It's almost the end

My first trip to DC has finally come to a conclusion. My bags are packed and I'm ready to head home tomorrow afternoon. While I'm very ready to be at home again, I'm going to miss the excitement of Washington and how pedestrian friendly it is. Living less than half a mile from the Lincoln Memorial has it's perks. There were many nights I would walk down there with some friends and we would just sit on the steps and take in the sights around us. Things like that are what I'll miss the most, the historical significance of the surroundings I found myself in on a daily basis.

The Hearst bureau took all the interns out to a nice lunch at the National Press Club as a farewell event. They told us they had been genuinely impressed by the work we have done this summer and they are sorry to see us go. They told us to stay in touch and to not be afraid to call for references when we start applying for jobs. It can't hurt to have the former president of the National Press Club (Rick Dunham) and the former bureau chief of the AP Washington bureau (Chuck Lewis) in your corner. I concluded my day with a very appropriate event, a reception at the White House celebrating soon-to-be Justice Kagan's confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States. The two people I spent the most time covering this summer were Elena Kagan and President Obama so it was fitting to end the summer with an event where they were both present. I haven't had time to look at my pictures from the event yet since I came home to pack everything up, but once I get home and settled I will put some up along with my final post.

Tomorrow will be a long day of traveling that will start all too early so for now I'm headed to bed. Thanks very much to everyone who has been reading my blog. I hope you have enjoyed following my adventures this summer. I know I've had a blast!

2 days til Atlanta

I'm winding down Wednesday and have been working hard all day on the photo archive. I've finished a "hard copy" on my computer. Now I need to upload it to our Moveable Type system so the files will be easily accessed for our blogs, where they are needed most. This isn't a hard task, just very time consuming, but I'll have it finished by the time I leave.

I've started packing and will continue tonight. I've successfully worn through two pairs of shoes while I've been here from walking so much on the concrete sidewalks so that frees up a little extra space for me.

I'm shifting my planning now back to Atlanta and Rome. I no longer have to look ahead at what's going on in Washington. Now I'm concerned with unpacking from DC and repacking for Berry, moving in, and planning for The Carrier and athletic photography. There's never a dull moment! All I know is I'm taking at least one day to lounge since my weeks here have been jam packed followed by weekends of tourist activities. This summer has been a blast and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but now I'm ready to pack up and head home.

My last four days in the District

The last week has been and will continue to be a slow one. The president has several out of town trips and the House is already in recess. The only thing the Senate has left to do is confirm Kagan. I hope to be able to go and watch the vote in the press gallery in the Senate chamber, just to say I saw her confirmed after devoting so much time to the events in late June. Other than that, I will be spending this week solely working on the photo archive. It is more time consuming than I expected it would be and I'm doing my best not to go cross-eyed from looking at so many pictures. I still have thousands to go through so I just have to keep going until I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I'll need to start the packing process soon and make sure everything will fit back in my suitcases in order for me to take it home. Something tells me this process will not be as smooth the second time around. I'm very sad to be leaving Hearst and Washington, but there are so many things about returning to the south that I'm looking forward to. Of course I can't wait to see my family and friends, I can't wait for sweet tea and Chick-fil-a, and I can't wait to see the beautiful fields of Berry again! The view pulling up to the Gate of Opportunity is always wonderful! The countdown is four days until I'm in Atlanta and 10 days until I'm back at Berry!

The final countdown

It's Saturday afternoon and in exactly one week from now I'll be boarding a plane to fly home to Atlanta. What a summer this has been. All of my expectations have been exceeded. I've learned more than I thought I would, saw more than I thought I would, and have had an all-around fantastic experience. I was told by our bureau chief at the beginning of the summer that the internship will be what I make of it, and I feel I can say confidently that I took advantage of every opportunity that I had.

I finished up this past week with a visit to the White House. I photographed Marine One landing on the South Lawn as President Obama came back from a trip to Michigan. Alan came too and since we don't know if we'll come back to the White House next week, we took the opportunity to take all the touristy pictures we wanted just in case. Below are photos of Obama saluting the Marine as he comes down the steps of Marine One, me in the White House press briefing room and me in front of the West Wing.

This week will be an entire week of building the Hearst photo archive. With the president out of town several days and the House in recess there won't be too much going on, but you never know what will come up. For now, I'm anticipating spending a lot of time with my computer and combing through the 20,000+ images I took this summer and pulling out the best of the best for the archive of people which Hearst will use photos of again. As a fun side project I will be building a blooper reel of the people in Washington I've photographed this summer. Let's face it, not every picture I take is going to be flattering and I've had some that are just downright hilarious so look for that towards the end of next week.

Still on my list of things to do and see: inside of the Library of Congress, go to Georgetown Cupcake, and walk Embassy Row.

Midday update

One of my photos from the Arlington funeral ran on the front page of Albany Times-Union today. This is my second front page photo of the summer, but this one is above the fold and for a bigger paper. Had to share it with everyone since I was so excited! You can see the front page here: http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/hr.asp?fpVname=NY_TU&ref_pge=lst

Tying up loose ends

I have approximately nine days left in DC and way too much stuff to fit into that time frame. I have heard adults complain about how much there is to do before "leaving a job" and moving onto the next thing in their life, but I never really understood how complicated that can be until now. All of the long term projects have to be wrapped, I have to turn in my paper on my internship experience shortly, I have to see the sights I've missed so far and on top of that I have to pack to move home. All of this is starting to set in and I've found myself with little free time left, if any, and the next nine days with be filled to the brim with work and play and extremely tiring. But I'm ready for it.

I had a fantastic time this weekend with Lucy and Erica in town visiting from Berry. I won't bore you with the details of everything we did, just know we saw everything there is to see and is humanly possible to see in a single weekend. If you're really curious, go reread my Fourth of July post from when my family was in town. We basically did all of the same things plus a few extras.

