Stump Speech

With the 2010 Midterm Elections well underway around the country, candidates were not quite stepping on each other's heels as they climbed one-by-one onto a tree stump with five minutes to appeal to a crowd of Farm Bureau and Timberland Owners Association members on Wednesday. As a photographer, events are some of the last things I want to shoot. They tend to be less personal, less intimate, and generally don't require much planning or effort to photograph. And typically, I find political speeches or press conferences, well, b-o-r-i-n-g. It's the typical grip and grins. The candidate or party member mugging for cameras and holding those handshakes with 'common folk' just a little bit longer waiting for a flash or the sound of a camera shutter's 'click.' But there's something different about election season and a sense of significance when several opposing candidates file one after the other onto a tree stump to address a crowd. Sure, there's still the stale politeness in the air accompanied with the forced smiles, but there's also a chance to be in the middle of history unfolding. One of these candidates will be a member of the U.S. Senate. One of these people will be voted to office and represent the rest of us. So, sure, it may be boring at times and maybe every event I cover dealing with the midterms won't be as unique as a speech on a tree stump, but there will always be the challenge to shoot something relevant, with context and have some sort of pleasing aesthetic. The challenege is to bring something different to the table besides the literal grip and grins, whether that be an off moment of a candidate before they make their rounds or take the stage, or a different perspective from an event.