One photographer, 35 years of campaign history
Jim Cole has photographed every New Hampshire primary since 1980. He’s snapped photos of everyone from George H.W. Bush sticking his head out of an airplane to the Lobsterman who ran for president in 2000. He’s back at it this time around for the Associated Press.
On how to get a good shot:
I’ve done so many primaries now that I try to concentrate on what they’re doing instead of what they look like…. I try as hard as I can not to touch another photographer when I’m taking a picture … I try and foresee what possibly can happen and where my best chance is of getting something that’s different and unusual.
On shooting newbie delegates:
The ones that are going through it the first time, at least this time around, they’re the ones that in my opinion are doing it right. They’re doing the hands on. They’re doing the small venues, the coffee shops and these town halls. The so-called veteran campaigns have everything all set up in stage where the candidate comes into the room, grabs the microphone, gives their 20-minute, 30-minutes speech and then says, “I’ll take questions, take questions,” and then they go out the same door, say goodbye.
On knowing when he has a good picture:
If there’s something that happens and I press the button, I do feel good about what I have. I was taking pictures of Marco Rubio in Littleton, and when he was done talking, he went to speak with this woman who was in a wheelchair. There was a really nice moment of her holding with both of her hands, holding both of his hands and the two looking at each other right in the eye. And it made for a nice shot, and I got it, and I knew I had it.
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