Obamarama

"Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., addresses more than 10,000 cheering supporters during a campaign rally at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Md., Monday, Feb. 11, 2008."

Wow. What a difference shooting Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama last night was in comparison to Republican presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee Saturday.

I was originally suppose to cover an Obama rally in Virginia on Sunday, but had something change last minute, so I never made it down. However, I knew I'd be covering his campaign rally in Maryland Monday, so I didn't sweat it too much.

The assignment came in Sunday and I was scheduled for 1st Mariner at 2:15 p.m. instead of College Park. Although listed as 2:45 p.m., it wasn't too clear what time Obama would actually be addressing the crowd.

I arrived at promptly at 2:15 p.m., only to wait 30 minutes at the media gate before gaining access. Not a day anyone wanted to be waiting outside either, as the temperatures hovered around 20 degrees.

Once inside, I bumped into fellow shooter Kevin Dietsch who shoots for UPI. Kevin and I, although not shooting for the same press, shot together at Preakness in 2007. I was glad Kevin was there, as what was suppose to be an original speaking time of 3:30 p.m., turned into a 4:00 p.m., which eventually turned into a 5:25 p.m. stage arrival.

Needless to say, the supporters, fans, entire crowd and media patiently waited for nearly three hours. I didn't mind the wait, but the same three songs were on repeat an driving me insane. "Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley..."

As we stood, sat, talked and played on our phones to burn time, CNN finally rushed to their spots onto the risers in front of us. Obama was due out any minute now.

Once Obama made his appearance, the crowd went crazy. It was electrifying. It reminded me of when I shot Maryland gubernatorial election night in 2006, when at the time, Mayor Martin O'Malley won the race.

Now, I am not making any predictions, but it was a lot different than shooting the Huckabee rally this past weekend.

While Huckabee gathered maybe 400 people, Obama rallied more than 10,000. The crowd was a lot more energetic and roared every time Obama said anything.

Each of these campaigns had positives and negatives, but I'll save that for my next post. Check back tomorrow for some more images, too.

I am not sure what images will run where, so I will share some more simplistic images tomorrow.

Thanks to Jazzmen, former Towerlight news editor, huge Obama supporter and current WMAR ABC2 intern for today's blog title.