It was hot. Although the observatory said the temperature hovered around 16 to 20 degrees for the two days the King was in Ottawa to open Parliament, press positions were often unshaded, on concrete, with no access to water or toilets outside the secured area. If we left the secured area, we wouldn’t be able to return to our positions.
In total, I spent nine hours in the sun over two nearly cloudless days. Perfect weather for photography and sunburns. Several pasty journalists showed up with sun hats and umbrellas to shield their translucent skin from the deadly ultraviolet rays.
The press had to be in position about two hours ahead of each event, so we spent most of our time talking amongst ourselves. We trained our cameras at the crowds to adjust the settings prior to the dignitaries’ arrivals and talked about food, all the food we weren’t able to eat because we were stuck on a podium.
The Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, the Governor General and a score of MPs showed up. My main mission was to photograph them as tastefully as possible for file photos and do a same-day writeup of the speech from the throne.
Between the bomb-sniffing dogs looking for explosives in our camera bags and the ushering between press positions, I got very little done while I was outside. And after the King left, I went to bed and slept for 12 hours straight.
This article is part of a series called Backstory where I reveal how feature and in-depth stories were crafted. You can find more with the Backstory tag by searching “Backstory” in the search bar.
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