Did you shoot that?

"If you want a photo of this, we can provide you with a CD," a marketing guy says, flipping through some nice prints of the exact same thing in front of me.

Sometimes capturing reality is harder than it should be. Whenever I get an assignment to photograph a politician, I always think to myself: "I can be late." Why? Because they are always late. However, I am always early. Hey, you never know. Miracles happen.

Today, the senator was on time for his tour of a plant here in Longmont, but I'm not permitted to photograph the real part. Instead, I'm taken to the end of the tour and instructed to wait. Wait. "Should be soon," they say. Wait. Shoot some frames of nothing (see above). Then wait. Just before the senator is to walk out, we're told we can't shoot this, can't shoot that, try not to get this. Then, halfway through the end of the tour, a gentleman asks: "Did you photograph the laser spectrometer reducer 2000?" Note: I'm not using the real name, just in case. I mean, I couldn't shoot it, so I probably can't say it, right? My reply? "I don't even know what a laser spectrometer reducer 2000 is!" They obviously didn't know the CEO was going to open the secret door housing the laser spectrometer reducer 2000.

I can see their point, it's secret and "proprietary." (The buzz word used all day.) But here's my question, as a tax payer. My government is going to be spending $780 billion, some of which may go to said company. What do they do and how will it benefit my community and me? We certainly may read about it, or at least read the jargon thrown around. But heaven forbid we show anything real.

Sometimes a mug shot is better than going in the first place...or not. At least I got paid to wait.