CHICAGO (AP) — The Democratic National Convention spans four days. There are a lot of delegates in a large open space. Trying to create an impactful image can be challenging. This photo was part of a series of portraits and details, showing the variety of people in attendance and the merchandise they choose to wear to support their candidate.
After spending several days covering very similar light and characters, I decided to try something new. With my Sony A9III, and 24-70mm lens (set at 35 mm) and flash, I took a spare white sheet of paper with a speaker’s speech printed on it and grabbed some gaffers tape I had attached to my battery bag and made a homemade snoot - I wrapped the white paper around the flash and secured it with the black tape. It created a very directional light source. That allowed me to show the character with an intense light. I told the characters not to look into the flash because the direct light was very bright.
I had to get close to the characters in order to get the images. This draws the reader’s eye right to her with no distractions. It screams America and shows a strong and important demographic of voters, women.
This particular assignment was challenging in many ways, however, the characters were happy to have their photograph taken, which is not always the case for a photojournalist. I was welcomed with open arms: “Please take our photo,” most of the delegates would say. They were happy to have me there to document a moment in history as a person of color and a woman was accepting the Democrat’s presidential nomination.
For more extraordinary AP photography, click here.
North Carolina delegate Gloria Goodwin wears sunglasses during the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — England and English soccer teams could be removed from UEFA competitions if a new regulator is considered to be “Government interference” in the sport.
In a letter sent by UEFA to the U.K.'s new culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, European soccer's governing body raised concerns about a proposed independent football regulator (IFR) in English soccer. The regulatory will ensure the financial sustainability of clubs and stop teams from joining breakaway competitions like the European Super League.
UEFA regulations state there should be no government interference in the running of soccer.
“We have specific rules that guard against this in order to guarantee the autonomy of sport and fairness of sporting competition; the ultimate sanction for which would be excluding the federation from UEFA and teams from competition,” UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis wrote in his letter, which has been seen by The Associated Press.
England, which has been runner-up in the last two European Championships, is co-hosting the 2028 edition of the tournament.
If UEFA imposed its ultimate sanction of excluding the English Football Association, the England team would be barred from competing in the Euros. It could also mean Premier League clubs being barred from the Champions League and other competitions.
The U.K. government’s Football Governance Bill would give an independent regulator powersto safeguard the future of clubs. It includes strengthened tests over who can run or own clubs.
In its letter, UEFA said “normally football regulation should be managed by the national federation.”
It said it was concerned by what it described as “scope creep” by a regulator into areas beyond “the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.”
UEFA said if all countries established regulators with wide-reaching powers it would hinder its ability to maintain effective governance across Europe. It wants England's regulator to be “strictly limited” to the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.
A U.K. government spokesperson said “the Football Governance Bill will establish a new Independent Football Regulator that will put fans back at the heart of the game, and tackle fundamental governance problems to ensure that English football is sustainable for the benefit of the clubs’ communities going forward.”
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - The UEFA Euro trophy is pictured after Britain and Ireland were elected to host the Euro 2028 football tournament during the the UEFA EURO 2028 and 2032 hosts announcement ceremony after the UEFA Executive Committee, at UEFA Headquarters, in Nyon, Switzerland, Oct. 10, 2023. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP, File)
