I keep a journal where, among other things, I make notes about some of my shots. On Friday June 8th, 2018 (the day after Doug Ford won the Ontario provincial election), I wrote:
Returning to our building, I noticed a man with a long lens run along the sidewalk across the road. I paused, trying to figure out what he was after. My next door neighbour came up to me and said something but I didn’t hear what. “Doug Ford. Isn’t that Doug Ford across the road?” I looked and, sure enough, there he was, the man of the hour, glad-handing passersby and posing for selfies. “I better shoot him.” I ran through the traffic to the far side of the road and went to it. … I was shooting Ilford HP5 so it should come out crisp and contrasty. Also, I was using the Tamron 70-150 mm lens so was able to get in close as he was shaking hands and grinning his pugsly mug at people. The guy’s a real porker! Shoulders, neck and head form a continuous slab of flesh, thick and hard near the base and growing soft near the head. I assume he was doing an interview at the National Post. As he entered the building, a Native woman was coming out and she tore a strip off him. She saw me laughing. Our eyes met and she fist bumped me.
Strictly speaking, this isn’t a street portrait as it doesn’t meet my usual criteria. There was nothing in our interaction that could be construed as him giving me consent to make this image. Nevertheless, as premier elect, he had suddenly slid back into the public sphere where the rules governing the capture and use of his image aren’t quite the same as for mere mortals. I make the assumption that while he’s engaged in the performance of his public office, there is implied consent. Here, he was greeting his adoring public as he went to his very first interview, all shiny and new, like a virgin.
