Way back in September 2012 I was contacted by Postmedia Network, who publish such papers as National Post, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald and Ottawa Citizen among others. They wanted me to go to Government House in Victoria, and take photos of Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada. She, and a group of other people, would be receiving the Order of British Columbia, and I would then get a few minutes to photograph her. Naturally, I accepted the assignment.
I admit I was a bit stressed. This wasn’t just another assignment. And to boot, I really only had a few minutes to shoot. I knew wouldn’t have time (or the space) to put up strobes, so my lighting gear consisted of nothing more than a hotshoe flash, wireless receiver and transmitter and an umbrella. Luckily I was allowed to use a beautiful room with big windows to shoot in.
After the ceremony I waited in the room for Ms. Campbell to finish her interviews. When she came in we started chatting, and as I so often do I mentioned that I was from Iceland. She then told me that she had a good friend in Iceland, none other than Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, former President of Iceland, as they are both members of the Council of Women World Leaders. That little chat broke the ice, and we were able to make the most of those few minutes we had for the photo session.
