hundreds of people packed into a ballroom to hear Micheal Ignatieff speak. They had arranged for a photographer to shoot during the dinner, which was good, because my husband and I were also paying guests. I'd be darned if I was going to let my pricey dinner get cold while I was shooting duplicates with a hired photographer. So I took shots at the Laurier Club reception prior to the dinner and during Micheal's walkabout, as he greeted supporters throughout the room. The walkabout was particularily challenging as I had to stay ahead, stay on the correct side of the supporters who collected into scrum-like groups, all waiting to shake hands and get their picture taken along side the Official Leader of the Opposition. The pace was very fast and I had numerious people try to stop me trying to find out where they could get a copy of their photograph. I told them, contact the provincial office or federal office for a copy. This was the first time I have shot my DSLR in automatic, with an external flash. I did so because I could not afford to be adjusting the setting as we meandered around the room at a fairly brisk pace. As a result I got a few dozen great shots, lots and lots of smiling faces and shaking hands in focus, and a couple of overly-exposed shots, where others were shooting flashes at the same time, resulting in images that were too bright to use. And then there were the shots I had to delete because of closed eyes or awkward expressions. All said and done, the experience was good, and I enjoyed the results.