a party with the pope

photographyparislourdesdigitalpope leo xiv

27 Sept

The past 48 hours have been a bit of a whirlwind and I'm not even home from it yet. So while I sit on this very long train ride, lemme tell you about it. Queue the big sized images (on desktop)! Queue the typos (too tired to change them)!

Well, I basically got asked to shoot the Pope's visit to France, specifically his visit to the holy city of Lourdes, but I actually got to shoot him in Paris as well. I’m not going to share too too much here, cause it’s work for someone else, but I think it will be alright if I just give you all a just a small look into some kinds of things I shoot besides the usual.

Pro: Did not have to worry about someone blocking the view.

Bit of a backstory: the family is Catholic. Like any good Puerto Rican family, we had a little Virgin Mary statue in the backyard (hidden behind the shed in a corner, where we used to get high), so you get the idea. Church every Saturday (we were always late, wearing dirty soccer clothes), so let's say we were like a good 4/5 out of 10. 3, maybe? My dad, the most religious one, even went to go see Pope JP the Dos in Colorado one time and was all excited about it. Excuse me, pops, while I show you how it is done. First up was the big mass at Place de la Concorde.

Shot on a wide lens, so we is getting closer. Now turn and pose!

A real kick I have to say: busy, fast, definitely a great time! Say whatever you want about your own personal feelings on religion (actually don’t), but a pretty cool shooting experience. Seriously, they blocked the highways and people were screaming and waving at us. Private airport strip. Police escorts, massive entourage machine, everything. It was like that scene at the end of Ghostbusters when the NYPD brings them through Manhattan at the end, except without the giant marshmellow guy.

I somehow ended up next to the VIP section and got pictures of some very important French politicians: past, present and future presidents, prime ministers, their families and a couple others. I’ve taken some photos of these people in the past, but this was like all of them at once. Accreditation is awesome and I got to really got to get close up on these people. Some took to it, others not too much. Ha! I wasn’t even planned to really work then. It was surreal.

Anyway, onto Lourdes!

I thought I would be awake before everyone else.

Yahtzee! Turned out Rick just walking around all lost paid off. I didn’t even a chance to have enough caffeine in me at that hour. But there was one more thing to do: I had to get his attention.

Why not white shoes as well? Am I right?

So I yelled “Go Sox!”

I shot a photo of The Pope! I actually have several frames. Not like just one of him passing. The Man from Chi-town looked right into the lens and held it, like a champ. Put that one down on my checklist of photographed celebrities, politicos, presidentes, dictators (that’s right kids), blogger, vloggers, and circus performers. A nice photo goal! I got real close to the PopeMobile too (it’s pretty slick I have to say), that the head of his security chatted me up and even remembered me later in the day. That’s good, right? Right? A real photo feather in the cap for ya boy!

Seriously though, this guy’s schedule is like full-on.

Only going to share a couple more: I remember being in church as a kid and you weren’t allowed to do anything out of place (not that we didn’t, of course). I have to say it was a great experience as a photographer to capture: here are these people at a very, very solemn moment in their life and I’m allowed to be right up in there. Not your usual type of shooting situation and so that was something, as a photographer, that is very, very cool to be able to shoot.