7:45 AM: I note as I arrive at St. Bartholomew's Church on East 51st Street for the Interfaith Prayer Service with the SG, the GAP (that's UN-speak for Secretary General and President of the General Assembly) and other religious leaders, that there isn't much activity here. Hmmmm.

The head of security at the Church, asks me what I'm doing there. I tell him that I'm there to photograph the UN Interfaith service but that I note there must be a mistake in scheduling. I show him my UN credentials and he invites me to go back to his office to call MY office. A little flustered, I can't find the phone number (No, I don't have the Palm Pilot) and end up dialing the wrong number. Now I look like the dizzy blonde. He shows me the invitation and tells me that it's scheduled for Thursday.

9AM: Milton apologizes for the "dry run" saying that DPI had been given wrong information.

10AM: Peace Bell Ceremony: SG rings the Peace Bell to officially launch the International Year for the Culture of Peace. Each of the 10 frames I take of the SG ringing the Peace Bell is way underexposed. The rest of the assignment is ok but I'm having some technical problems with the equipment. It looks like I'll have to read the camera manual after all. Thankfully, staff photographer Eskinder Debebe, shoots it digitally; his picture is posted on the third floor where noteworthy photographs of events at UN headquarters, will appear from now on.

Indonesia has accepted a UN presence for East Timor and there are meetings and press conferences throughout the day. Among others, I photograph the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and Permanent Representative of Indonesia Dr. Makarim Wibisono.

I now realize why the lighting at these photo ops seems to be the same: on camera flash, harsh shadows, rarely and attempt at bouncing the flash. In some cases, we are lucky to fire off 3 or 4 frames. There's not much room for creative lighting here. Nobody seems to do anything besides straight on camera flash, not even my colleagues from the wire services, who would not think of shooting this way in almost any other scenario but spot news.

2:45 PM: This is the first day of the 54^th General Assembly. We set up in the General Assembly for the passing of the gavel from outgoing 53rd GA President Didier Opertti to incoming 54th GA President Gurirab. Evan is in Booth 17 and Eskinder in Booth 7, covering the proceedings from above the floor, one shooting digital, the other film. I'm assigned to be on the floor of the General Assembly to photograph from the center of the room.

As I arrive at my designated spot on the GA floor, one of the security guards says: AOh, YOU'RE the blonde photographer Susan that I've heard about. Your reputation precedes you.

I joke, "OK, what protocol have I breached today?" to which he replies, semi-seriously: "I got a report about you." I'm sure he's kidding until I realize he's NOT!. For a split second, my heart skips a beat until I remember: St. Bartholomew's, this morning...Security over there has indeed, checked up on me. The transfer of the gavel takes place between the Outgoing and Incoming Presidents; I use an 80-200 lens and get a slightly wide shot of the transfer, after which I walk around slightly in awe, to get a wide shot of the first Plenary Session of the 54^th General Assembly.

Behind the Viewfinder - A Year in the Life of Photojournalism
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