Alistair Floral Design - Papal Visit
Alistair Floral design contacted me as it had been trusted with providing the florals and landscaping/decor for the sites the Pope will be visiting over his visit in Malta. They were looking for behind the scenes shots and shots of the team setting up on site, as well as the end product. I could not say no. Not only was this a very interesting project with a different but also it would give me a great opportunity to have access to the Pope’s location and document his trip from my view point.
From a technical standpoint, I had to think hard about two main aspects:
which equipment I was going to take with me for the shootout
the logistics involved.
The first point was related to the fact that since there were several variables in this journalistic coverage it was not so simple to decide on the exact equipment to take with me for example whether to take flash or not, whether to take a tripod or not and whether to take a slower wide angle lense with me or not (I have 2 wide angles lenses and they are for different uses). In the end I think I decided on the right equipment opting to take with me the tripod, no flashes and both wide angle lenses I own. This setup enabled me to shoot the indoor location with the necessary precision using the tripod and slower lens (for the shooting of the final products and room shots) and convert to a ‘higher speed’ documentary coverage when needed (with my faster primes).
Another headache was related to the logistics of the shootout. In view of the Pope’s visit most of the parking was not available and in view that I was carrying heavy equipment I opted to use some taxi services. In the end it all worked well and I managed to cover not only the assignment I was commissioned for but also the Pope’s visit to Malta.
I really have to applaud Alistair and his team for their impeccable attention to detail and their dedication to the cause. While I was assisting and covering such an event I could really start to understand the logistics and work involved in the background to ensure that such events work out well and prepared perfectly. Well done! 🧡