The week has been off to a busy start. I'm still working on rounding up photos of Texas representatives. The verdict is out on whether I will give photos of all of them, but I'm not optimistic. There are too many last minute schedule changes in this town to get photos of everyone you need. I photographed the education secretary, Arne Duncan, on Tuesday when he announced the phase two finalists of Race to the Top funding. Fun fact: I learned at this event he played professional basketball for a couple years after college. His strangely tall stature then made more sense.

Today, I had the privilege of photographing a funeral at Arlington. And while I was by no means excited to be there, I felt honored to be able to photograph the event. The fallen soldier was Pfc. David Taylor Miller, a 19 year old from Saratoga Springs. The photographers were held in a 10 by 10 foot area away from the gravesite so as not to distract the family and friends that gathered at the gravesite. I was thankful to have the distance because it kept me focused on the job I came to do and helped me keep emotions in check during a very heart-wrenching ceremony. Nineteen is two years younger than I am. No one that young should have to die, but I'm thankful for Pfc. Miller's service to our country and very sorry for the loss of the Miller family. Below are a few images that included the military honor guard and the presentation of the American flags to Pfc. Miller's mother and father.

Toughening Up

The week peaked with the coolest event on Tuesday. However, I've stayed busy since then and have photographed the press conference announcing the Tea Party as an official caucus, a press conference with Senators Reid and Kerry, and a hearing where Ken Feinberg was testifying. He matters because he's managing the $20 billion fund being distributed to those who were affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Throughout the internship, I have seen my photographs morph. As another intern pointed out, he feels they have gone from snapshots to photos with artistic interest. Not only have I learned from myself, but I've also learned from the impressive crowd of photographers I'm shooting with. I take note of what the AP photographers are doing and how they approach a subject. I also try to do things differently than them because ultimately they're who I'm competing against in trying to get my photos published. And even though all of the guys shooting for AP, Getty, and Reuters have far more experience than I do I'm occassionally successful in beating them out to get published. On Wednesday, I had one of my photos published of the press conference with Prime Minister Cameron and President Obama in the San Antonio Express-News. Before I go to Capitol Hill or the White House to shoot an event one of our editors often asks me if I've sharpened my elbows today. He knows the competitive nature of DC photographers and has told me he's been impressed with how I've kept up with them, despite coming away with bruises after many events.

At this point, I've got two weeks left in this town and I plan to make the most of it. I know I'm giong to have a great weekend because two great friends from Berry are coming to visit me! It will be a marathon weekend of site seeing and with a heat index of 110 degress on Saturday I'm just praying we survive. Look for pictures of the weekend on Monday, but for now I'll include the photos from the events I mentioned earlier. From top to bottom, Rep. Michele Bachmann at the Tea Party press conference, Ken Feinberg at a subcommittee hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Senators Reid and Kerry at a press conference outside the Senate Chamber.

A Powerful Day

Today I had the privilege of photographing the U.S. Attorney General, Britain's new prime minister, the vice president and the president all in one day. I think this was the most nervous I have been yet in Washington. When Prime Minister Cameron and President Obama entering the East Room at the White House I was more aware than usual of the power and influence these two men hold in this world and the strength of the relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain. Both commented on this relationship in their remarks and expressed their gratitude to one another. It was definitely a day and an event I'll remember forever. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I believe you'll recognize those who are in them.

The six week mark

Today is the two thirds mark of my internship and I have three weeks left in this town. I'm sad to leave, but I hope to be able to come back here to work someday.

Today was a quiet day, as most Fridays are. I made it to 13 of the 14 hearings I was scheduled to be at this week. Unfortunately, the congressmen didn't have as good of an attendance record so I will be coordinating with all of their press secretaries to ensure I get photos of them this upcoming week. I was able to get photos of five or six representatives, so it wasn't a total waste of time.

I didn't get this post finished on Friday so I'll pick up with the events of the weekend and Monday. This weekend was probably the hottest I've experienced in DC yet. I don't believe the weather channel for a second, the humidity level had to have been higher than 40% because it was just unbearable. I stayed inside as much as possible, but I did venture out to see Madeline Albright's collection of pins at Smithsonian Castle. It was so interesting and would encourage anyone to go that is in town. Albright used brooches and pins that she wore on her jacket to express her mood for that day. Feel free to approach her is she is wearing a flower or butterfly, but if she's wearing a snake you may want to think twice. Every pin is so unique and different and her collection comes from all around the world. I spent the rest of the weekend resting in preparation for two friends from Berry to come visit. I have a marathon planned for them over a long weekend so it should be a lot of fun to show them around town.

Today was pretty calm. I started my day at the White House with a statement by the president in the Rose Garden. I hadn't been to one yet this summer so it was a good experience to have and offered a different setting to photograph the president.

Coming up this week is my continued efforts to photograph the members of the Texas delegation, an event with Vice President Biden (haven't seen him yet this summer), and a joint press conference with President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron on his first visit to the U.S. as prime minister. Should be a good week.

Another day, another president...and a bomb threat

Don't worry...the presidential event and bomb threat were on two different days, in two different places, but it definitely made for an interesting 24 hours. Last night I saw Clinton speak at an event celebrating 15 years of U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic relations. This was my third president I've covered and it was a lot of fun. Clinton spoke along with Senators Kerry and McCain. The event was a mix and mingle type setting with just a few VIP tables so I was able to get on the far side of the table with Clinton, Kerry, and McCain and got some good shots of them. Today, when I was coming back from lunch I ran into police about a block from my office who were frantically pushing people out of the area and setting up caution tape. In DC, this usually just means someone's motorcade is coming by, but this time the police seemed a bit more worried. I went up to the office and a few minutes later found out (thanks to Twitter) there was a suspicious package about two blocks from the office. So I grabbed my camera and went back downstairs to wait and see what was going to happen. An hour went by before the bomb unit showed up, but then a man appeared in a green space like suit to inspect the package. The officer was pretty small even with my zoom lens. They obviously wanted to keep everyone at a safe distance in case it was something. Eventually the suspicious package was disassembled and it turned out to be nothing, but it kept everyone on their toes for awhile. After, I was able to get right up to the "bomb" and get photos of it while several officers waited for a crime scene investigator to come take photos. In the meantime, the Washington Post had been putting out traffic updates in their website since a huge area was shut down for this event. Alan had the idea to send my photos to them and see if they would publish them since he had an editor that he knew at the Post. I hadn't seen any other photographers around so I thought I might have a shot, and sure enough they published one of my photos of the "suspicious package" so the people could see what had caused a three hour interruption to their day. Tomorrow should be extremely calm by comparison and I'm looking forward to it. Photos and Washington Post link are below.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/drgridlock/2010/07/suspicious_package_at_metro_ce.html#comments

