The next justice

It was interesting to hear yesterday that President Obama has chosen Elena Kagan for his new Supreme Court pick.

I've photographed her several times. The last time was on the day she was sworn in as U.S. solicitor general. Her swearing-in ceremony was closed, but I caught up with her on the steps of the Supreme Court before she went in.

It turns out to have been a very appropriate setting.

My Grandfather's Television

I got a call from a magazine client looking for a cover image. It's to go with a story analyzing television coverage of former Chief Justice William Rehnquist. We discussed the possibility of using a shot of Rehnquist with media (I didn't have a good one), and then turned to the option of a studio illustration.

I have here in my office a black & white television that once belong to my grandfather. He passed away more than 30 years ago, but his TV still works great (at least until the switch to digital broadcast comes in February!). I thought I could put it to use.

The shoot worked out well. A frame grab of Rehnquist with his distinctive Gilbert-and-Sullivan-inspired gold stripes was easy to find. Ring lighting helped create the distinctive shadows on the green background.

And the TV is appropriate, because I often think of my grandfather when photographing the Supreme Court. He liked to debate the court's decisions and constitutional questions with his grandson when he visited us in Miami each summer. He might have hoped I'd become a lawyer, or feared I'd become a journalist - but perhaps never imagined I'd so often end up photographing the people, the building itself, and the issues of the highest court.

Supreme Court cyclist

I'd heard that Walter Dellinger, a constitutional law professor and leading Supreme Court advocate, often biked to the court when he would argue cases. So when the DC gun-control case went before the court, a case Delllinger would argue, I emailed him the day before oral arguments to ask whether he might be biking the next day, and whether I could take some photos.

Dellinger called me just minutes after I sent the email. I was suprised - lawyers preparing for a Supreme Court case often go into a special intense preparation zone in the days or weeks before arguments, somewhat like a presidential candidate before a debate. Maybe Dellinger, always gracious, was glad for the diversion. But he said he'd be glad to work with me, and we agreed to meet outside his office early the next morning.

The photography was a blast. I'd photograph him pedaling, then hop on my own bike and speed ahead to get positioned for the next shot. I've never raced someone up Capitol Hill before for a photo. (I was doing maybe 2.5 mph up the Hill, just ahead of Dellinger's 2.25.)

The photos have run in publications from DC to San Francisco, and several blogs too. Now Dellinger and his unusual Supreme Court pre-game warmup have made bicycling.com, along with an excellent interview/story by David L'Heureux. It's worth checking out just for the tale of how Janet Reno once found a forceful way to make sure Dellinger used a bike helmet. See the story at: http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s-3-583-17104-1,00.html.