We’re Not Really Here

The objective was to photograph a defense analyist in a classified location, the National Defense University, in their lobby. I didn’t want to overcomplicate the shot, so I used just a single light, with a missle behind her, and more importantly, the large glass walls, which was supposed to illustrate a transition of “transparency” of her work, and that of the type of work she does.

The machinations necessary, including scrapping the shoot on one day, because “our paperwork was not in order” meant returning another day, as we were turned away, and had to come back after our clearances had been worked out

When we arrived, and cleared into the building, we had a minder, who’s job it was to ensure that no one else was photographed, except our subject. We had a great setup, with a missle for a backdrop, and beautiful glass walls. We had to pause each time someone came within 50 feet of our location, which, for a busy lobby midday, meant a lot of pauses.

Normal delivery of files online for client review and download was the need for this assignment.

In the end, I was pleased with the results of the shoot- but a bit like a sausage factory, you didn’t want to see how many hoops and obstacles we surmounted to arrive at these photos.