One of "those" days

Today was one of those days were nothing went as it was planned to. I went to the Senate Judiciary committee to photograph them voting on Kagan and Republicans delayed the vote. I went to two hearings to get photos of four members of the Texas delegation and none of them showed. So this has probably been the least productive day I've had in Washington, but since all the other days have been so great it's okay. Our national editor, Dan, was encouraging and said that sometimes happen and there's lots of schedule changes and that there was no rush on the archive. I have seven hearings to go to tomorrow so hopefully the Texans will have better attendance and I'll be able to get some good photos of them in action. Unfortunately, there is no photo of the day today so I'll pull a few others from my Sunday night walk. We started the walk near the Washington Monument and also walked by the Capitol and normally photos wouldn't be that great since it was so dark out, but the gleaming white dome of the Capitol actually showed up and I think they turned out alright.

Gorgeous sites of Washington

Since Sunday night turned out to be semi-cool and clear Arleta, Alan, and I decided it would be a perfect night to make the hike out to the Jefferson Memorial. It is definitely a far walk, but it's worth it because it's right on the water and is very serene. We arrived just before sunset and it couldn't have been any prettier. The pictures don't do it justice, but they're better than words.

This week will be quite busy. In my efforts to continue building the photo archive I'll be on Capitol Hill taking photos of as many members of the Texas delegation as I can. There are 33 members of the Texas delegation so over the next three days I'll be going to 14 hearings that various members are serving on. Many hearings are at the same times, often in different buildings, so it will definitely be a marathon. I'm hoping for a perfect attendance record for the Texans, which is really unheard of in Washington, but if I don't get all the photos taken care of this week I will have a little more time before I head home in early August. Well wishes are appreciated for this borderline insane task I'm trying to complete this week.

The calm before the storm

I wrapped up the week with a very quiet Friday at the office. The bosses took the Hearst interns to the National Press Club for taco night. It was a very nice place that's rich with history and when you throw in a free dinner that makes for a great night. After, Alan and I went to see Toy Story 3. I loved it and thought it was just perfect in every way. I'll leave it at that so I won't spoil the movie for anyone, but if you haven't seen the movie yet it's definitely worth it. On Saturday, Alan and I visited the Postal Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. I made a list of things I wanted to do in DC before I came so I'm slowly chipping away at it and trying to get everything done before I leave. I really enjoyed looking at all the stamps from around the world from different parts of history. There were stamps with Hitler on them, from East and West Berlin, and Amelia Earhart's stamp collection. The National Portrait Gallery was huge and we didn't have enough time to see everything, but we saw the highlights. The first portrait I saw was of LL Cool J which I thought was really weird, but since it is a new arrival it was near the entrance. I really enjoyed the presidential portraits and sports champions. We saw the 20th century portraits as well such as Ellen Degeneres, Michael Jackson, and Marilyn Monroe. They also had four of Katherine Hepburn's Oscar awards.

Today is going to be a calm day. I just plan to rest before "the storm" of Congress comes back tomorrow and Capitol Hill becomes much busier again. I'm looking forward to watching the World Cup final in just a little bit. Viva Espana! Hopefully it will be a good game!

A change of pace

With Congress in recess, the week has been pretty slow despite having Monday off. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday here at the office developing a photo archive to leave with Hearst after I leave. My plan is for it to be a bit more organized than it was when I got here and have up to date photos of everyone I photographed in Washington this summer. Our bureau chief had expressed interest in having as many photos taken by staff as possible instead of relying on AP or Getty Images so I have been hustling, and will continue to do so, to get as many faces as I can. Since Hearst owns several papers in Texas, I'll be focusing on the Texas delegation once Congress is back in session. In the mean time, I'm combing through my 12,000+ photos I've already taken this summer and I'm pulling out the best of Obama, the Senate leadership, and many Cabinet secretaries etc. Today, I got a break from the monotony of the office and took another trip to the White House to see Obama depart on the South Lawn for his trip to Kansas City and Vegas. Alan came along to take some pictures of me shooting which will be nice to have to remember my trip to the White House. Between Kagan's confirmation hearings, 4th of July, and work this week with a major heat wave I feel like I haven't stopped in a few weeks. I'm very much looking forward to a restful weekend with maybe a museum or two thrown in along the way. First, I am photographing Obama as he crosses the South Lawn to board Marine One. Second is the photo I took of Obama crossing the South Lawn to board Marine One. And for those that care, that nicely kept patch of grass you see behind Obama is the presidential putting green.

Fourth of July in Washington

I had a fantastic weekend with family and friends here in DC! I loved showing them around to all of the sites and the fireworks on the Mall were nothing but amazing! I'm at about the halfway point for my internship and I'm still loving everything about it. This week is quieter than most since Congress is in recess until next week, but that just means we're doing lots of planning to get ahead of things for the rest of the summer. The interns are collaborating on a piece on the unseen places of Washington: best breakfast place, best nightlife, best non-Smithsonian museum etc. I'll also be strategizing on how I can get photos of the rest of the Texas delegation in action to finish my photo packages before the end of summer. Even when Congress gets a break, there's still plenty to do around here.

