I shot a couple big interviews yesterday. One with Valerie Jarrett, an adviser to President Obama and one with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner . Murry, a freelance cameraman I often work with, and I were at the front gate of the White House at 8:30am. It took awhile to get in, because they had to check the gear with a bomb dog and by hand. We finally got to the interview location, the War Room in the Old Executive Office Building at 9:00. We only had 30 minutes to set up for the two camera shoot. Normally it takes at least an hour. We were making final adjustments to the lights as she walked in. The interview itself went fine, but it took over an hour to clean up afterward.

At 2:00 we arrived at the moat entrance to the Treasury Department. This time it took even longer for the guards to look though our gear and bring over the bomb dog. Finally we made our way down the rough brick driveway and into the basement of the building. They certainly don't make it easy to bring in the equipment. This time we had an hour to set up, so we had time to fiddle with the lights. Lighting is usually the most fun part of a shoot and if there's time, I can spend hours getting it just right. Geithner arrived a little late and seemed to be in a better mood than the last shoot I did with him. He joked about not being able to get a reservation at a local Indian restaurant. I couldn't get a reservation there either, but you would think it would be easier for the Treasury Secretary. The interview was conducted by Mike Allen from the Politico. After 15 minutes, Geithner's press secretary motioned for us to wrap it up, but Mike was relentless. He kept going even after signaling he was finished by asking the "finally" question. Geithner didn't seem to mind though and Mike eventually concluded the interview. Look for them on the Politico website later this week. It may be picked up by the networks as well, but that remains to be seen.