10AM: General Assembly Hall (aka GA Hall): Milton hands me two Nikon F4's and an assortment of lenses and assigns staff photographer Evan Schneider to accompany me on my first assignment in the GA We use either a 400, 500 or 600 mm lens from one of two booths one floor above the GA. I photograph the speakers of the 107^th and last Plenary Meeting of the 53rd General Assembly. We have to compose in such a way so as to make sure to include the UN seal in front of the rostrum, and to identify the speakers in order on a UN "scorecard" of sorts, for caption information. The speakers are generally listed by country, and sometimes by name, in the "Journal" that is published every day in Russian, French, Arabic, Japanese, Spanish and English. While it is helpful for us to identify the speakers by name, it's usually only necessary to note whether they are the Foreign Minister or President, and sometimes just the country will do; most delegates are known to the people in the photo library who do caption information; there is a phone number to call down on the Assembly floor if we lost track of who is speaking, or if the speakers go out of order and we need verification. There are nine speakers today. Sometimes there can be 40 or more in one day. The UN is not a news agency but we've got to photograph every speaker for the record.

3:00 PM: First Photo in SG's office: Secretary General with Sir David Hannay, UK Special Representative for Cyprus. These sofa shots are common photo ops done in the SG's office, when there is not a large entourage of delegates accompanying the visitor to the Secretary General. Pictures of Ambassadors and Presidents with large delegations take place in the conference room.

5:30PM: Holy Family Church, 47th Street: Prayer Service with the SG, Renato R. Martino the Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, and John Cardinal O'Connor. Cardinal O'Connor, who has recently had surgery to remove a brain tumor, looks kind of frail but he says some prayers for peace and success of the upcoming 54th General Assembly, and exchanges a few lighthearted words with the SG and Mrs. Annan.

7:30PM: Reception in DDR (Delegates Dining Room) with the SG and Mrs. Annan, hosted by Dr. Makarim Wibisono, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia and Mrs. Enny Sekarwaty Wibisono. When I am assigned to cover the Secretary General, my job is to shadow him at a respectable distance, and photograph him wherever he goes. As soon as he leaves, my job is done, unless protocol or his security detail informs me otherwise. As I see the SG leaving the reception, my official photo is over and I rewind my film, but as I see the Secretary General and Mrs. Annan holding hands, while walking down a long empty corridor, flanked only by his bodyguards, I realize THIS is a picture. But I've pre-empted myself by rewinding my film prematurely. This picture doesn't happen, but I promise myself to be more prepared in the future for opportunities such as this one.

8PM: I rush to catch the 8:20. Arriving home just before 9, I'm way too tired to eat and just fall into bed instead.

Sir David Hannay, UK Special Representative for Cyprus, meets with Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General

John Cardinal O'Connor, and Archbishop Renato Martino, UN Observer for the Vatican, greet Secretary General Kofi Annan and his wife Nane Annan in front of Holy Family Church on W. 47th Street.

Cardinal O'Connor says prayers for the success of the upcoming 54th General Assembly with Renato Martino, UN Observer for the Vatican.

Secretary General Kofi Annan and his wife Nane walk to Holy Family Church on W. 47th Street for a prayer service for the success of the upcoming 54th General Assembly.

all photos: UN/DPI Photos by Susan B. Markisz

Behind the Viewfinder - A Year in the Life of Photojournalism
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