I took a rest from photos this weekend and let my parents take over that responsibility. Below are the photos from our incredibly fun weekend. First, my family outside Blue Duck Tavern. My dad picked a great restaurant and we later found out that's where the Obamas' celebrated their anniversary last year. Next, is our group outside the First Ladies' gowns exhibits at American History. From left to right: my sister Liz, Mom, Madison (friend from high school), Alan, me, and Arleta (friend from high school and roommate for the summer). Third, outside the American History museum is Alan, me, Liz, and Dad. Fourth, us in front of the Lincoln Memorial, after we claimed our very small patch of grass, waiting for the fireworks to start. The fifth photo speaks for itself: nothing like fireworks above the Washington Monument on the 4th of July.

Up close with the president

Yesterday started out with a very somber mood. Senator Byrd's flag drapped casket laid in the Senate Chamber from 10 am to 4 pm for many to come and view. No photos are allowed in the Chamber, but I covered the arrival at the Senate. It was very dramatic so say the least.

That evening I made my first trip inside the White House (before I had only been on the lawn) to see President Obama sign a bill on Iran sanctions in the East Room. He was joined by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Christopher Dodd, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. I hadn't anticipated I would be as close as I was to the president. When he signed the bill, he was about three feet from me. If I leaned forward a bit I probably could've reached out and touched him, but there was a large Secret Service man standing just to my left preventing me from doing so.

Today has been a quiet day at the office so far. Just about every member of the Senate and many White House officials are at Sen. Byrd's memorial service in West Virginia today. The interns will be having a planning meeting this afternoon with our boss to determine how to best use our time in the remaining weeks. And I'm especially looking forward to my family getting into town later this afternoon and a good friend from high school, Madison Asef tomorrow. We should all have a great Fourth of July weekend in DC!

Day three of Kagan coverage

Kagan concluded her testimony today after three days of statements and questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee. I am happy to say I don't have to go back to that hearing room for quite awhile. After spending three days in the same room I'm going a little stir crazy and am ready to move on. The hearings have been enjoyable though. I'm seeing history being made by being apart of a Supreme Court confirmation hearing. I heard rumor I made a few appearances on CSPAN where the hearing was broadcast live and an appearance on NBC Nightly News as well. I thought that was pretty cool. I've put together a third slideshow to sum up the day. It can be viewed here:

http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2010/06/kagan_confirmation_day_three_p.html

Tomorrow will be a slower day for sure. Maybe I'll even get to sit in a chair at my desk instead of kneeling on the floor for eight hours at a time. Check back in tomorrow to see what I end up doing. I haven't had much time to look ahead yet, but I'll definitely figure something out.

Kagan's Confirmation Hearings

Tonight will be a quick post since it's already pretty late. The last two days I've been living and breathing the Kagan hearings and will be for the next couple days too. I've spent at least 10 hours of the last two days photographing and working on multimedia coverage for these hearings with only a short break to photograph Gen. Petraeus' confirmation hearing as U.S. commander of Special Forces in Afghanistan for a few minutes. So far, I've put together a photo gallery for each day of the hearings. Those slideshows will give you the best perspective of what I've been doing during the hearings. For those that care, the hearings are being broadcast live on CSPAN3 and you can occasionally see me up at the front of the room.

Day One:

http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2010/06/kagans_confirmation_day_one_ph.html

Day Two:

http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2010/06/kagans_confirmation_day_two_ph.html

As some of you may have heard, Senator Byrd, who was the longest serving member of the Senate passed away on Monday at age 92. This offered a unique and unexpected opportunity to witness the way Congress mourns. On Monday, the flags at the Capitol flew at half mast and today at the Armed Services Committee hearing with Petraeus, a black drape was placed at his seat. See the photos below.

Day three of Kagan coverage starts tomorrow. We'll finish round one of questions and see where it goes from there. Look for more photos tomorrow if I'm still awake by dinner time.

Epic post after a long weekend

My favorite place that we visited!

My apologies to all for being a slacker on my blog the last couple days. I’ll do my best to recap the last four days and give the reader’s digest version of what’s been going on. Prepare yourself: It’s a long one.

Thursday: On the last day of my short work week, I photographed Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, while he did an interview with Alan on Kagan’s upcoming confirmation hearing. After a short trip back to the office, I went back to the Hill to photograph the conference committee on financial reform. No, I didn’t understand anything they were saying. Unlike most committee hearings where the senators or representatives sit behind the dais like you see on C-SPAN, they were all sitting in a round table format. I have to say I prefer the dais because it’s easier to get unobstructed views of each member of Congress, but the round table offered a great opportunity for candid shots of members of Congress talking with aides, whispering to each other, etc. As some of you may know, the Russian president was in town last week. I attended a photo op with him, the Senate leadership, and several former presidential candidates like McCain and Kerry. It was a pretty powerful room, to say the least. Unfortunately, with so many people in the room and trying to get them all in one shot, it was a terrible time for my wide angle lens to break. I did have another camera with a zoom lens though so I just have really close photos of about two people at a time. Better than nothing, I guess. I’m hoping for a similar photo op later this summer when British Prime Minister David Cameron comes to visit.

