Barack Obama visits Raleigh

August 20th, 2008
Presidential candidate Barack Obama held a town hall meeting at the fairgrounds last night in Raleigh, so I decided to get a press pass and cover it.
Microphone sits on stool ready for use.


Barack Obama arrives for the Town Hall meeting in Raleigh.


Barack seems to be looking right at me…


Barack Obama in Raleigh, NC


People of Raleigh snap away at Obama.


Barack Obama rolls up his sleeves.


Audience members of the Town Hall meeting.


View from the press stand.


Obama answers an audience member’s question.


Barack Obama in Raleigh, NC


Barack Obama in Raleigh, NC


Raleighites in the back row.


Barack Obama in Raleigh, NC


Television network coverage of Barack Obama in Raleigh, NC


Overview of the crowd.


Barack Obama in Raleigh, NC


Flash fires.


Greeting the people of Raleigh, NC

Comments

  1. Anonymous says:

    August 21st, 2008 at 10:10 pm (#)

    im bursting at the seams to bash these ignorant, hypocritical McCain supporters but there is a time and a place for everything…..but love the pics and would like to see an updated skyline with the Edison

  2. Anonymous says:

    August 22nd, 2008 at 1:15 am (#)

    MATT R.
    YOU ARE ENTITLED TO TAKE WHATEVER PHOTO YOU WISH TO TAKE. THIS SITE IS YOUR SITE! YOU CREATED THIS SITE FREE OF CHARGE TO ALLOW PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO VIEW OUR WOUNDERFUL CITY. I WAS BORN AND RAISED HERE IN THIS GREAT CITY, AND LOVE EVERY SQUARE MILE OF IT. I HAVE SEEN THIS CITY GROW, AND MUST SAY I AM VERY PROUD OF RALEIGH’S REVITALIZATION. IF YOU SUPPORT OBAMA SO BE IT. IF YOU SUPPORT MCCAIN SO BE IT.
    DO NOT! I MEAN DO NOT, TELL THIS MAN WHAT PHOTOS HE CAN TAKE. IF I STAND TO BE CORRECTED NEITHER ONE OF YOU ARE OUT WITH MATT TAKING PHOTOS, SO HOW IN THE HELL CAN YOU TELL HIM WHAT PHOTOS TO SHOW. I AGREE THIS SITE IS CALLED RALEIGH SKYLINE, BUT I THINK IT’S GOOD TO SHOW POLITICAL FIGURES FOR THE TOP JOB OF THE UNITED STATES HERE IN OUR GREAT CITY. IT BRINGS ABOUT MORE NATIONAL EXPOSURE FOR THE CITY OF RALEIGH. IN SAYING ALL THIS, LET MATT DO HIS WORK. IF YOU CARE NOT TO VIEW CERTAIN PHOTOS, BY ALL MEANS DO NOT VIEW THEM. THERE ARE THOUSANDS, IF NOT MILLIONS WHO APPRECIATE THE WORK OF ART PRODUCED BY THIS WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPHER. AS ALWAYS MATT, YOU HAVE DONE AND CONTINUE TO DO A GREAT JOB ALLOWING US TO VIEW THE RALEIGH SKYLINE AND OTHER MAJOR TOPICS FROM OUR HOMES AND/OR PLACE OF WORK.
    IF OBAMA RETURNS / MCCAIN COMES TO RALIEGH AND YOU ARE ABLE TO OBTAIN A PRESS PASS, BY ALL MEANS BRING THE PHOTOS HOME TO YOUR VIEWERS. PHOTOGRAPH WHATEVER YOU FEEL IS APPROPRIATE FORYOUR SITE MATT! ONCE AGAIN, THANKS AND GREAT PHOTOS.

