Selecting A Vantage Point

Television cameramen had claimed the prize positions. My first position was next to these folks, but I got shooed away. Chairs for the VIPs are to the left.
Hidden behind banks of loudspeakers, television monitors, VIPs and cameramen were low tables intended for print, internet and radio journalists. There was scant chance of seeing the President from these tables.

I and an official NASA photographer marked out a position directly ahead of the President's lectern. But we were asked to move because we were blocking the line of sight from the White House mixing console to the lectern. We moved aside, ensuring we were not in the way of the TV cameras. Soon, we realised to our horror that one of the teleprompt screens would block our view of the President.

By now other prized positions had been staked out, so the NASA photographer moved around to the right, close to a tiered stand reserved for big-shot professional photographers and TV cameras.

My claim staked out with my hat and Southern FM business card. It is immediately adjacent to the VIP seating, and gave me the chance to take photos of them and do interviews with some.

I went to the left, where I claimed a position that would give me a view not only of the President but also of the invited guests. A staked out my position by taping my Southern FM business card and hat to the railing.

This was much better than my earlier positions, because not only was I closer to the President, but also was at the 10 o'clock position relative to the VIP area. I would now be able to see the VIP faces, unlike the earlier place where I would only have seen the backs of their heads.

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