Friday: I had an all too early start Friday morning, leaving my apartment at 7:30 to head to Union Station to take Amtrak to Philadelphia. For those that don’t know, the Alan I keep referring to is my boyfriend of a year and a half and we were visiting Philly for his annual check up at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). To put it simply, he has a complicated medical background and after getting sick his junior year of high school, he was sent to CHOP when no doctors in Atlanta could figure out what was wrong with him. After finding an answer at CHOP his case was featured in a New York Times Magazine column on medical mysteries and, for those interested, you can read it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/magazine/15diagnosis-t.html

I was very honored when he asked me to come with him to Philly for his appointment because I know CHOP holds a special place in his heart and mine, as well. I feel forever indebted to Dr. Ichord, who manages his case and is also the doctor who was able to give him an answer to what was wrong. I enjoyed having lunch with her and being able to talk with her not just about Alan, but everyday things too like how our internships in DC are going and everywhere Dr. Ichord has traveled. After lunch, we went to visit a cousin of mine who lives in Philadelphia, Adrienne, who works at a gelato shop. We couldn’t visit long since she was working, but we did sample the gelato: a lemon/ cookies and cream combo that was both sweet and refreshing. We visited the historic district that afternoon and got our picture with the Liberty Bell and at Independence Hall. I must say, taking photos as a tourist is a little weird now. It’s not in my nature to take a snapshot and move on. I’m used to taking photos from all different angles and distances in order to get a true understanding of what is going on at a given scene. Made me think tourist photography was almost a little shallow and that everyone’s pictures will look the same, and it just struck me as very unoriginal. But I won’t go too far on that tangent. That night we had an amazingly delicious dinner at The Melting Pot, of which my favorite part was obviously the dessert chocolate fondue. Cheesecake drizzled in chocolate is terrible for you, but so tasty!

Saturday: We spent a short time in Philly on Saturday before heading to the train station for New York. I hadn’t visited New York since my junior year of high school (also my first trip to NYC), so I was very excited to go back. First priority on our agenda was lunch. We had a wonderful lunch at Bubba Gump at Times Square, although, the one disappointment of the trip came at this time. After a game of Forrest Gump trivia with our waiter, I asked him how many times he had to watch Forrest Gump before being hired. He said it wasn’t a requirement at all and the restaurant just hands out a sheet of trivia questions to ask and the waiters memorize the answers. Not cool. But he earned back a few points when he said he had watched the movie several times to form his own tough trivia questions. After lunch, we went in search of a new wide angle lens, which was a success and then started a pretty rigorous walking tour of New York. From about 4:00- 7:00 we managed to see NBC studios, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Fifth Avenue, M&M World, and Hearst Tower. (Had to visit the home office and, may I say, it’s much nicer than the one I work in.) We had a wonderful dinner at Il Vagabando - thank you Mr. Blinder for the restaurant suggestion – followed by a night-time view of the city on top of the Empire State Building. It’s always a beautiful sight. After a whirlwind day, we crashed early to prepare for one final day in New York.

Sunday: I’m writing this post from the train on my way back to DC after a very busy day in New York. After walking everywhere all day on Saturday, Alan and I decided to experiment with the New York subway in order to save some time traveling between the sites. We somehow managed to squeeze everything in that we wanted to do despite on being in New York for about 29 hours. We started the day with lunch in Chinatown at one of its many Chinese restaurants. I am by no means a pro with chopsticks, but I made do since no silverware was provided. After lunch we went to Ground Zero, which has changed quite a bit since my last visit four years ago. Last time it was still a giant hole in the ground, but there have been great improvements in the construction of a memorial and building around it. We also saw a memorial at the fire station literally across the street from the World Trade Center site. An engraved mural outside the station shows all the faces and names of all the men who died trying to save others. The mural that spans the length of one side of the station says it best: “May we never forget.” Our next stop was Tiffany & Co. I had to stop in and see the famous Tiffany’s of New York. Many other tourists had the same idea. Our visit there was short and sweet, but stayed long enough to see lots of pretty diamonds. I was told by Allie Blinder I simply couldn’t leave New York without stopping at Magnolia Bakery. Man, was she right. Allie, my sister Liz, and I often spend way too much time talking about desserts and which places are best to go and I’m so glad I took her recommendation. I had an excellent chocolate chunk blondie and a homemade lemonade. Yum!

On a personal note, my family gets into town on Friday to spend the Fourth of July in our nation’s capitol. Can’t wait to see Mom, Dad, and my sister Liz and show them the city I’ve come to love over the last three weeks! But first, I must face the week ahead, which includes Kagan’s confirmation hearing and a visit from the Saudi king. At this point I’ve completed a third of my internship. I’m very thankful for the opportunities I’ve had and have really enjoyed watching our government up close. It’s way more interesting than a textbook. I realized how much I had learned when I stood in the Senate Press Gallery on Thursday and watched as many senators came in for a vote. At the start of my summer, I knew Georgia’s senators, the leadership, and maybe a few others, but I found myself able to recognize almost everyone in the room, senators from all regions of the country, from seeing them at various committee hearings or press conferences. I was very pleased and know I will continue learning more and more each day.

Double the Michelles

So as many of you know the president had a busy day handling everything going on with Gen. McChrystal. As a result, he was not able to attend the event with the first lady announcing the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. However, as a bonus a couple a couple members of the council were there including Michelle Kwan and Dominique Dawes, hence the blog title because I saw Michelle Obama and Michelle Kwan. Both beautiful and very well dressed might I add. Watch my slideshow of the event here:

http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2010/06/photo_gallery_get_fit_with_mic_1.html

Or in case you just want to see a few photos...I think you'll recognize these faces.

Tomorrow might be the busiest day yet in Washington. I have five events to photograph and have time to do about three. This excludes any time it will take to edit and produce and photos or multimedia features I need to do. As a result, I'll have to prioritize not just what I want to attend, but use news judgement to figure out what events are most marketable to Hearst's many newspapers, which are non-negotiables, etc. My editors have been great about helping with that process and guiding me in the right direction. To give you some background on the people I'm working with our bureau chief, Rick Dunham, was the former president of the National Press Club and knows virtually everyone in Washington. Chuck Lewis is our senior editor and former bureau chief before Rick. He also served as AP bureau chief here in Washington and has covered presidents as far back as Ford. Both have had pretty impressive careers to say the least and I know I can learn a lot from them.

I'll let you know what I end up covering tomorrow and of course pictures will follow, but for now I'm calling it an early night.

