Saturday was an exciting opportunity to get to photograph the Vice President of the United States up close, while he was speaking at The University of Delaware’s 2014 Commencement Ceremony.
It was a very early start for a Saturday, waking up at 3:45am to get to UD’s campus in Newark by 5am. I thought on the way there, that I am usually never up this early unless I am going fishing. Luckily for everyone, the weather was perfect; sunny and 70’s. It can be brutally hot standing several hours in the direct sun in Delaware Stadium if it is 80’s and above, as it is some years. Along with the great weather, the entire event ran very smoothly.
The extensive security on the way in was quick and efficient, and the ceremony and graduates seemed to be in great spirits. It was a very lively celebration of the achievement of the many students in the stadium. The long procession into and out of the stadium is always one of the most fun parts of the event to photograph, with students looking up into the stands for their families and friends to wave to. It was also pretty cool to be photographing the procession of the administrators, honorary guests, and Vice President of the US walking in. As VP Biden and the procession walked past the groups of students on the way in, the crowd seemed to erupt with excitement.
A few more images can be found here on UD’s web site: http://www.udel.edu/udphotos/
Images available for purchase, from the University of Delaware here: http://udel.smugmug.com/Graduations
-Kevin Quinlan
