For those of us who didn't manage to make it to Washington DC for the inauguration of President Barack Obama, 39 East photographer Dana was there shooting on spec for several press agencies. Here's her first person account of the experience.
The crowds on Sunday, the day of the Inauguration Concert at the Lincoln Memorial gave me a real indication of how crazy it would be on Tuesday the morning of the Inauguration. Thousands and thousands of people all around me. Smiling, cheering, laughing and singing. Everyone worked with each other instead of against each other.
It was the closest thing to being truly peaceful that I have ever witnessed as a photojournalist. With tears in my eyes, I started to photograph the crowds. When the song from the Isley Brothers titled "Shout" came on, people were jumping up and down with excitement.
The concert foreshadowed what was yet to come Tuesday early morning the day of the Inauguration.
On inauguration day, I decided to walk instead of taking the Metro. It was a good decision on my part because the station was over the top crowded. My goal was to get to where the community would be standing to watch the Inauguration. I needed to be to be among the community and capture the reaction of the crowds. My job was to focus on how people was feeling the day of the Inauguration.
At the early hour of 5am, I started to walk from Capitol Hill down through the streets towards the National Mall. There were baracades everywhere and people were being directed in all different directions. It was pitch black and about 18 degrees outside. I had to snake my way through to a section that everyone was calling "the common folk area". It made me laugh and I realized that this is where I needed to be to get the shots I needed. I needed to be in the crowds of people who got up at 4am and traveled down to stand for five and half hours to witness the Inauguration. They could have watched it from home but they wanted to be there. That's what I wanted to document.
By the time i reached the National Mall, the crowd was growing by the second. Everyone was trying to find a spot in front of the mega screens called Jumbotrons.
As the sun was rising I noticed just how beautiful the Capitol looked from where I was standing. I could see the crowds from the Capitol all the way down to where I was standing. It was truly remarkable.
As the sun was rising, the temperatures actually got colder. The wind started to blow and it dropped from 18 degrees that morning to 12 degrees. I was pretty sure that I lost all feeling in my toes.
I picked a place in front of a Jumbotron and hunted for reaction photographs. As the time got closer to the inauguration, I needed to decide to either stay or start moving to a new area. I could not see in front me without jumping up and down, however I decided to stay in the area because the surrounding streets had been closed off. If you exited you could not re-enter.
Reports from the Washington Post reported that thousands of people were rejected from the general standing area in the National Mall because the area was filled to capacity.
I have never seen so many people in my life and I have never been so cold. Five layers of clothing still couldn't keep me warm.
When the Inauguration began, the crowd became quiet. So quiet that people were whispering to be considerate for those who were watching the Jumbotrons. When Barack Obama was sworn in there wasn't a dry eye.
The overall feeling was of peace. That's the best way to describe how the moment I felt during the Inauguration of President Obama- Dana