Picking up the pace

My first two weeks have been a great transition into working in DC. Not too fast, not too slow...I've had many opportunities to go out and cover things, but haven't felt overwhelmed yet. And from here starts about two weeks of craziness and at it's center is the confirmation hearings. Everything is prepping for Kagan's hearings and next week actually covering Kagan's hearings. I have a few other events thrown in like getting photos of those debating financial reform and if all goes according to plan an event with the president and first lady tomorrow!

Today I attended an event at the White House on their initiative to end homelessness. Nothing immediately newsworthy came out of it, but it did give me a chance to get some archive photos of four Cabinet secretaries. The photos aren't particularly compelling so instead I'll post some from earlier this afternoon. I spent the afternoon chasing senators through the halls of the Capitol which was actually a lot of fun. On Tuesdays, both parties have luncheons which many members attend. Reporters and photographers will often wait outside the elevators leading up to these luncheons and try to grab the senators for a question or photo before they go inside. After, the leadership of both parties holds a brief press conference. Here are a few of the photos I got. First, the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks with other members of Republican leadership. I posted this photo for two reasons: to admire the gorgeous architecture inside the Capitol and to see the mass amounts of press that gather for these press conferences. The second photo is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Another Monday

Mondays always give me a false impression of the week. They are often slow and involve lots of planning, but that's only so I can try to get ahead of the curve for the next few days. This week is the week before Kagan's confirmation hearing so we are doing a lot of prep work on what to expect during the hearing. Lots of soundslides productions coming soon.

In other news, I'm going to take a moment to vent. I was very exciting about living at George Washington this summer and for the most part I still am. I have a great roommate, a private bathroom, walk in closet etc. However, the kitchen that I paid extra to be sure to get has been a major disappointment. The first time I tried to use the oven it didn't work. Not a huge deal, I filed a maintenance request on Monday. But then it took until Friday for them to fix the oven and during that same period all four eyes on my stove quit working. Fortunately, all was working by Saturday. I was a little irritated it took a week to fix, but I had moved on. Then I came home to cook dinner tonight and guess what? The oven is broken again, won't heat up at all. Thankfully the stove was still working, but who knows if that will continue. Get to make a lovely customer service call tomorrow morning. But anyways, back to journalism.

Here is a link to my slideshow from the Vietnam Memorial event on Father's Day I mentioned in my previous post: http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2010/06/they_were_our_fathers.html

Things to look forward to this week include another White House visit tomorrow, some hearings on financial reform, a possible event with the President and First Lady (not every day that they do events together), and prep for Kagan confirmation hearings. Should be a very busy week indeed, but I'll do my best to keep y'all posted as I go through it.

Weekends are way too fast

I had a fantastic weekend of both working and touring. Since Alan had pool duty on Saturday, Arleta and I took the opportunity to see some girly sites that Alan wouldn't enjoy. (See bottom of post and I'll explain pool duty and give you an inside look to the media and how it works.) First we ended up at the mall, not the National Mall, but a traditional shopping mall and obviously shopped accompanied by frozen yogurt that was delicious! We spent the better part of the afternoon at the National Museum of American History looking at the first ladies' gowns and accessories they've donated over the years. May I just say Abigail Adams had really tiny feet. I think my favorite gown was a toss up between Laura Bush and Michelle Obama. I loved the red color of Laura's dress, but the one-shoulder design of Michelle's. After, we ventured downstairs we went and saw Julia Child's kitchen. Since I just saw the movie earlier this year it was very real and cool to see exactly how her kitchen was laid out.

Sunday was more of a work day. I went with one of our reporting interns, Dana, to an event at the Vietnam Memorial where sons and daughters of those that lost their lives in Vietnam gather to celebrate the lives of their fathers each year on Father's Day. It was a very different atmosphere from the crowded, intense BP hearings I have been covering. An event as reverent as this one was refreshing and I felt blessed to be there. I relaxed and did some laundry and dishes this afternoon. Alan's friend from Alabama, Ian, got into town for his internship this afternoon so we along with Arleta went out to dinner with him at a place called Clyde's. Great food, not so good service. Not sure yet what this week will bring, but as always I'll k

eep you posted. Photos below are from today's event at the Vietnam Memorial. First, a man touches his rose to his father's name at the Wall. Over 2,000 roses were laid today. And second, the presentation of the colors.

Now to explain pool duty. Pool duty is a rotating system where a print reporter joins the regulars of the White House Press Pool on their assigned day for their paper. The rotation is done alphabetically. One print reporter is always in the pool to provide all the other print reporters with up to date info on the president and what he is doing. These are called pool reports and are sent out in live time, especially when the president is on the move or changing activities, etc. On Saturday, it was the Houston Chronicle's turn for pool duty and so Alan was sent. The president also known as POTUS (president of the United States) spent the day playing golf at Andrews Air Force Base with Biden. To give you an inside look on the reports the media gets on a daily basis I'm going to copy Alan's pool reports below.

Pool report #1: POTUS, who was not seen by the pool, left the South Lawn at 1:01, bound for golf at Andrews.

Motorcade of SUVs, which stopped at most lights, was uneventful and featured waving tourists and the occasional oblivious driver, who soon became knowledgeable of their surroundings with some encouragement using lights and sirens.
POTUS, still out of sight of the pool, arrived at 1:30. His playing partners are unknown to this point.
Now heading to our holding place.

Pool report #2: Just got word POTUS' playing partners are Biden, Marvin Nicholson and former campaign photographer David Katz. Pool is holding in the food court at Andrews.

Pool report #3: After playing 18 holes with three others - including the vice president
- POTUS departed Andrews at 5:49. The pool never saw POTUS. Your pool spent its afternoon in the food court, discussing snow cone flavors and the unusual works of art for sale, many of which featured POTUS, while eating fried seafood from Captain D's. To our disappointment, not a single TV was carrying the World Cup (all-star matchup of Cameroon v. Denmark), forcing an afternoon viewing of the College World Series' opening round. Motorcade of SUVs, which arrived at the White House at 6:13, got interesting by the Holocaust Museum when a few cyclists tried to run through the motorcade while we were stopped at a light. Your pool saw one black-clad agent with a weapon drawn emerge from a vehicle, and a car of agents remained after for what is likely to be an unpleasant discussion. We went lights and siren for the rest of the trip, which was
then uneventful. One additional note: David Katz's official title is now energy efficiency campaign manager at DOE.

