Everyone else got to shake hands with the Duke and Duchess and all I got was this fancy lanyard
My 2011 Royal Tour Media Accreditation (and lanyard).
By Dave Blaine, Voyager Photography
- Is this what they call a “media circus”? If so, then this was my first. I’ve certainly covered many newsworthy events in my time, but each of those were primarily of local interest (flying under the radar of the larger media networks); or events of wider acclaim held in a more private or semi-private milieu.
- I’m not entirely certain how things fell into place so that my first “media circus” should be the final days of the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s 2011 Royal Tour
- , but be that as it may, it was a memorable experience.
There were many unforgettable moments in this whirlwind couple of days: jockeying for position to get that one crucial photo as the Royal couple exited BMO Centre on Thursday night following Prince William’s address; Capturing Will and Kate in casual western garb as they sounded the klaxon officially opening the Calgary Stampede; the Duke’s inspection of the Guard of Honour and a unit of the Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group from the Canadian Forces Base in Edmonton.
For me however, the real highlight was the Duke and Duchess’s honouring of Canada’s fallen soldiers at Calgary’s Rotary Challenger Park. It was an intimate and poignant moment, with surprisingly few press on hand as most were on the parade grounds anticipating William’s inspection and the official departure ceremony.
Here though was the real connection: the Prince, in his heart a soldier, desiring and training diligently for a military career and denied active combat service due to his position. William and Catherine stood before the Portraits of Honour mural (redirected from Peterborough to Calgary just for this occasion); stretching 10 feet tall by 40 feet wide, featuring the faces of the 156 Canadian soldiers, sailors and aircrew who have lost their lives in Afghanistan.
They greeted the Portraits of Honour Tour’s assembled national committee members and the mural’s artist Dave Sopha. Genuinely moved by the display, the Duke and Duchess laid an ornate wreath before the mural and observed an extended moment of silence. It was an historic moment. Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, members of a monarchy as historically significant to Canada as her unflinching and distinguished military role, acknowledging our personal sacrifice for the freedom of others; the pursuit of genuine peace; and the good in this world that will always be worth fighting for.
I will keep my fancy lanyard, thank you very much, and I will fondly remember my fleeting brush with the next generation of royalty, my generation, despite not having gotten the handshake I now realize just how badly I wanted.
Dave Blaine is the owner and operator of Calgary-based Voyager Photography, specializing in commercial product, process and event photography . Visit his website at www.voyagerphoto.com
All images provided by Dave Blaine unless otherwise stated.
Originally published on http://voyagerphoto.org/
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