  3. Anonymous says:

    August 22nd, 2008 at 1:56 am (#)

    Matt spends more time than you know shooting, editing and posting his work. There have been countless times that dinners, movies and other outings have been canceled or delayed because an opportunity for him to get a perfect picture has arose. He has spent thousands upon thousands of his own money on website hosting, gas, camera and computer equipment. To say that he has an agenda, that you are going to delete his site, that he needs to stick to skyline pictures, basically saying he needs to follow your guidelines just shows that you do not realize this is his site. His site that he designed and spends hours updating. If Matt chooses to post pictures of a United States presidential candidate on HIS site then so be it. Just for future reference, if Matt chooses a post that is going to “offend” you then ignore it. Also, please try and keep your negativity off of this site.

  4. Anonymous says:

    August 22nd, 2008 at 8:23 am (#)

    Beth, you are WONDERFUL!!! This is EXACTLY what we all need to keep in mind, and believe me when I say this: you are a driving force behind Matt’s quality work. Being married, myself, I know how tough it is for my wife when she is dragged around for photos. Not much since the baby was born, but you get the picture. I always mention YOU to her, and how supportive you are of Matt. Taking time off your family for photography and spending much needed funds for equipment is a very tough place to be in. Thanks for stepping into this conversation and contributing very important thoughts. It is not only Matt who invests on this site, it is you, as well.

    I have a suggestion for Matt R. related to non-urban photography. Regardless of what people’s views are here, it would be nice to have a section in your website with photos not related to skylines, etc. You have posted a lot of good material that could be classified as either abstract, landscape, or nature photography. It think it would help promote your work better and give people the opportunity to see more specific work. Macro photography is a great example. That 3rd photo, with Obama looking towards you could make a fantastic portrait, especially if you replaced the background with a more solid color. Just my 2 cents, along with one more big THANKS for your hard work.

  5. Anonymous says:

    August 22nd, 2008 at 11:17 am (#)

    You photos are all amazing on your website. But it is odd to have been in a few of your pics. I was at the Obama event. I work for UNCTV and, to me, it is strange to be the subject matter for a change. I am so used to recording the events, actions, boring legislative meetings, and life of/and involving other people. So it is a new feeling to be on the other side of the lens. I was in the grey stripped shirt in “Television network coverage of Barack Obama in Raleigh,NC.” Great work.

  6. Anonymous says:

    August 22nd, 2008 at 5:56 pm (#)

    I am neither a democrat nor a republican and I think its crazy for anyone to label themselves as either. I am independent and base my decision on the views at hand. I do not like Obama nor do I trust him. With that being said, this site is dedicated to things that happen in Raleigh and see nothing wrong with Matt taking photos of a presidential candidate. I saw nothing on this page that persuaded one side or the other. Thanks Matt and continue the great work you do. I really do enjoy it.

  7. Anonymous says:

    August 22nd, 2008 at 6:56 pm (#)

    Matt,Beth and all,
    I have read a couple of post on here so if I repeat something that has already been said please forgive me. I have known Matt and Beth for sometime and I can tell you Beth hit it right on the head. My wife deals with my countless hours on shooting,editing,and posting photos and I can say I am meticulous about my work but I think that Matt has me beat on that subject. Beth you have been beside Matt the whole way and I am just as lucky to have a wife that supports me as you do with Matt’s photography. Matt has strayed into an area that he usually is not found in which is photojournalism and has done a great job of it. I also will say Matt is one of the most neutral people I have come across. Matt great photos even in the low light that we were talking about.. Hmm maybe time for that 80-200mm f2.8.. Take care

  8. Anonymous says:

    August 23rd, 2008 at 6:09 pm (#)

    I don’t think it’s a political statement on Matt R’s part so much as it is the significance of Mr. Obama’s frequent visits to Raleigh. I don’t doubt that if John McCain were to make a town hall visit to Raleigh, it would create as equal a stir (especially being that NC has traditionally been a red state for the past several elections, anyway).

    The only concern with a McCain photo shoot is that Matt Robinson uses a 21 megapixel camera, if I recall correctly. That might work TOO well – and then we’ll be invaded by dermatologists lending their commentary to the photos here as well.