Pool report #3a: Pool has now seen video of POTUS' departure from the White House at 1:01. He appears to have been wearing an ivory polo shirt, but our fashion sense is limited.

Pool report #4: We have a lid.

A lid means that the press is free to leave because the president isn't doing anything else for the day.

Thanks to all those who are reading my blog and keeping up with me. If there's ever something you want to hear more about or anything like that feel free to leave me a comment.

Published in a different way

Yesterday was an exciting day of bouncing back and forth between two major hearings. On the House side, I was photographing the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, and on the Senate side I was photographing Secretary Clinton, Secretary Gates, Secretary Chu, and Admiral Mullen who were testifying together on the New START Treaty. The underground subways that connect the buildings and that I have access to with my press pass definitely came in handy that day. So as the title of my post mentions while I was at the Hayward hearing I was in photos taken by the NY Times and AP. As a result, I was in the lead photos on nytimes.com, latimes.com, and politico.com for a few hours yesterday. I'm also in the front page photos in the print edition of the New York Times, Denver Post, St. Petersburg Times, and Chicago Daily Herald. And yes, I have a copy of the New York Times and my mom probably has more. So it wasn't my photo on the front pages, but I thought being able to see myself on the front pages was pretty cool too.

Here is the link to the NY Times photo followed by a few photos of my own from Thursday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/politics/18spill.html?hp

Look towards the middle of the photo. I'm one of two females in the picture.

Tony Hayward, CEO of BP, with jaw clenched as he listens to the opening remarks by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.


From left to right Secretary of Energy Chu, Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mullen. There's a lot of power in that picture and don't they all look thrilled to be there.

Getting Published

So today was going to be a relatively quiet day at the office with just a few video interviews this afternoon, but after getting to the office I saw there was a hearing with the CEOs of Continental and United testifying about their merger. Since Continental is headquartered in Houston I ran over to the Hill to snap some photos real quick. I found out later tonight that my photo will appear in tomorrow's business section of the Houston Chronicle, possibly on the front page of the section. I've had photos online so far during my internship, but this will be my first photo in print. Houston is also a top ten paper in terms of circulation so that's pretty exciting as well. Here is my photo of United CEO Glenn Tilton and Continental CEO Jeff Smisek as they testify before the House Transportation Committee.

Later this afternoon Alan and I did another video interview with a NATO leader, a prime minister too...of Latvia. Don't worry, I had to look up where Latvia is on Google too. We're working on a video series of world views of the United States since Obama has become president. Believe it or not, Latvia was the country that was hit worst by the economic recession so it was very interesting to hear his opinion. I'm still working through some issues with trying to get video off the video camera since no computers will recognize the device, but we'll see how it goes.

Tomorrow includes two hearings simultaneously that I need to be at. First, Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates, and Secretary of Energy Chu are testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee. It's not every day you see three members of the cabinet together. Also, the chairman of BP is testifying before the House Energy Committee in another building so it'll be interesting to juggle both.

Starting to wind down week two and still loving every minute of my job. Each day brings new experiences and new challenges. New people to talk to and new places to try and get published. Looking forward to developing relationships with photo editors at the Hearst papers and being better able to serve their photo needs in Washington.

My First Trip to the White House

I knew today would be a big day because the five executives of the major oil companies were testifying today before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Since BP is headquartered in Houston and Hearst owns the Houston Chronicle I was there to photograph the hearing along with the rest of Washington. Here's my photo of all five executives getting sworn in.

During the hearing, General Petraeus was testifying on the Senate side in another hearing. As I'm sure as many of you know, he passed out during his testimony. Alan Blinder, a fellow Hearst intern was I believe the first to break the news on Twitter. I then overheard another photographer saying she was about to head over to see Petraeus so I had the pleasure as the newbie photographer to break the news to her. None of the veteran photographers knew of the instance so I was pleased that I had been the first to know.

After three hours and 1,000 photos of the oil hearing I went to lunch. While I was eating in the Senate cafeteria my phone rang and it was our senior editor. I answered and he quickly told me that if I could be at the White House in 20 minutes I could photograph the president's arrival on the south lawn as he came back from the Gulf Coast. I don't think I've ever moved so fast. Grabbed my stuff, threw my food away, and bolted for the closest exit of Dirksen, one of the Senate office buildings. Lucky enough, there was a cab sitting out front and I think I scared the driver when I told him I need to get to the White House ASAP. Lots of uncertainties crossed my mind of not knowing where I was going, if I would get hung up at security since I was a first time visitor etc. I arrived 17 minutes later, cleared security with no problems, and began to find my way to the press room. Took a wrong turn the first time around, but after finding someone else with a press badge I found my way to the right spot and waited. An agent came to escort us to the south lawn and then more waiting. I took in the beautiful view of the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial at the other end of the lawn and of course the gorgeous mansion that was behind me. It was all a bit surreal, but I snapped back to it when I saw not one or two, but three helicopters flying towards us all weaving in and out. One by one they peeled off as they got closer and then the president's helicopter started to land. As someone who has never been around a helicopter before I was nearly blown away. I hid behind my camera to avoid the dirt flying in my eyes. After the marine opened the helicopter Mr. President himself appeared a few moments later. He waved briefly to the tourists and press whowere there to greet him before heading into the Oval Office to prepare for tonight's speech. So within the hour my White House visit was concluded, but it was definitely memorable. The president and for those who care, Marine One.

