Thursday, April 05, 2007

#1 - Final Rendezvous

(Note: like most newsphotographers(I'm guessing), I saved the credentials and press passes from significant assignments, and over the years, I've managed to accumulate quite a collection of them. Not long ago, I sorted through this large box of "memories" and decided to highlight some of the historic events and people that impacted my career and in essence, all of our lives. This post is the first installment of the series.)

It was a fitting tribute of celebration and closure for a horrific national disaster. It could never happen today, and will probably never happen again, considering contemporary security measures and logistical concerns, not to mention the financial issues for matters like crowd and even litter control. But on this very evening, 21 years ago, I stood in amazement on the top of a parking structure near the banks of Buffalo Bayou recording and watching as one man's dream brought the Houston, Texas skyline to life.

French New Age artist Jean Michel Jarre composed and orchestrated this multi-media musical wonder, which incorporated skyscrapers as giant projection screens with laser lights and fireworks erupting from their rooftops and tower speakers that seemed to rival the buildings in size. The free hour long concert attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators and was intended as a reception to salute the mission and crew of the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger flight(which exploded shortly after lift-off on January 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board). While probably most remembered for the death of the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe, the mission was to feature another first: astronaut Ron McNair, an accomplished musician, was scheduled to play and record the first musical piece(a saxophone solo)in space which would have been mixed into a track on Michel Jarre's final album release. But as a result of the NASA tragedy, the Houston Rendezvous became a commemorative event dedicated to the memory of McNair and the crew of the Challenger shuttle.
From a news coverage and photographic standpoint, I clearly recall two details from this assignment: first, the abundance and intensity of light and the flawless execution of the concert; and second, the enormity of the crowd and the resulting traffic I was forced to battle to meet my filing deadline. After scouting ideal locations and vantage points a week in advance, I(and several other newsphotogs)chose the rooftop of a parking structure about one mile away from the mainstage/skyline. Arriving several hours before the show, we set-up tripods for timed exposures and waited for nightfall. When the concert began, we were all shocked at its luminosity(not to mention sound quality)and reveled in the thought of our finished prints. (I dare say even spectators that hand-held cameras had acceptable results--it was that bright!). But when the show ended, the problems began. Since seating was free and consisted of any elevated/flat or private/public space within a two mile radius of the downtown area, every highway and street was flooded with departing traffic and I had an early PM filing deadline to meet. It seems dreamlike(and legal!)now, but I recall jumping a few curbs and driving on some lawns, and eventually I managed to transmit my photo on time.
In an age where photographing skyscrapers is practically forbidden and concert tickets sell for hundreds of dollars, it's sad to think that a production like this really is a Final Rendezvous.

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