White House Photowalk, Part I

The Setup

On April 21st, 2012, I had the pleasure of attending the first Google+/White House Garden Photowalk. I was selected by the White House, along with 27 other photographers from around the region and the country by submitting an original nature photograph and writing a few lines about why I'd like to go. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that I would love to go but the chances of it actually happening seemed slim. Google+ is populated by thousands of talented photographers and this would no doubt be a popular contest. I wasn't sure how many were to be selected but I knew it was worth a shot.

I submitted a macro shot of some moss with strange red and green seta stalks rising up, a sign of Spring and  regeneration. I wrote something to the effect of "I enjoy finding subjects that may not be noticed at first and I'd love to see the how the Obama's have set up their gardens." 

If they were going to select you, you would be notified by April 18th at 5pm.

On April 18th at 4:58pm, the White House added me to their circles. A few minutes later I received a note from "The Office of Digital Strategy" notifying me that I was selected and I needed to email someone to give my  info and, upon security clearance, I was ready to go.

The 5:20am Wake-Up Call

I didn't get into my hotel until 9pm, the night before the photowalk. I had everything unpacked. I cleaned off my lenses and watched the Los Angeles Lakers get completely torn apart by the San Antonio Spurs. By midnight, I was asleep. I woke up to a combination of the phone ringing, my alarm clock going off and my cell phone blaring "Kinesta" by Bela Fleck. I needed all the help I could get. After a few minutes, and realizing what was about to take place, I was up, moving and in my car by 6am. 

The 40 minute drive into Washington DC was easy. I hit some construction and the detour was 4th Street NE- the exact road I had planned on taking anyway. I parked my car at Union Station and hightailed it to the taxis waiting out front. I chose Union Station because it had ample parking, plenty of public transportation and was only a few miles from the White House. I was hoping to get some pictures of it after the walk, however most of the interior was under construction. My taxi driver was a quiet, older gentleman, as I got into the cab I noticed he was listening to talk radio. 

"Wow, there's a lot of construction going on here", I small-talked.

"Some folks call it con-struction, I call it de-struction", he replied.

James Brown came on the radio. 

It was glorious.

We made our way to the Northwest Visitor gate and my guy dropped me off. I paid the fare, tipped him, he thanked me and I was minutes away from something... but I wasn't quite sure what.

The Garden Tour

As people gathered at the gate, small talk was predominant. I met a few fellow Googleplussers and introductions went around. I met a few people that I had noticed before on G+ but as anyone can tell you, there are many different folks with varied interests from all over the world on the site. It's quite different than any website I've used and eventually, as Brian Rose has mentioned to me, all of Google's services are going to be merged into one. 

As a side note, Brian Rose has one of THE greatest jobs in the world. If you don't know of him, Google him.

Anyway, we were given passes, let in through the security gate, thoroughly x-rayed and scanned. I'm proud to say that everyone made it through. A White House staffer met us and walked us around the West side of the building and... there we were. It didn't take long for folks to start taking pictures. We listened politely and were led through a side hallway, just inside the White House... a shortcut through to the First Lady's Vegetable garden. It was smaller than I had imagined, almost humble, but the plants were growing and the smell of green vegetation permeated through the crisp morning air.

"Now, people actually do eat these vegetables... the Presidents Family, Guests.... so don't do anything to them." our guide told us. 

We were then let into-- and were freely walking around-- the raised gardens. I really couldn't believe it. There we were, a fairly random cross-section of citizens, hunkering over onions, getting close-ups of bees on lettuce patches, rows of cilantro and spinach. I took a second to breathe it all in, got a shot from above my head of all the photographers and before I knew it, it was on to the next sight. 

The tour took to foot and we walked around the smaller road inside the South Lawn. A presidential putting green? A makeshift orchestra pit set up for the Garden Tour event later in the day. A beautiful fountain with the Washington Monument in the background. A long-shot of the White House and then back around, past a display of winter birds, then the Rose Garden. Now, there wasn't very much going on in the Rose Garden, but we did see the chairs where the famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) "Beer Summit" happened.

And then, on the far side of the road, where we just were 15 minutes prior, our first celebrity sighting:

Bo, the First Dog.


(to be continued)