A Slower Day in Washington

I'm winding down a very quiet Monday at the office. It's amazing how much calmer Washington is when there are no press conferences and hearings as most of Congress gets back into town tonight. I started the day by picking up my photo pass from the Senate Press Photographers' Gallery. Previously, Hearst had given me paperwork for a daily print pass, but that doesn't put me in the area with the other photographers during hearings and committee meetings on the Hill. It was an easy mistake to make for a bureau that doesn't usually have a photographer around, but I'm glad I was able to get it all cleared up. The bureau had our weekly staff meeting at 11:30 where the interns out numbered the full time staff (nine of us here this summer). The buzz words around the table were energy, oil, and financial reform. Since financial reform isn't very visual in nature, I'll be working on a soundslides presentation of the BP Oil Spill from start to finish. It will cover the highlights of what has been going on there, including some AP photos from the gulf, audio from initial reports of the TV broadcasts and some photos of my own when 5 CEOs of major oil companies testify before the House Energy Committee tomorrow. I'll post the link here when it's finished.

My afternoon will consist of video editing from a couple interviews last week to produce a 3 minute video of clips on the New START treaty. Hopefully a low key night will follow before I dive into several projects this week. So far, there's no photo of the day since I've just been in my cubicle, but if I go out to do something touristy later I'll be sure to put something up.

A Relaxing Weekend

To wrap up this week, I enjoyed the weekend as a tourist. Slept in on Saturday and watched the US tie England in the World Cup. I consider it a victory any way. Alan and I took a walk down I street, (where I live) which turns into Pennsylvania Avenue. It's really fun to be less than a 10 minute walk from the White House so we can just go see it whenever. After that, Alan, me, and my roommate ( a friend from high school) Arleta went to an awesome sports bar in Adams Morgan and watched the Braves beat the Twins! We also had a fantastic, but terribly unhealthy dessert of fried oreos. I think I need to do a lot more walking to get rid of all of those calories. After dinner, we ventured to the Lincoln Memorial and it was such a beautiful sight. The serenity and breeze made for a perfect evening to tour the Korea and Vietnam memorials as well. A very moving and powerful experience indeed. I loved being able to see the Washington Monument and the Capitol lit up at the other end of the Mall too. It was too dark for pictures, otherwise I would definitely include some.

Sunday was another laid back day. Alan, Arleta, and I went to the Newseum and stayed for three and a half hours. We still didn't get to see everything so we'll have to go back sometime. It was especially interesting since I'm a journalism nerd. I probably spent way too long in the Pulitzer Prize photos exhibit and Walter Iooss' sports photos. I saw Tim Russert's office as well which has been preserved at the Newseum for all to come and see. On the sixth floor there was a terrace with a spectacular view so we had to take some pictures there.

In journalism, the things I am covering can change in an instant. I have some idea of what my schedule will be this week, but it doesn't always work out like it's supposed to. If all goes according to plan, some things to look forward to include a hearing with several CEOs of major oil companies, photographing the Secretaries of State and Defense, and my first trip inside the gates of the White House!

The rest of week one

The rest of my week seemed to go by in a flash, weekend included. I've had many other firsts since my last post too. I'll try to give everyone the highlights and get on a daily blogging schedule this week.

Tuesday day was supposed to be a quiet day at the office, but then Admiral Allen, National Incident Commander of the BP oil spill announced a press conference the following morning. Since Hearst owns the Houston Chronicle and BP is headquartered in Houston this oil spill definitely matters. I was able to get some good shots of Admiral Allen which will be a part of a project I'll be working on this week: a soundslides presentation of the oil spill from start to finish. On Wednesday, I briefly visited the Czech Republic. Alan and I had a video interview with the Czech Ambassador and when you visit the embassy you are technically in that country. The embassy was in a beautiful area on the outskirts of Washington and had a modern, cool architectural flare on it's interior.

Thursday was by far my busiest day of the week. It began with the Senate Finance Committee meeting that I mentioned in my previous post. I saw my first member of the Cabinet there and look forward to seeing a few more this upcoming week. From the Hill, I went to another video interview with Ambassador Ryan Crocker who served in many Middle Eastern countries. Alan and I interviewed him at The Willard, a beautiful DC hotel. That afternoon I photographed another hearing where 4 women and 1 young girl shared their personal testimonies regarding immigration and why they oppose the Arizona immigration reform law. Below is a photo of the young girl crying as she retold the tale of her parents being arrested by the deputies and how she still fears them today.

Thursday night I attended my first movie premiere, technically documentary premiere titled "Gerrymandering," featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hearst also owns the San Francisco Chronicle so they sent me to get a picture of their governor at the event. After the documentary, the press waited on the sidewalk for Schwarzenegger to come out of the theater to take questions before he left. Many tourists asked who we were waiting for. Some didn't believe us when we told them, but those that waited around got to see the governator himself before he hopped in his black suburban. Here is one of my photos from the event.

On Friday, I was thankful for a quiet day. I just had two video interviews with Steve Hadley, Bush's National Security Advisor and Ambassador Tom Pickering who served in places like India, Israel and the United Nations. To clarify, all of these video interviews will be divided into two episodes. Hadley and Pickering will be in one episode, to be online later this week, discussing New START. The other names I have mentioned will be combined with other interviews to come this summer to create a video on how the world view of the United States has or hasn't changed since Obama took office. I'll provide links here when those videos are completed.

Even in such a short amount of time this internship has been so rewarding and I know that feeling will only continue to grow. As a first time visitor to DC, I have been given the special privilege of getting an inside and up close look on how our government operates. Berry prides itself on allowing students to experience firsthand how their academic studies can carry over into the practical application of a student work position and that is exactly what this internship has done for me. I have had the privilege of shooting alongside Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Scott Applewhite when I covered Geithner and shooting the White House with many other tourists. I am absolutely loving every minute of being in DC and while I may be exhausted when I lay down every night, my energy is renewed when I think about the excitement of the day to come. Every day brings something new and that is what I love the most about what I'm doing.