Lilly Is Fighting for Us! Equal Pay Act Passes Senate

Okay, I am well behind on this blog....this week has been just full of shoots and opportunities that I think are incredibly cool and I really want to share them all. But, see, shoots and opportunities don't leave a whole lot of time in front of the computer...especially when one included 9 hours of driving in a 24 hour period with an opportunity sandwiched right in the middle. More on that in a minute.

The morning after the inauguration, when Sarah and I became popsicles for the cause...interviewing vendors, out of towners, elders and youngin's down at the inauguration...



And sarah getting the tables turned on her by this interesting documentarian...

I had the joy of photographing the 2009 Inaugural Peace Ball at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. An impressive space spectacularly appointed and filled to the brim with drinks and vittles by Star Catering...the ball was the most fun formal event i have been to in DC.
The attendees here waiting for the entertainment to begin....1500 strong....very well behaved until Micheal Franti got them to their feet...


Great performers such as the legendary Joan Baez:


Joan was almost disarmingly gentle and sweet...she's an icon that we would all fawn over, yet after getting off stage, she smiled sweetly for my wildly nervous lens and gave me a hug...
And then one of my favorite event pictures ever, the daughter of civil rights activist Dick Gregory, singing a prelude to his performance...

And Dick Gregory:


And of course, Alice Walker, the writer who made all the reporters in the room melt with respect, envy and a healthy dose of intimidation....


So those are the cliff notes on the inauguration and the ball...not to be outdone by the next day's honor of photographing Lilly Ledbetter. 70 years old and from Alabama, Lilly's boldness and conviction in the right of women to earn equal pay for an equal day's work is silently and profoundly benefitting us all.


Two days after I took these photographs, January 24th, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was passed by the Senate and will be signed into law.

I bit off more than I can chew with this blog, so come on back for the '9 hours of driving in a 24 hour period with an opportunity sandwiched right in the middle' post....