In a funny sort of way, covering the Royal Wedding is a bit like bad sex: you spend so much time preparing, getting ready, finding your positions, and then it's all over in a few seconds. This somewhat crude analogy applies equally to taking pictures at the public spectacle of Prince William and Kate Middleton's Big Day. Forget obtaining accreditation for a space outside Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, on the tribunes along the procession route, or any other fixed position, as a freelancer you might as well forget any of those altogether.
So I went scouting the previous days, checked access through barriers in the cordons surrounding the procession route, picked my spot, turned up early, and yet the crowds had already gathered long before me. Predictable, really. I inched my way in, as close to a barrier at The Mall as I could get, mounted a camera on my monopod, attached a remote release, held it a good two metres above me, pointed slightly downwards and fired a few frames.
The arrival and passing of the newly-wed couple was discernible by the volume of cheers and the direction of heads turning in the crowd. My camera on the pole followed, clicking away and I came up with a good image shot from a position well away from the royals. Since this event resembles a media overkill of hitherto unknown proportions, I simply didn't try competing with the wires - all you have is a few seconds as the carriage rolls past, and the rest is feature work.
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