An inviation to WALK WITH ME through 01.20.09 in Washington. Bring your eyes !

[Mira]

I want to show what it was like to arrive at 4:30 am and be there for Washington to wake up.
You'll shuttle with me into town - walk to the mall - wait at the mall and watch the people entertain themselves and each other.
The excitement of the day, the exhilaration of the inauguration is hart to show.
But if you view my photos as a story you will hopefully be walking right along with the cold, thrilled unbelievable huge mass of happy people.
You will see what I saw and at the end go with me towards the shuttles and a new day.

Enjoy !

[Subdivisions]

1. I was there, somewhere, right beside you the entire way...

except for the bus parts :). Really, I was parked at the Nationals Park garage and I walked the exact same route you did. It was a cool experience. I'll never forget it. My walk with you.

[arcadian]

2. I was at the Washington Monument.

I saw Obama on Sunday though, his motoracde went right by me.

[kwassa]

3. Great pictures, good coverage.

I was there and took a little video, but went through ticket insanity. My wife had my still camera and a Purple ticket, which means she never made it in.

You would make a good photojournalist, as you know how to tell a story with pictures, and good pictures, too.

[Mira]

4. Thank you very much for the compliment. You know what shocked me

is that they never ever checked a bag, or anything. I came prepared to be wanded, and wondered just how they would do that.
I'm glad you like my pictures. I used a small canon digital, 10 megapixels. I love taking pictures.

[kwassa]

5. Security was a joke, and they never checked for tickets, either.

I was in the silver ticket area. There, people were so close together it was hard to see anything but the back of people's heads. I did a little video by holding the camera up over my head and pointing it in the right direction.

I also have a Canon digital mini-camera, which my wife had, and she didn't shoot anything because she wanted to shoot the event itself, and never got in. At least she was lucky to not be stuck in the tunnel.

I think you have a very good eye for composition in your pictures. I think you also shoot pictures of people well, which is not easy to do.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

6. Oh, Mira...........

You captured everything about that day - the brightness, the hope, the peacefulness, the brother- and sisterhood, the sense of community, that absolute, unyielding, hard-won JOY.

These are a beautiful story of a beautiful day. Kudos to you for braving the cold and the crowds and the exhausting journey to give us lazybones who chose to watch it all from the comfort of our homes a feeling for what it was like to be RIGHT THERE. Thank you for all your work and your beautiful artist's eye.

You did good, Mira................

[Celebration]

7. I am hopelessly unsentimental

And there is a tear on my cheek.

[malaise]

8. Beautiful

Thank you.

K & R

[mimitabby]

9. wonderful!

but did you ever get to see the President?

these are wonderful fotos! did you ask the guy with the scarf where he got it?


recommended!

[Mira]

14. Mimi - I searched all the stands for that scarf, I wanted one in the worst way

Nada! I saw many of them actually, on people, and a hat to match. Wonderful. And no, in person none of us on the mall saw the President. We were shoulder to shoulder with our huge screens, and that was just fine.
I can't wait, actually, to sit down and watch the inauguration on TV, my kid taped it and promised to send it.
I somehow missed seeing Cheney in the wheel chair. A must see for me.

Since we all know the bastard does not do his own lifting of boxes, unless it is boxes of money onto the top of his hearse, he got injured crawling out of the undisclosed location but can't admit it.

Could be the guy whom he shot in the face came after him and beat him up, since he was getting to be a has-been and all.
We'll never know.
Where I would have preferred he stay after we nail shut the doors and cement the windows.

Geez - just imagine - they are gone.
The whole stinking lot of them.

[Kaleko]

10. What a journey it has been...

What dedication all these people have shown, braving the cold and those long, exhausting waits, just to bear witness to one of the most thrilling moments in the history of the world, when a black Jedi knight took over from Darth and Bushler, the defeated leaders of the evil empire.

Woo hoot!!

[Cabcere]

11. What wonderful pictures!

:D Thank you so much for posting them. :hi:

[CraftyGal]

12. Wow, you brouhgt the day into perspective!

Great pictures!

CraftyGal

[onethatcares]

13. I was there with you too, even though

I was 1000 miles away. I walked beside each and everyone of you as you watched in person.

Peace to all of you.

[Raine]

15. COOL ... THANKS

for posting those ... GREAT pix! :thumbsup:

[livetohike]

16. Thanks so much for posting these

:hi: I was glued to the TV all day and these shots are just great - I do feel that I was there too :-).

[OffWithTheirHeads]

17. K&R

[JeffR]

18. K & R

Thanks for sharing these!

:fistbump:

[deaniac21]

19. Who were those people with fur coats?

[Mira]

24. I did not ask them :) ! There were more

expensive fur coats on that mall than one would have expected. I did a double take myself, and I had wanted to get them from the front but was not able to.

[Tsiyu]

20. That was fun

You did a great job putting it all together.

Thanks so much for sharing with us. :)

[madeline_con]

21. Beautiful! It must have been awesome in person!

You did a great job, and were a part of history! Nice!

[alfredo]

22. Kick

[Garbo 2004]

23. Great pics! Thanks for sharing. n/t

[raccoon]

25. Thanks for those great pix! nt

[stuntcat]

26. all of these are great!

I like the ones of the HUGE crowd going down the streets the best.

I was there, near the Washington monument!

[Mira]

27. For the first time ever in my life I took pictures holding the camera over my head

I don't think it worked very well.
Stilts?