First, just a little lighting back story… At our last event back in Manhattan, in an effort to improve on the photographs, Rob decided to add a couple of lights to the set up. We decided to forgo the economy of packing as few pieces of equipment as possible, in favor of more interesting images. And in an effort to reduce the need for retouching a wrinkly makeshift travel backdrop on the road, Rob bought a new special light just for the backdrop, which we expected to solve this problem.

So on Friday we packed my parent’s RAV4 in a jigsaw puzzle formation that we prayed we could duplicate once we started taking things out. We left our apartment in Brooklyn midday, in what I hope was sufficient shape for a sublet-er, who I’ve only ever spoken to on the phone. We were very ambitious, leaving town our first day out to head directly to shoot and event in Easton, PA: a “Birthday Party for Barack” at Larry Holmes Ringside bar and restaurant. We arrived with plenty of time to set up our gear before people started to arrive for the event, but we soon realized that our new lighting set up was creating a few unforeseen problems. We were finding that we really needed a larger space than we had originally expected (Rob can fill you in on the technical aspects of lighting in his own entry!) But we muddled through that first shoot with the encouragement of the lovely Obama supporters we met at the event. In attendance were around two dozen local volunteers from two different counties, who were organizing and supporting each other’s efforts online. I think we even managed to get a few good pictures, despite Rob still having to put in some time in the ol’ Photoshop, to iron out the most wrinkly backdrop yet!

We then had to scramble to pack up to make it to Jake Oberholtzer’s house before 11pm. Jake is an Obama campaign volunteer in Allentown, PA (Lehigh Valley For Obama!) After signing up for his Barack-BQ, which is to take place later this week, I contacted Jake to let him know that we had pushed our trip up and would be leaving a week earlier than we had originally planned, and wouldn’t be able to come to his event after all as we would be somewhere in the middle of Indiana when it actually took place. Jake was gracious enough to offer Rob and me his guest room for the night we would be in the area. When we pulled up to his house in a quiet suburb of Allentown at 11:01, we found a one story ranch house displaying several Obama signs in the windows and yard. Jake welcomed us into his home, the opening ceremonies of the Olympics blaring in the background, and explained that his mother, with whom he lives, was already asleep. He encouraged us to make ourselves at home and we settled in for a well deserved sleep.

In the morning we met Grace, Jakes mom, who explained that the large Nixon poster hanging above the bed that we had just slept in had belonged to her late husband who died last year of pancreatic cancer. Jake’s dad had been a lifelong Republican. But Grace, having been a cardiovascular nurse for many years, had become increasingly involved in campaigning for universal health care, and both she and Jake found themselves making the switch from the Good Old Party. Jake, for his part, is extremely active in an online political forum (the name of which I can’t remember) and he filled us in on everything from the rumors of possible VP candidates, to the underhanded tactics of the McCain camp. Before we headed on our way we took a portrait of Jake in front of his house, our red carpet unfurled from his front door.