    🙂

  9. Anonymous says:

    August 24th, 2008 at 4:57 pm (#)

    Obama is way to liberal (socialist) for me, but for god sakes, it’s a photo shoot of a presidential candidate visiting Raleigh. Note to right wing kooks: Obama is American, not an enemy. He means well, but he is a little misguided and naive. Although, he’s probably better than Bush.

    To keep it with a skyline theme, Obama is like the Archdale Building. Medium height and thin. McCain is like the new convention center, short and thick.

  10. Anonymous says:

    August 24th, 2008 at 6:13 pm (#)

    Too socialist….I don’t get it.

  11. Anonymous says:

    August 27th, 2008 at 4:50 pm (#)

    i have never understood this country’s view on politics. WHY IS IT WRONG TO TALK POLITICS. im a junior at state and today in my advanced spanish grammar class our teach put up some sentences in spanish that had to do with politics and elections. they we’re just simply vocabulary building sentences but she was hesitant to ask people to respond to the questions because, as she put it: “i know we’re not supposed to talk about politics, but..etc, etc” This seems to be the general opinion of people in this country. What kind of democracy do we have if it is shunned upon to bring up the topic of politics unless it is on the news or in a political science classroom? shying away from a good political discussion due to fear of objecting to someone else’s views seems like the kind of mentality that should be present in a dictatorship or a soviet USSR type state, not a democracy! GO BETH!

  12. Anonymous says:

    August 31st, 2008 at 4:49 pm (#)

    Hey all, I’m not sure why everyone is getting up in arms here – Matt did an excellent job photographic a HUGE event here in Raleigh. If you head over to raleighskyline’s sister site, pittsburghskyline.com, you’ll notice that he has plenty of pictures documenting people and events there.

    Just because the subject is a political figure does not mean that there is some underlying political commentary going on. I’ve known Matt for 10 years now, and I can honestly say that he’s one of the most objective people I’ve ever met. Long nights of debate with him during the 2000 Election proved that to me beyond a doubt. If John McCain came to town, Matt would be at the front of the line, jostling to get pictures of him. The point of this set of photos was to document the event, and not to push any sort of political agenda. That is shown in the fact that along with pictures of Obama, there are pictures of the crowd itself. Not once on this site has Matt made any effort to sway your opinion one way or the other, or voiced his own political beliefs.

    It’s actually pretty offensive for me to come here and see people railing on my friend for doing what any good photographer would do – take pictures of something that they may not ever get pictures of again.

    It also says a lot about this country and how far we all as citizens need to progress. Partisan bickering always rears its ugly head around election times, and I think we’d all do a bit better in life, and our country would be much better served, if we took a moment to stop and think about things before rushing to argue some imaginary point, or some perceived slight against our political sensitivities.

  13. Anonymous says:

    September 10th, 2008 at 6:19 pm (#)

    I’ve been coming to this site for about 2 years, but never have posted. I’m a gun carrying conservative and I look at these images as any other photographs that Matt takes. I would have jumped at the chance to take my D300 to an event like this, even if Obama was the guest. Outstanding work Matt!

  14. Anonymous says:

    September 29th, 2008 at 10:43 pm (#)

    I wait until everything will be changed,that’s the more important in this Country( USA)

  15. Anonymous says:

    November 5th, 2008 at 12:48 am (#)

    President Barack Obama!!! 🙂

  16. Anonymous says:

    November 5th, 2008 at 12:57 am (#)

    After being screwed for eight years…its about time for the big O. 😉

  17. Anonymous says:

    November 5th, 2008 at 1:27 am (#)

    lol Lin I agree

  18. Anonymous says:

    November 10th, 2008 at 1:29 am (#)

    North Carolina can now proudly join the blue states as a civilized part of our country. Well done!

  19. Anonymous says:

    November 11th, 2008 at 2:30 am (#)

    hahahahaha, well said.

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Barack Obama visits Raleigh


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