First Ladies

Thank you Dorothy Snarker for this:
Not content with the sleepless nights you have evoked through your tank-top Tuesday photos, now you've really done it! How am I ever supposed to sleep again?

You Gotta Hand it to Michelle

As part of the G20 summit in London, the great and the gracious have been doing a bit of networking. The big question about which people, well, some people are up in arms is: should Michelle Obama have touched the Queen? British and Commonwealth protocol, which goes back to the days when monarchs were believed to have a magic touch that could heal, says no. However, those ole republicans who started anew in 1776 said that no American has to bow to any queen or king. Also, if the queen touched Michelle first, that may be considered as an invitation to respond. I am just happy that they are all becoming such good friends, and think it is just jealousy, since everyone wants a piece of those sleeveless biceps at the moment :-) .

2008 World Press Photos of the Year

There are some incredible photos in various categories. I looked at the selection offered here by the Telegraph and picked the above for my favourite. It is by an American called Callie Shell and it won for the People in the News category. It was taken during the Presidential campaign.

One of the major reasons for my quitting a career as a photographer was that I could not be objective when something was going on. In the middle of something terrible, like the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when I was just starting to establish myself, I realised (although I was not actually there that day - I was at another match) that I could not shoot pictures of pain and misery. That was why I concentrated on sport and theatre - events where there was a previously-established agreement that it was ok to watch. The other? I just wasn't wired that way. However, I still look at the pictures other people take, and some of the best are part of these awards.